NEW YORK (AP) Actor James Franco is making a conveniently timed return visit to “General Hospital.”

ABC said Wednesday that Franco will appear on the soap opera February 25 and February 28.

Franco is co-hosting the Academy Awards ceremony on ABC with actress Anne Hathaway on February 27.

The actor appears occasionally in the soap opera as an oddball artist named Franco. He made his first appearance in that “General Hospital” role in 2009, and returned for an episode June 30 this year.

He appeared in the movie “Eat Pray Love” this summer and is starring in the thriller “127 Hours.”