James Franco to play a gay activist who denounces homosexuality in his next movie 'I Am Michael'

Los Angeles: Actor James Franco, who features in "I Am Michael", about a gay activist who denounces homosexuality to become a Christian pastor, feels films that raise relevant questions in the society, are important.

In "I Am Michael", Franco stars alongside Emma Roberts and Zachary Quinto.

"There's the coming out narrative, the fighting for rights narrative, the closeted secret affair narrative, like we saw in 'Brokeback Mountain'. All of these films are very important, but not every movie needs to be like that. Once those stories are told, we can tell unexpected ones that might challenge us or make us uncomfortable in some ways," Franco told BlackBook magazine, reports femalefirst.co.uk.

"What I think is so innovative about 'I Am Michael' is that we're watching a man go in an unexpected direction, and that direction brings up a lot of questions about identity, and what identity consists of, and how it's defined, and who gets to decide. And this film tackles faith versus sexuality, and the tensions there, in an important way," he added.

Directed by Justin Kelly, "I Am Michael" is based on a New York Times Magazine article "My Ex-Gay Friend" by Benoit Denizet-Lewis.