Dave Franco on why he no longer has ‘nerve’ for ‘silly’ risks

Dave Franco. PHOTO BY RUBEN V. NEPALES

LOS ANGELES—Dave Franco portrays a guy who plays an online game of truth or dare, where the dares become life-or-death situations in “Nerve.” But Dave admitted that in real life, he has stopped being a risk-taker because of an accident that almost cost him his life.

Smiling, Dave said in our recent encounter that instead of attempting his character Ian’s dangerous dares-for-cash, he’d much rather stay at home with his cats.

Emma Roberts costars with him in the movie, directed by Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman, that imagines a smartphone game where players sign up for challenges—the more risks involved, the bigger the cash rewards.

In this age of social media where people obsess over online popularity, “Nerve” taps this subject matter. We asked Dave about the potential of this movie to inspire dangerous copycat stunts.

The fast-rising actor, who’s 31, also talked about his brother James’ total embrace of social media, the household that nurtured three brothers (the other sibling is Tom) to grow up as performers, and his fiancée, actress Alison Brie.

Excerpts from our interview:

How much of a daredevil are you?

I’m pretty boring these days. I used to be much more of a risk-taker, but something happened to me a few years ago. Not to get too dark, but I was on an ATV (all-terrain vehicle), and it flipped. I got thrown off and it almost landed on me. I would have died.

From that moment, I realized I didn’t need to do silly things anymore. I don’t need to put my life at risk. I’m more content just staying in, hanging out with my two cats. For me, a night out is just going to dinner with my friends, as opposed to going to a club.

Have you ever accepted a dare?

We’ve all been dared when we were growing up. The main dares that stick out are when you’re a teenager, mostly like running naked from point A to B. When you’re in middle school, it’s like, “Kiss that girl you like.”

But, you know what? I performed a dare the other day. Emma and I wanted to do some out-of-the-box movie promotion. So, we went around New York City. We were singing in public, just like I do in the movie. I went into the Apple store and belted out the Backstreet Boys’ “I Want It That Way.” It was horrifying and extremely embarrassing.

Emma plays a stranger who suddenly kisses your character. Has any fan tried to kiss you? What’s been your most interesting fan encounter?

I don’t know if anyone has full-on tried to kiss me. A fan encounter that sticks out happened several years ago. I was standing in line for coffee. The guy in front of me turned around and said, “You look like that guy Dave Franco.” I was like, “Oh yeah, I hear that sometimes. What do you think of that guy?” He was like, “Oh, I f***ing hate him.” I was glad I asked.

Among the crazy stunts that your character does, which one would you attempt in real life?

None of them, except singing in public.

The movie asks, “Are you a watcher or a player?” The answer depends on peer pressure—how did it influence you, growing up?

We’re all susceptible to peer pressure when we’re growing up. I’m trying to think if I ever did anything dumb because of it. I’m sure I did, in terms of getting way too drunk at a party. Nothing too crazy.

It wasn’t till after college that I became comfortable with who I was, when I realized that it’s OK if I don’t want to take that extra shot at a party, and they won’t hate me.

FROM left: Dave, James and Tom Franco

How relevant is this movie to these times?

What I like about this movie is that, most young adult movies are set in a dystopian world where everything’s a little elevated. It’s not quite grounded in reality. People talk about how this movie takes place five minutes in the future. They mean that, this game could actually be made any day now.

And because of how obsessed everyone is with social media and instant fame. I’m going off-tangent, but one message that stands out to me is how mean people are when they’re behind a computer screen.

Was there a discussion beforehand that the story might give some people wrong ideas and develop a similar game in real life?

We talked about that, actually. I hope not.

How active are you in social media?

I’m not very connected at all. It terrifies me. The only form of social media that I have is Facebook. That’s just because I started a Facebook page when I was in college. But I’m not very active on it.

The main reason for that is because, as nice as people might be to me online, there’s going to be at least a handful of people who are going to say something negative. I don’t want to invite that negativity into my life on a daily basis.

Let’s talk about the “watchers.” What do you think of the trolls who comment or post because they take advantage of the anonymity?

It’s interesting, because there are so many trolls out there who just say horrible things. If you put them face-to-face with the people they’re saying those mean things to, they’d be such cowards—they wouldn’t say any of the stuff that they type on their computers. It’s sad.

I want to meet some of these trolls. Because I want to know their mindset and why they do that. I guess they feel powerful if they can get under the skin of celebrities.

What do you think is the positive side of social media?

We’re all connected now, which is pretty amazing. You can connect with old friends. I’m traveling all over the world all the time, but I can stay in touch with everyone.

Speaking of social media, your brother James, in dramatic contrast to you, is very active in it.

James is the type of person who doesn’t let negative comments affect him. He puts a lot of his life online and understands that it’s going to be polarizing.

What kind of home nurtured three brothers, who all grew up to become artists?

It was a strange household—and it was amazing, like a weird, artsy Disneyland. My parents (Douglas and Betsy) were both painting majors, so we’ve been around the arts our entire life.

They encouraged us to get into the arts—which isn’t something I take for granted.

Did you aspire to be an actor at a young age?

It came later for me. I was pretty shy growing up. I started acting when I was maybe 19. For a long time, I didn’t like it, because I was so nervous every time I was performing.

The reason I stuck it out is because I wanted to be involved in the movie business any way that I could. You go through so much rejection. I probably got rejected 200 times through the audition process before I got my first role. That helps build a thick skin. It was tough.

What made you fall for your fiancée, Alison Brie?

A lot of things. We have very similar interests. Our friends and families are the most important to us. And she just makes me laugh.

How romantic are you?

I feel like I have a healthy amount of romance in me. For example, when I was in high school, I had a crush on this girl. It was either her birthday or Valentine’s Day. I distributed a rose to each one of her teachers to give to her.

I like to surprise people when I’m with them. And keep things exciting and fresh.

 E-mail [email protected]. Follow him at https://twitter.com/nepalesruben.