My name is James Edward Franco. Ted is a nickname for Edward. That's what my parents called me. I also got 'Teddy Ruxpin' a lot. It just got to a point where I got sick of it so when a teacher called out 'James Franco' my junior year of high school I didn't correct her.

You know what's funny is that I have this ongoing relationship with the city of Washington D.C. I went to George Washington University and my nickname was K-Dub - based on G-Dub - and I'm now on the board of trustees at George Washington University.

My nickname for my mom was 'The Compass.'

My mom God rest her soul - she liked nicknames. In the womb she named me Skip. There was another black guy in Piedmont W.Va. and his name was Skip. They called him Big Skip and I was Little Skip.

A nickname is the heaviest stone that the devil can throw at a man. It is a bugbear to the imagination and though we do not believe in it it still haunts our apprehensions.

I'm an unorthodox type of guy a funny guy - at least I think I'm funny. And one of the things I like to do is come up with nicknames for myself.

I love nicknames. It makes me feel loved. It makes me feel less alone in this world.