John Favreau is an American actor, screenwriter, director and producer. The general public is known for his roles in the films "Party People", "Very Wild Things" and the legendary sitcom "Friends". As a director, he is famous for the Christmas comedy Elf and the blockbusters Iron Man and The Jungle Book. One of the most commercially successful filmmakers of our time.
Childhood and youth
John Favreau was born on October 19, 1966 in Queens, New York. It has Russian, Italian and French-Canadian roots. He graduated from high school in the Bronx, after he entered Queens College. At the same time, he worked in one of the investment banks on Wall Street.
John Favro dropped out a few months before graduation and moved to Chicago, where he joined the troupe of an improvisational theater. At various times, he performed on stage with future comedians Michael Myers and Tim Meadows.
Carier start
In 1993, the young actor was able to get one of the main roles in the sports drama "Rudy". After the release of the film, the film was well received by professional critics, but could not attract the attention of viewers and was unable to return the funds spent on its production based on the results of the rental. Nevertheless, over time, the picture gained cult status.
On the set of Rudy, John met Vince Vaughn, with whom he will work more than once after. In 1994, the actor appeared in the youth comedy "PPU". A year later, he played a cameo in the blockbuster "Batman Forever."
First successes
A big breakthrough was for John Favreau the film "Party People". He wrote the script for the picture and played a major role. The project made the star of John himself, Vince Vaughn, who played a friend of the protagonist, and the young director Doug Lyman.
In 1997, Favreau participated in several episodes of the popular series “Friends” as the guy Monica Geller. A year later, he played one of the main roles in Peter Berg's crime comedy "Very Wild Things."
The actor continued to work actively, every year several films were released with his participation. In 2003, he appeared in the superhero movie Daredevil as Foggy Nelson, but most of the scenes with his participation were cut. They can be found only in the directorial version of the picture.
In 2001, the directorial debut of John Favreau. The actor put the film "Everything is captured" according to his own script, also played a major role. The picture failed at the box office, but received generally positive reviews from critics.
International recognition
In 2003, the second directorial project of John Favreau, the Christmas comedy "Elf" with Will Ferrell in the title role, was released. The project received excellent reviews from critics and collected two hundred and twenty million dollars at the box office.
The next film by John Favreau as a director was the science fiction film Zatura: A Space Adventure. The production budget amounted to sixty-five million dollars, but the film could not return the money spent. Nevertheless, critics again flattered the work of the director, and after years the film gained the status of a cult.
During this period, Favreau became less likely to work as an actor, appearing only in secondary roles. In 2006, it was announced that he would become the director of the movie Iron Man. Released two years later, the blockbuster confidently showed itself at the box office and delighted critics and spectators, marking the beginning of the Marvel movie universe. Two years later, John staged a sequel to the picture, which was accepted a little worse.
Following the success of Iron Man, John Favreau was asked to stage the film Avengers, but he refused in favor of the Cowboys vs. Aliens project. The picture failed at the box office and received mixed reviews from critics. After this unpleasant experience, the director decided to return to the roots and put the comedy "Chef" with him in the lead role. The picture was warmly received by critics and the public.
For some time, there were rumors that John would remove the seventh episode of Star Wars, but the director’s next project was the adaptation of The Jungle Book. The film was released in 2016 and earned a little less than a billion dollars.
Currently, the director is working on a new version of The Lion King, shot using the same technology as The Jungle Book. Also, John Favreau produces the series based on Star Wars. He continues to act in films of the Marvel Cinematic Universe as the bodyguard of Tony Stark - Happy Hogan.
Personal life
John Favreau has been married to physician Joya Till since 2000. The couple has three children - a son and two daughters. In his spare time, John prefers to play board role-playing games, and also enjoys poker.