Carl Franklin facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Carl Franklin
Franklin in 1977
Born	Carl Michael Franklin (1949-04-11) April 11, 1949 (age 76) Richmond, California, U.S.
Education	University of California, Berkeley (BA) American Film Institute (MFA)
Occupation	Film director, television director, actor, screenwriter, producer
Years active	1973–present

Carl Franklin, born on April 11, 1949, is an American filmmaker and a former actor. He is known for directing many movies and TV shows. Carl studied at the University of California, Berkeley. Later, he earned a special degree in directing from the AFI Conservatory in 1986.

Some of the movies he directed include One False Move, Devil in a Blue Dress, and High Crimes. In recent years, he has mostly worked on popular TV shows. These include Rome, The Pacific, House of Cards, Homeland, and Dahmer.

Carl Franklin's Early Life

Carl Franklin grew up in Richmond, California. He never met his biological father, who passed away before Carl was born. His mother and stepfather raised him.

Growing up, Carl faced challenges. These challenges made him want to be the first in his family to go to college. He earned a scholarship to the University of California, Berkeley. At first, Carl wanted to be a teacher or a lawyer. So, he studied history.

After two years, he changed his mind. He decided to study theater arts instead. Carl focused on his studies. He did not join the many protests happening at Berkeley at that time. He later said it felt like a dream to him. He wasn't "sophisticated enough" to join a specific movement.

Becoming an Actor

After college, Carl started his acting career in theater. His first play was Timon of Athens at The Public Theater. He also acted in In the Belly of the Beast at the Mark Taper Forum.

He performed in the New York Shakespeare Festival. There, he appeared in plays like Twelfth Night and Cymbeline.

Carl began acting on screen in 1973. His first film was Five on the Black Hand Side. After that, he had many guest roles on TV shows. These included Barnaby Jones, The Rockford Files, Good Times, and The Incredible Hulk. Carl often played roles like police officers or military officials.

Between 1975 and 1985, Carl was a regular actor in four TV series. In 1975, he played police sergeant Mark Walters in Caribe. This show aired for 13 episodes. Two years later, he was Dr. Fred Walters in The Fantastic Journey. This science fiction show lasted 10 episodes.

He then starred as police detective Jerry Cross in McClain's Law (1981–82). This show had 14 episodes. Carl's most famous acting role was Captain Crane. He played this character on The A-Team from 1983 to 1985.

Directing Movies and TV Shows

Carl was inspired by low-budget films from the 1980s. Because of this, he enrolled at the AFI Conservatory in Los Angeles in 1986. After finishing his master's program, he got a job with producer-director Roger Corman in 1989.

Working at Concord Films, Carl gained experience with low-budget movies. He helped make six films in just two years. From 1989 to 1990, he worked on Nowhere to Run, Eye of the Eagle 2: Inside the Enemy, and Full Fathom Five.

Later, producer Jesse Beaton was looking for a director for a film called One False Move. She remembered Carl's short film, Punk. Carl's ideas for the script turned it into an intense thriller. The film had a budget of $2 million. This allowed him to be creative.

The original version of One False Move (released in 1991) was seen as very intense. Carl explained that he wanted the audience to feel the emotional loss of life. He wanted them to understand the real sadness and violation of humanity.

Even without much advertising, One False Move became popular by word of mouth. It received many positive reviews. Film critic Gene Siskel named it the Best Film of the Year. The National Review Board also called it one of the 10 Best Films of 1992.

Carl then worked with producers Jonathan Demme and Jesse Beaton. They adapted Walter Mosley's novel Devil in a Blue Dress. Carl directed and wrote the screenplay for the film. It starred Denzel Washington as Ezekiel "Easy" Rawlins.

Carl also directed for television. In 1993, he directed Laurel Avenue. This was a two-part miniseries for HBO. It focused on an African-American family in Minnesota.

After Laurel Avenue, Carl worked on bigger projects. These included the 1998 film One True Thing. This movie is based on a true story. It follows a woman (Renée Zellweger) who must care for her mother (Meryl Streep) after she is diagnosed with cancer.

Carl went on to direct High Crimes, starring Morgan Freeman and Ashley Judd. He also directed Out of Time, which again starred Denzel Washington. Since then, Carl has mostly directed for television.

He has worked on two series produced by Steven Spielberg. He directed the first episode of Falling Skies. He also directed an episode of the World War II drama The Pacific. Carl has also worked with David Fincher. He directed four episodes each of House of Cards and Mindhunter.

Carl directed several episodes of the HBO series The Leftovers. His many TV directing credits also include Rome, The Newsroom, Homeland, Ray Donovan, and Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story.

Projects That Didn't Happen

Carl Franklin has been attached to direct many projects that never came to be. After Devil in a Blue Dress, he and Denzel Washington planned more films about the Easy Rawlins character. However, these films were never made.

In 1997, Carl left the film Brokedown Palace due to creative differences. He was also set to direct The Mothman Prophecies and a remake of A Star Is Born. None of these projects moved forward with him as director.

He also had plans to direct a film about singer Sam Cooke and a biopic about rapper Tupac Shakur. In 2023, Carl said he would still like to make a feature film based on his short film Punk.

Carl Franklin's Views on Race in Film

Carl Franklin has said he is interested in the "universal values of the black experience." He has also spoken about the challenges for Black Americans in the film industry. He noted that when he started, there were few leading roles for Black actors. He mentioned that even talented actors struggled to find good parts.

Personal Life

Carl Franklin is married to film producer Jesse Beaton. Jesse Beaton produced his film One False Move (1992).

Filmography

Film

Short film

Feature film

Acting roles

Television

Director

Acting roles

Guest appearances

Awards and Nominations