James Franco is out and about promoting his new movie Sal, which he wrote, directed and has a small role in, a film about the tragic life of actor Sal Mineo. This is of course the umpteenth gay film Mr. Franco has worked on in some capacity, and in an interview with The Daily Beast someone finally asked Jimmy what the deal was with his fascination with the gays.

Franco responded:

It’s not like it’s my mission to tell the stories of as many gay men as possible, although in some cases, I think it is the point. In "Milk," the point is to show one of the great fighters for equal rights for the gay community, so I was happy to do that. With characters like Allen Ginsberg [in "Howl"], my love for him started with his work when I was a teenager. So his sexuality is secondary to me. It’s an important aspect of who he was and his character, but it wasn’t like, “Yes, I want to play another gay role,” it was more, “Yes, I’d love to play another one of my heroes.”

So there you have it kids, some of James Franco's best heroes are gay.

Sal is in theaters now.

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