James Franco insists he is not 'hiding out'

James Franco has insisted he hasn't been "hiding out" in the wake of his sexual misconduct scandal.

The Pineapple Express actor has largely been out of the spotlight since he settled a lawsuit in 2021 after being accused of sexually inappropriate behaviour by a number of former acting students, but he denied deliberately trying to keep a low profile.

Speaking to Deadline at the official dinner at the Cannes Film Festival this week, he said: “It’s not true I’ve been hiding out, I’ve been here the last three or four years running, selling things and they treat me well and I get to go and see great movies.”

James is doing his best to "live a positive life" and would rather focus on his work than speculation about his life off camera.

Asked if he feels he has been treated unfairly, he shrugged and said: “I don’t know. What am I going to do? I just go forward and try to live a positive life.

"What am I going to do. You know what I mean? Honestly, like, I just try to be the best person I can be… I think I was put on this planet to make movies. I try to make movies the best I can and it’s kinda like all I can do.”

The 127 Hours star revealed he has a role in a "big studio movie", his first since 2017's The Disaster Artist, but declined to give specific details.

But he teased the film has been shot already, though "“it won’t be ready for this summer."

He added: "My guess is it will be end of this year or spring-summer 2027.”

The 48-year-old star previously reflected on the scandal but admitted he "needed" the controversy in order to change.

He told Variety in 2024: “Being told you're bad is painful.

“But ultimately, that's kind of what I needed to just stop going the way I was going.”

And he was thankful to have the time to invest in his life outside of work, including his relationship with Izabel Pakzad.

He said: "I put a lot of time into my personal life. I’ve had a relationship for seven-and-a-half years [with Pakzad]. I was never able to do that before. I was just too scared, really … to have any sort of real intimacy with anyone."