By Delinda Lombardo on
Spiderman 3 co-stars James Franco and Kirsten Dunst were in attendance for The Art of Elysium's 4th Annual Black Tie “Heaven” Charity Gala on Saturday (January 15) at the California Science Center in Los Angeles, where Franco brought awareness to a whole new level.
After receiving the Spirit of Elysium award for his role in the nonprofit charity that encourages young actors to involve themselves with children who are facing life-threatening illnesses, Franco shared insight into his personal growth and explained the pivotal role Dunst played in it:
“I was in a movie called Spiderman 3 and working with Kirsten Dunst and she said, ‘you know I volunteer with this group called Art of Elysium’ and she said come help out,” said Franco during his acceptance speech. “It was funny because I was seeing a therapist at the time, I saw him for like a month, and I told him I just wanted to find a place where I could give back. I didn’t know what I could give. All I did was act and I didn’t want to teach that. And so then Kirsten said that there was this organization that worked with artists to make good of doing with they do and it was a place where they can help someone.”
“I started volunteering at All Saints Hospital. Art of Elysium really saved my life. There’s nothing better than giving back,” he added.

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Earlier in the week, Dunst attended Bulgari’s benefit for Save the Children & Artists for Peace and Justice.
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