Attention all you freaks and geeks out there: one day, you too could become a mobster.

Although he had memorable roles in both Milk and Pineapple Express last year, James Franco is comfortable enough to tackle television once again. But this time around, Franco won’t be appearing in a primetime series. Late next week, the 31-year-old will begin a two-month stint on General Hospital as a mysterious man in black.

In an interview with New York Magazine, the actor explained why a daytime drama seemed appealing.

Well ... I’ve got other ideas for my participation in this soap opera beyond just being in this soap opera. But it’s been a blast so far. It was kind of mind-blowing. I’ve worked one day on it. It’s one day of a few. But I think we packed seven episodes of my material in. They gave me a script for the day that was as thick as a film script and that’s what we planned to shoot in a single day. No ad-libbing. If I needed it, they said they had a TelePrompTer, but the regulars didn’t use it so I didn’t want to use it, either. Anyway, I’m pretty good at remembering lines.

And I’m sure the fact that Franco and Steve Burton (Jason Morgan) share a manager had nothing to do with this decision at all…

Look for James to make his first appearance on November 20.