James Franco made sex tape at 19

James Franco made his own sex tape when he was 19.

The '127 Hours' actor - who is to host this year's Oscars ceremony alongside Anne Hathaway - says appearing in a raunchy home movie made him have more respect for porn stars because he knows from personal experience how hard it is.

Speaking in a discussion held by Newsweek magazine for potential Oscar-nominees, James said: "I think if anybody who has made a home sex tape knows, what feels best doesn't always look best. I remember when I was 19 doing that, and then watching it back and thinking, 'Oh, that looks horrible.' You have a lot of respect for those actors in pornography, because they are really not just doing it, they're really selling it."

This is not the first time James - who has been in a relationship with actress Ahna O'Reilly since 2006 - has been so open about his personal life.

Last year he revealed he masturbates "four or five times a day" because he is alone a lot.

He said: "I spend a fair amount of time alone, especially when I travel for work or whatever, but I'm in hotels a lot for a lot of my life. So, when I'm alone, I do masturbate a lot. I don't know why. It's like you have those days where it's just like, I have a ton of writing to do, or a ton of reading to do, and you're just like, OK, I'm going to be on the couch all day or in bed all day just doing that. I tend to have a four- or five-time day."