Hollywood star James Franco may be a straight actor who is not afraid to explore sexuality, but it was not always the way.

The ‘Milk’ actor revealed when he was at school people would spread gay rumors and tease him for being gay, when he wasn’t.

Speaking to MTV News, he said: ‘In high school these girls got mad at me and so they spread this rumor that I was having a gay relationship with one of my closest friends.

‘And they even made up a little dance they would do in the girl’s locker room about me being gay. I still don’t know what the dance was.’

In 2013, Franco says people still talk about his sexuality. He said: ‘If people think that, it’s fine. I really don’t care.’

The actor, who has starred in big-budget movies like 127 Hours and the Spiderman trilogy, is currently promoting his two films at Sundance Film Festival; ‘Kink’ and ‘Interior. Leather Bar.’

Exploring BDSM and homosexuality, Franco has joked they are like ’Fifty Shades of Grey’ for gays.

Franco said: ‘Sex and sexuality are such big parts of our lives – the ways that we define ourselves, the ways that we interact with each other.

‘Everything thinks about it. Everyone knows about it. Even if you insist on living an incredibly chaste life and you’re chaste in your thoughts, that’s a conscious and concerted effort to keep sex from your thoughts.

‘So you’re still engaging with sex even if it’s in a negative capacity. It’s a huge part of our lives. It’s part of being human.