James Franco writes an ode to McDonald's

Hollywood actor James Franco has expressed his love for burger chain McDonald's in a newspaper column.

The Spider-Man star has written a piece about the brand for The Washington Post after it was revealed the company suffered a massive slump in sales over the last financial year.

Franco has now come out fighting for the beleaguered fast food chain, declaring his work as a drive-thru operator at one of the firm's outlets in Los Angeles in the early days of his career saved him from ruin and he hopes the company's planned cutbacks will not cost jobs.

He writes, "All I know is that when I needed McDonald's, McDonald's was there for me. When no one else was... In 1996, I moved to Los Angeles from Palo Alto at age 18... I didn't have a car... I had very little work experience... All the waiter jobs were taken by more experienced actor/waiters...

"I went to the nearest Mickey D's and was hired the same day. I was given the late shift drive-thru position. I wore a purple visor and purple polo shirt and took orders over a headset... soon started putting on fake accents with the customers to practise for my scenes in acting class... I had been a vegetarian for a year before working there... But as soon as I got to McDonald's and was paying my own way, I started eating the cheeseburgers that were headed for the trash after being under the warming lamps from more than seven minutes...

"I was treated fairly well at McDonald's. If anything, they cut me slack... When I was hungry for work, they fed the need. I still love the simplicity of the McDonald's hamburger and its salty fries."