Who Is James Franco's Brother, Dave Franco?

James Franco‘s brother, Dave Franco, does not want to be known as James Franco’s brother. “As much as I love him and I want to work with him, I want to separate myself from him,” Dave, 26, told E! News at the SXSW Music Festival premiere of his new movie, 21 Jump Street.

That day may be slow in coming, but Dave can rest assured he’s on the right track. After all, James, 33, is quite the powerhouse — not just an Oscar-nominated actor but an Oscars host, producer, writer, grad student, professor, soap star and so on — a brand name unique among Hollywood’s stars. And Dave, well, he’s got some catching up to do before his fame stands squarely on its own two feet.

For Dave, who is earning stellar reviews for his portrayal of a high school drug dealer in Jump Street, he may have been further along in the acting world by now if it weren’t for his hesitant start. “Growing up, I had no intention of acting. I was pretty shy,” he told Complex, adding that he didn’t crave the spotlight as a teen. “I said maybe one word in junior high school.”

Things changed in college. “I audited this class and the people onstage were screaming and crying and hitting each other. I was like, ‘F**k this!’ It was so intense. But I ended up sticking it out, and I really liked it,” he told TheFrisky. And after college, some roles — in the TV show Greek and the film Superbad, to name two — started finding their way to the actor, who insists it was not an easy process. “I was starting from scratch,” he said. “I didn’t know what the hell I was doing. I would go in these rooms and people expected a lot, and I was falling flat on my face.”

2011, though, turned out to be a big year for Dave. He appeared — in a role of more substantial length — in the Colin Farrell vampire flick Fright Night, and some videos he made with James for the comedy site FunnyOrDie.com started to go viral. One, in particular, got a lot of attention for reasons that become clear when you watch it. “Go F*ck Yourself” imagines a hilariously literal interpretation of that all-too-common insult, using split-screen technology to depict Dave meeting, dating, and ultimately sodomizing himself. Watch it here (NSFW).

If that sounds a little too racy for some tastes, Dave insists he’s not trying to offend anyone. “I don’t think I’m consciously going to make this dirty, raunchy video,” he told The Daily Beast. “I think I’m just drawn to projects in general that are unique and original and maybe a little risqué.”

Does that explain the title of his next film, Warm Bodies? We shall see.