Swingers

Background:

“Acting is the most fun. I like to do it and it's great that I can still do that, but you know, you don't really have a lot of control over things, so it's real hit or miss.” Jon Favreau

American actor, director, writer and producer Jon Favreau is probably best known as the star and writer of “Swingers” (1996), a low-budget indie comedy that went on to become one of the year's biggest sleeper hits. The film, about a group of wannabe actors in L.A., created star-making roles for himself and his frequent collaborator and close friend, Vince Vaughn, and brought Favreau a Florida Film Critics Circle Award. Other big screen credits include his feature debut, “Folks” (1992), “Rudy” (1993), “PCU” (1994), “Batman Forever” (1995), “Dogtown” (1997), “Very Bad Things” (1998), “The Replacements” (2000), “Love & Sex” (2000), “Daredevil” (2003), “Something's Gotta Give” (2003), “Wimbledon” (2004), “The Break-Up” (2006) and the animated film “Open Season” (2006, voice of Reilly). He has also acted in several small screen projects, including the Showtime film “Rocky Marciano” and in such series as “Seinfeld” and “Chicago Hope” (both 1994) and “Friends” (1997). Favreau was nominated for an Emmy for Outstanding Nonfiction Series for his work in “Dinner for Five” (2001), a television series he produced and hosted for the Independent Film Channel.

Behind the camera, Favreau made his debut as a movie director with the attention-getting film “Made” (2001), which he also wrote, co-produced and starred in alongside Vaughn. He scored a box office hit with the sophomore effort “Elf” (2003), starring Will Ferrell. He also helmed “Zathura: A Space Adventure” (2005) and is now working on “Iron Man” (2008). Favreau is set to write and produce the upcoming animated movie “Neanderthals” (2009).

As for his private life, Favreau has been married to Joya Tillem since 2000. They have three young children, Max, Madelaine and Brighton Rose. The 6' 2” entertainer and alumnus of Chicago's ImprovOlympic is a huge fan of Kevin Smith, whom he has mentioned at many occasions as his inspiration. He also idolizes Robert Englund.

Favs

Childhood and Family:

The only son of Charles Favreau, a special-education teacher, and Madeleine, a schoolteacher who died of leukemia in 1978, Jonathan K. Favreau, whose nickname is Favs, was born on October 19, 1966, in Queens, New York. His father was of Italian-American heritage and his mother was Jewish. Jon was educated at the reputable Bronx High School of Science and graduated in 1984. He went on to attend Queens College in Flushing, New York, but left after studying for three years in 1987. After working for Bear Stearns on Wall Street, he returned to Queens College for a semester in early 1988 but dropped out in order to pursue a career in comedy in Chicago. There he studied under the guidance of Del Close at the Improv Olympics.

On November 24, 2000, Jon married Joya Tillem. The happy couple welcomed their first child, Max Favreau, on July 25, 2001. Their daughters, Madelaine and Brighton Rose Favreau, were born in April 2003 and on August 29, 2006, respectively.

Director of Elf

Career:

After dropping out of college, Jon Favreau performed at several improvisational theaters, such as the ImprovOlympic and the Improv Institute. Inspiring to become an actor after watching Chris Farley, Favreau perfected his craft at dinner theater productions like “Twelve Angry Men” before making a break into the big screen with a bit part as a Chicago taxi driver on “Folks” (1992), an unsatisfying comedy starring Tom Selleck. He resurfaced a year later with success when he landed a second lead as the dumpy tutor D-Bob on the classic sleeper hit “Rudy” (1993), opposite Sean Astin who was cast in the title role. It was during shooting that he met future collaborator Vince Vaughn, who had a small role in the biographical film. After appearing in the college film “PCU” (1994), directed by Hart Bochner and starring Jeremy Piven and Chris Young, Favreau ventured to the small screen as a guest star in the series “Seinfeld” and “Chicago Hope” (both 1994) and returned to film later that same year with the Alan Rudolph-directed biopic “Mrs. Parker and the Vicious Circle.”

