Q: What has James Franco been doing since his stint on "General Hospital"? — Millicent in Pocatello, Idaho

A: The better question would be: What has he not been doing? Since his three different cameos on "GH," Franco has hosted the Academy Awards, starred in several movies, produced some films and did an art showing in a New York art museum.

As for the Academy Awards, Franco and Anne Hathaway, his co-host, were panned. Franco took umbrage with his negative reviews. In fact, he blamed one of the Oscar joke writers. He felt that he was left out to dry. As for his low-key performance, Franco said, "When you're standing next to Anne Hathaway, anything seems low-energy."

Franco did produce a film about his stint on the soap opera and how soap operas work. Franco has said: "I wasn't doing it on a lark. I wanted to show that an actor who is involved in movies can also work on a soap. I was not trying to be derisive. I work with some amazing actors. The storylines confused me. In a movie, you know where you are going. In a soap, you have no idea where you are going." Franco was not alone on that. Who knew his character would wind up to be Jason's unbeknownst twin brother and the father of Sam's baby?

Franco is a dedicated actor. When he performed in "127 Hours," the true story of a man who survived by cutting his arm off while trapped by a rock during a hike, he literally had no contact with his family. "I love my family, so that was difficult. But I also knew that was the way to go with the role." Franco's father died earlier this year.

As for his chance for returning to "GH," "I think my character is dead." When reminded it is a soap opera and anything can happen, he said: "That's true. In fact, the last time I was asked to return, I was stunned. I'm certainly not against it." Franco is also going to teach an acting/directing course at UCLA.

His time as a student at NYU did not go well. There were pictures of him dozing off in class. Franco says: "Hey, I'm doing a million things at once. Every college student falls asleep in class." He also received a low grade. The professor of the class, who has since been let go (Franco said he was not responsible), said the actor missed so many classes there was no way to grade him.

As for Franco's future projects, he has a couple of new movies in the works, of course his professorial stint and any other interesting offer that comes his way.

To find out more about Lynda Hirsch and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate web page at www.creators.com.