Dave Franco dreaded Now You See Me movies ending his acting career
Dave Franco says he and Now You See Me co-stars feared the 2013 heist film would sink their careers — and he’s explained why on Hot Ones.
The first Now You See Me film might've looked like a slick, crowd-pleasing heist picture, but according to one of its stars, the set vibes were a bit less Ocean's Eleven and a bit more existential crisis. Dave Franco—yes, the Franco brother who hasn't started his own cult—popped up on the web show Hot Ones and dished about what was really going on behind the scenes when cameras first started rolling in 2013.
At the end of the first day, it was such chaos trying to figure it out, that we all went out to dinner, and we literally cheers'ed to the end of our careers. We thought this movie was going to take us down.
So that's the mood: Dave Franco, Jesse Eisenberg, Mark Ruffalo, Woody Harrelson, Mélanie Laurent, and Isla Fisher—all at dinner, basically resigning themselves to Hollywood oblivion before day two had even dawned. Square that off with the reality: not only did everyone keep their careers, the film made a pile of cash. The Now You See Me magic-trick franchise is now at three films, with a fourth officially on the way.
Now You See Me launched in 2013 and there are three films so far, with a fourth in development.
What Else Has Dave Franco Done?
Franco didn't exactly come out of nowhere for Now You See Me—he'd already landed roles in things like Fright Night (the 2011 remake), 21 Jump Street, and the zombie rom-com Warm Bodies, which oddly enough hit cinemas the same year as his big magician caper. And, if you think he peaked as the world's cockiest card-thrower, he's kept busy since with everything from Michael Bay's 6 Underground to cult favourite The Disaster Artist. Then there's the animated side hustle: lending his voice to The Lego Ninjago Movie and Hoppers.
On the telly front, Franco did a fair stint on Scrubs (back when US medical sitcoms were still all the rage), plus recurring roles in The Now and The Studio. He even voiced Tony Stark for the Marvel Avengers Academy game, which is a trivia fact surely destined for some pub quiz down the line.