Favreau began lifting weights, lost 75 pounds and hung out in the “cocktail nation” of the L.A. club circuit. He took on small roles in movies such as “Batman Forever” and “Notes From the Underground” (both 1995). It was not until a year later that Favreau finally hit the big time when his script was made into a feature film by director Doug Liman. The result, “Swingers,” based on Favreau's own experience as well as his friends', received courteous reviews and became an arthouse hit despite being made with a small budget. Aside from writing the script, he also starred as Mike Peters, alongside Vince Vaughn as his on screen buddy, Trent Walker, and took home a Florida Film Critics Circle for Newcomer of the Year, shared with Liman.

Thanks to the success of “Swingers,” Favreau subsequently emerged as an in-demand actor and writer. He picked up the role of Ezra Good, a racist who tormented Mary Stuart Masterson, in writer/director George Hickenlooper's “Dogtown” (1997) and worked with Vaughn on developing an unconventional Western called “The Marshal of Revelation.” Favreau also had a recurring role as Pete Becker, a millionaire software developer who romanced Monica (played by Courteney Cox), on the NBC popular sitcom “Friends.”

Next up for Favreau, he was chosen to star as a soon-to-be married man, Kyle Fisher, on actor-turned-director Peter Berg's “Very Bad Things” (1998), a black comedy which went on to earn mixed reviews. He then portrayed the legendary boxer “Rocky Marciano” on the made-for-TV film of the same name (1999), was cast opposite Keanu Reeves in the football comedy “The Replacements” (2000) and starred in the romantic comedy “Love & Sex” (also 2000), which was screened at the Sundance Film Festival. The busy actor rejoined Janssen and close friend Vaughn for “Made” (2001), the largely improvised crime comedy which he wrote, directed and co-produced. He also provided the voice of Crumford Lorak for episodes of the animated TV series “Buzz Lightyear of Star Command” (2000) and served as host and producer for the Independent Film Channel “Dinner for Five” (2001), a candid conference program featuring fellow actors and filmmakers.

Favreau's next major screen role came in 2003 when he was cast alongside Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner in the comic book super hero film “Daredevil,” portraying Foggy Nelson. The same year, he also teamed up with Jack Nicholson, Diane Keaton, Keanu Reeves, Frances McDormand and Amanda Peet in the comedy hit “Something's Gotta Give” and returned to the director's chair with commercial triumph for the blockbuster holiday comedy “Elf,” starring Will Ferrell. He recalled, “I wanted to do a Christmas movie. I had been offered 'Surviving Christmas' (2004) and I opted not to pursue that one any further. And then 'Elf' (2003) came along and I thought it really plays into my sensibilities. I thought the one thing about Will Ferrell that I had not seen him do a lot was show his heart as a person and a performer. In developing the script, although it was edgy and irreverent at times, I wanted to keep it a PG movie, not a PG-13 movie that made fun of Christmas.”

After finely playing insensitive sports agent Ron Roth in the Kirsten Dunst-Paul Bettany vehicle “Wimbledon” (2004), Favreau directed Tim Robbins, Kristen Stewart, Jonah Bobo and Josh Hutcherson in the sci-fi film “Zathura: A Space Adventure” (2005), which was based on the book by Chris Van Allsburg. The movie, however, did not receive the same success as “Elf.” He then teamed up with Vaughn to co-star in the comedy film “The Break-Up” (2006), which also starred Jennifer Aniston, and voiced Reilly for the animated comedy “Open Season” (also 2006). 2006 also saw the actor make guest appearances on the TV series “Monk,” as Dr. Oliver Bloom, and “My Name is Earl,” as Mr. Patrick.

Favreau announced in 2006 that he would be sitting in the director's chair for the wide screen version of the comic book “Iron Man.” Starring Robert Downey Jr., Terrence Howard, Gwyneth Paltrow and Jeff Bridges, among others, the film will be released on May 2, 2008. He also serves as producer and writer for the upcoming animation film “Neanderthals” (2009).

Awards:

• Florida Film Critics Circle: Newcomer of the Year, Swingers, 1997 (shared with Doug Liman)