Franco Baldwin is a fictional character from General Hospital, an American soap opera on the ABC network. James Franco originated the character in November 2009, after seeking out a soap opera role. He continued to portray the character in intermittent guest stints through January 2012. The character of Franco is a multi-media artist and serial killer who becomes fixated on Jason Morgan, a known hitman. Franco terrorizes Jason, along with his friends and family. Jason supposedly kills Franco in January 2012, after Franco allegedly rapes Jason's wife Sam. The character is mentioned often after his alleged death, and for a time it was believed that he was Jason's twin brother. In May 2013, Roger Howarth assumed the role when the character was revealed to be alive. Franco's return brought about the revelation that his biological parents are Scott Baldwin and Heather Webber. In March 2021, the character was written off after being fatally shot by Peter August.

James Edward Franco is an American actor and filmmaker. He has starred in numerous films, including Sam Raimi's Spider-Man trilogy (2002–2007), Milk (2008), Eat Pray Love (2010), Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011), Spring Breakers (2012), and Oz the Great and Powerful (2013). He is known for his collaborations with fellow actor Seth Rogen, having appeared in eight films and one television series with him, examples being Pineapple Express (2008), This Is the End (2013), Sausage Party (2016), and The Disaster Artist (2017), for which he won a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor. For his role in 127 Hours (2010), he was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actor.