James Franco says 'Child of God' is ''ten times darker'' than 'No Country for Old Men'.

The '127 Hours' actor stars in and directs the upcoming film adaptation of Cormac McCarthy's novel of the same name and he's revealed audiences will be shocked to find the film has an even darker theme than the 2007 movie, also based on a novel written by McCarthy.

He said: ''Cormac McCarthy ... who wrote 'The Road' and 'No Country for Old Men', this ['Child of God'] is one of his early books, his third book. 'Child of God', it's very, very dark. If you think 'No Country for Old Men' is dark then this is like ten times darker.''

The 36-year-old star - who has numerous credits as an actor, director and producer to his name - claims he doesn't have an overly dark personality but likes to take on a diverse range of roles.

Quizzed on whether he's a dark person, he told 'Live! with Kelly and Michael': ''Sometimes. I mean, obviously I do comedies and stuff like that, but it's nice to have a little darkness in there every once in a while. Not that I'm an unhappy guy or sit in my house brooding or anything.''