Since the 2010s, most of his work has been for television, including shows such as: Rome, The Pacific, The Newsroom, House of Cards, Homeland, The Affair, The Leftovers, 13 Reasons Why, Ray Donovan, Mindhunter and Dahmer.
From there, he acted in a string of guest roles on television shows such as Barnaby Jones; episode titled "Focus on Fear" (January 31, 1980).
[3] Over the years, Franklin's looks have typically landed him roles portraying men of power, such as members of the police force or military officials.
Two years later, NBC's fantasy-science fiction series The Fantastic Journey lasted for 10 episodes, with Franklin as athletic young physician Dr. Fred Walters.
Franklin's longest lasting and most recognizable acting role was his 1983–85 portrayal of Captain Crane on the popular action-adventure series The A-Team.
Switching to television, Franklin directed Laurel Avenue, a two-part miniseries focused on an African-American family in Minnesota for HBO in 1993.
Following Laurel Avenue, Franklin found himself maintaining A-list status, which allowed him to work on bigger and more visible projects, such as 1998's One True Thing.
The film is an adaptation of an autobiographical story by New York journalist Anna Quindlen, following a woman (Renée Zellweger) with no option but to leave Manhattan for the small town where she was raised when her mother (Meryl Streep) is diagnosed with cancer.
After Devil in a Blue Dress, Franklin and Denzel Washington planned to collaborate on a trilogy of films based on the Easy Rawlins character, but this never materialized.
[8] The film was titled Killer Spy, with Nicolas Cage reportedly being courted by the studio for the main role,[9] though Al Pacino was later attached.
[10] In June 1997, it was reported that Franklin had dropped out of directing Brokedown Palace, citing "creative differences" over the casting of the film.
[12] In 1999, Franklin was attached as the director of the sci-fi film The Mothman Prophecies, with Richard Gere starring, before Mark Pellington was chosen.
[15] In 2001, Franklin was announced to direct and produce a film adaptation of the novel Rescue Me, by Gigi Levangie, who sold the rights to Fox Searchlight.
[16] In 2002, it was reported that writer Sid Quashie was tapped by Paramount Pictures to adapt Susan Kelly's 1995 book The Boston Stranglers, with Franklin attached to direct.
[18] In early 2007, Franklin had been attached to direct the legal drama Tulia for Lionsgate Films, starring Halle Berry and Billy Bob Thornton.
Karen Croner wrote the script for the film, based on the Nate Blakeslee book Tulia: Race, Cocaine, and Corruption in a Small Texas Town.
On July 23, 2007, it was reported that Franklin would direct The Maintenance Man, the Screen Gems adaptation of Michael Baisden's novel about a gigolo in existential crisis, set to begin shooting later that year.
[20] On July 31, 2007, it was reported that Franklin would direct Snitch for New Line Cinema, a thriller produced by Guy East and Nigel Sinclair inspired by true events chronicled in a PBS Frontline documentary.
[23] On February 8, 2011, Peter Facinelli was reported to write the script for, star in and co-produce the indie crime drama El Chico Blanco, with Franklin directing.
[26] As of 2015, Franklin was still developing the film, which was then in the process of being cast from a script he wrote himself, based on Peter Guralnick's biography Dream Boogie: The Triumph of Sam Cooke.
"[6] Discussing the realities for black Americans in the television and film industry, Franklin said: "When I came up, the only legitimate dramatic actor was Sidney Poitier, the bankable star was Richard Pryor and the other choice roles were action parts that went to Jim Brown.