Biography

Franco was born in Caracas, Venezuela, and moved to the United States at the age of 3. Currently living in New York City, he frequently flies back to Los Angeles to work and be with family. Franco is a trained actor, studying with instructors from the Lee Strasberg Institute (the Method), Actors Studio Drama School, Anthony Meindl Actor Workshop, Atlantic Theater Company, and the Barrow Group. He is best known for his performances in Delivered (2024), A Close Shave (2025), Noa’s Arc (2022), Thárros (2021), and Magnus Rex (2021). Past theatre credits include Native Gardens at Riverside Theatre in Iowa City, Edgar & Annabel for New Cosmopolitan Ensemble, a developmental workshop of La Aventuras of Juan Planchard under Tony-Award winning Moises Kaufman, and a successful run of his Off-Off Broadway Play, City Rats at the New York Theater Festival, which earned him a best actor nomination. Commercial work includes performances for brands such as Samsung, Golden Corral, Lenovo, and Gilead.

In 2019, he graduated Summa Cum Laude with a degree in Screenwriting and a minor in Sociology from Chapman University’s Dodge College of Film and Media Arts. Through his creative career, Franco has had the opportunity to work with artists such as Leonardo DiCaprio, Anthony Ramos, Pedro Alonso, Jeremy Renner, & Francis Ford Coppola.

Franco is also an award-winning filmmaker. His directorial debut, Ni Aquí Ni Allá (2021), went on a wide festival run, earning screenings at Oscar Qualifying festivals such as the Cleveland International Film Festival. As a screenwriter, Franco has had the pleasure of writing Cybolica (2019) which has gone on to win many awards and is now streaming on DUST’s platform. Franco is currently working on getting Play Next, an independent feature film up and running.

Outside of filmmaking, Franco’s first love was soccer, which he had the privilege to play up to the semi-professional level.
- IMDb mini biography by: Franco Machado-Pesce