UPDATED: Sept. 14 at 4:39 p.m.

Two James Francos walk into Goldstein Auditorium. One is a world-famous actor. The other, a junior political science and history double major at Syracuse University.

It’s not just the start of a cheesy joke. It’s the reality of Saturday’s event in Schine Student Center, where Franco the actor will speak at 8 p.m. as part of Orange Central 2016.

As part of the Student Association’s finance board, Franco first caught wind of the event back in the spring. When the show was announced on Aug. 28, Franco immediately started cracking jokes:

Finally the Great War for the true title of James Franco can happen https://t.co/9krRYLBbYR

— James Franco (@JaFra23) August 28, 2016

“Two James Francos come, only one’s gonna leave Syracuse.”

“There can only be one ownership to the name.”

And then, Franco started thinking about how he could catch the star’s attention and bring up their shared name. He and friends have tossed around ideas, like bringing a sign to the show or creating a Twitter campaign.

“Either way, I have to somehow bring it up to him,” Franco said.

It’s fitting that Franco will meet the man who shares his name now that he’s in college. Franco said he surprisingly didn’t hear much about his famous name throughout middle and high school. But that all changed when he got to college and introduced himself at his first floor meeting.

“All the classic jokes I’ve ever heard over the past 10 years were all in that one moment,” Franco said.

It’s not just other students who were cracking jokes. When Franco first applied to be part of Syracuse University Ambulance last year, SUA supervisor Eric Harris didn’t even think Franco was a real person. Since then, the senior biochemistry major has gotten to know Franco far beyond his name.

Franco knows everyone on campus, or at least seems to, Harris said. He described him as funny, out there, positive and welcoming — an all-around great guy.

Franco works as an EMT for SUA, which he calls “the best organization on campus.” It’s a place where he gets to make an impact daily.

“There’s no better feeling than being a driver and flipping on the sirens,” Franco said. “There’s nothing like it.”

Franco comes from a family of police officers, so he said he’s always liked the idea of first responding. He even considered following in his father’s and uncle’s footsteps and going into law enforcement himself.

With his family’s encouragement, he decided to pursue another side of criminal justice: prosecution. He’ll be the first man in his family to get a college degree, and will continue his education at law school.

Franco’s desire to make an impact on campus also led him to Student Association. Before he even arrived on campus as a freshman, Franco emailed the SA president to find out how he could get involved. Since then, he’s worked alongside longtime SA member and current president Eric Evangelista, serving on the student life and administrative operations committees and spending part of last year as parliamentarian.

“He stepped down actually in that position to serve as an EMT, which I think speaks to his character,” said Evangelista, a senior history and political science double major. “It really exemplifies his generosity.”

Franco couldn’t stay away from SA for long. Describing him as generous with his time, energy and motivation, Evangelista said he had to ask Franco to come back to SA.

At the end of the year, Franco said he’s planning to run for a SA position. It may be a time when the Franco name works to his advantage, though he isn’t always so sure.

“At first, I thought it was a curse, and at times I think it’s a curse,” Franco said.

But there are times when Franco crosses his fingers and hopes the recognizable name gives him an edge. When he’s applying for a job or for law school, running for public office or for student government, James Franco will stand out more than Joe Smith. And like it was in his first floor meeting, Franco said his name is a great icebreaker.

But Franco’s not letting his famous name get in the way of making a name for himself.

CORRECTION: In a previous version of this article, the date actor James Franco would be speaking at SU as a part of Orange Central 2016 was misstated. Franco will be speaking on Saturday, Sept. 17. The Daily Orange regrets this error.

Published on September 13, 2016 at 8:59 pm

Contact Kathryn: kjkrawcz@syr.edu | @kathrynkrawczyk