AskMen Voted James Franco as the Most Influential Actor This Year!

More than half a million AskMen readers voted, along with the staff of AskMen, to determine the Top 49 Most Influential Men of 2010. The men who made the list come from all backgrounds- - politics, sports, entertainment, technology, philanthropy -- but every single man on the list is a groundbreaker in his respective field, and some are even outright rule-breakers. These are the men history will remember as having defined 2010. More importantly, they're the men who inspire the rest of us to become Better Men.

James made it to the Top 10. He is also the only actor on the Top 10.

#1 Jon Stewart
#2 Bill Gates
#3 Mark Zuckerberg
#4 Steve Jobs
#5 Kanye West
#6 Drew Brees
#7 James Franco
#8 Elon Musk
#9 Jose Mourinho
#10 Graydon Carter




"James Franco is the rarest of movie stars, in that he’s not just a movie star. Whereas many leading men are content to rest on the laurels of fame and fortune, Franco is a cultural sponge, eager to learn, absorb, create, and challenge conventions. Much was made of Franco’s enrollment at Columbia University, but that was nothing. The talented thespian has since enrolled in four -- count 'em! -- graduate programs, written a book of short stories, guest-starred on General Hospital (a stunt he dubbed “performance art”), and made a series of experimental short films that have been setting the New York art world ablaze. Franco doesn’t just dabble in side projects; he immerses himself in them.

James Franco has been characterized by his superhuman ability to focus, an ability that’s allowed him to pursue other passions while maintaining one of the hottest careers in Hollywood. Catch him later this year as real-life doomed daredevil Aron Ralston in Danny Boyle’s buzzed-about 127 Hours, and as king of the beatniks, Allen Ginsberg, in Howl. Since noticing him on Judd Apatow’s gone-too-soon Freaks and Geeks, we always knew he was more than just another actor with a square jawline and a crooked smile. Thanks for proving us right, James."