James Franco – who revealed last month he has split from his long-term girlfriend Ahna O'Reilly – "feels bad" about not spending as much time with loved ones as he could have because he's been "overworking" himself with his career and studies at several universities.

The '127 Hours' actor explained: "I have a lot of faults. I do overload myself and I feel bad sometimes that I can't be emotionally available or around as much as maybe some people would want me to and it's kind of made relationships hard sometimes, and I do feel bad about that."

"I guess I'll have a few more years of overworking myself and then maybe I'll settle down."

The 33-year-old hunk takes his university classes "very seriously" as they are good for his "soul", though he admits it has meant he has rejected a number of acting opportunities.
He added in an interview with 2Day FM's Kyle and Jackie O Show: "The funny thing is I'm at school now more than ever so I do get a lot of opportunities but I have to turn a lot of them down because I do take school very seriously."

"I've finished film school at New York University and writing school at Columbia and now I'm studying to get a PhD in literature at Yale. It helps my soul. It distracts me so I don’t have to worry."

James revealed recently that 'Forgetting Sarah Marshall' actress Ahna ended their five-year relationship because his studying took up too much time.

He said: "It's over. That lasted about four or five years. We'd been living together in Los Angeles and then came to New York to go to school for two years. Then I signed up for more school at Yale. I think that was it for her."