James Franco was "uncomfortable with the attention" of being nominated for an Oscar at the same ceremony he co-hosted.
The 39-year-old actor starred in the survival movie ‘127 Hours’ in 2010 and was nominated for the Best Actor Oscar for his performance as real-life American climber Aron Ralston who had to amputate his own right forearm with a pocketknife when his limb got trapped in a boulder whilst he was scaling a canyon.
Although Franco was very proud to be recognised for his work he readily admits he developed a "fear of losing" which would be further highlighted because he and Anne Hathaway were hosting the 83rd Academy Awards in 2011 at which he was up for the accolade.
Speaking to Variety, Franco said: "At the time I justified it to myself. ‘This will be an experiment. This will be weird.’
"Part of me was so uncomfortable with the attention of being nominated, but also fear of losing, because everybody was talking about Colin Firth."
Franco eventually lost out on the prestigious prize to Firth who won for his portrayal of British monarch King George VI in ‘The King’s Speech’.
As well as losing on the night, Franco was also criticised for his hosting efforts and in hindsight he believes his efforts to be "the straight man" ended up making him "the dead man" next to Hathaway.
He said: "I mean, I shouldn’t have been doing it. Honestly, I think the biggest criticism of me, it seem like I was high or low energy.
"In my head, I was trying to be the straight man. I guess I just went too far or came across as the dead man."
James Franco was uncomfortable with Oscar attention
