10 Actors Who "Stole" Their Performances Off Real People

5. James Franco - Spring Breakers

Who He Plays: Alien, Florida-based rapper and gangster Who He Really Plays: Dangeruss and Riff Raff (allegedly), Florida-based rappers The idea of James Franco even going near the Oscars again is painful to some, but just last year Franco almost found himself on the roster for Best Supporting Actor for his lunatic performance in Spring Breakers. Despite a modest campaign (distributor A24 released a For Your Consideration video entitled 'James Franco - Consider this Sh*t' in a bid to get the actor nominated), Franco didn't make the cut. It was, perhaps, a blessing for Franco and A24 that they didn't get the extra publicity, considering Franco was accused of ripping off a real-life rapper's likeness from top to toe to play the drug-dealing, bling-obsessed Alien. Though Franco claimed the biggest influence was a Florida-based rapper named Dangeruss, another rapper named Riff Raff tried to sue the creators of Spring Breakers for using him as the basis Alien. It becomes more suspicious when you take into account Franco's acknowledgement of Riff Raff's videos as inspiration, or the fact that Breakers director Harmony Korine contacted Riff Raff prior to filming about appearing in the movie.