In 2001, he made his film directorial debut with another self-penned screenplay, Made. 2001–2015: Actor–director įavreau at an Iron Man photocall in Mexico City, April 2008 Favreau appeared in 2000's The Replacements as maniacal linebacker Daniel Bateman, and that same year he played himself in The Sopranos episode "D-Girl", as a Hollywood director who feigns interest in developing mob associate Christopher Moltisanti's screenplay in order to collect material for his own screenplay. He later appeared in Love & Sex (2000), co-starring Famke Janssen. In 1999, he starred in the television film Rocky Marciano, based on the life of world heavyweight champion, Rocky Marciano. įavreau landed the role of Gus Partenza in Deep Impact (1998), and that same year rejoined Piven in Very Bad Things (1998). Favreau made appearances in the sketch-comedy series, Tracey Takes On. In 1997, he appeared on the television sitcom Friends, portraying Pete Becker – Monica Geller's millionaire boyfriend who competes in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) – for several episodes. įavreau then moved to Los Angeles, where he made his breakthrough in 1996 as an actor-screenwriter with the film Swingers, which was also Vaughn's breakthrough role as the character Trent Walker, a foil to Favreau's heartbroken Mike Peters. The next year, he appeared in the college film PCU alongside Jeremy Piven, and the 1994 episode of Seinfeld titled " The Fire" as Eric the Clown. Favreau met Vince Vaughn – who played a small role in this film – during shooting. While in Chicago, Favreau landed his first film role alongside Sean Astin as tutor D-Bob in the sleeper hit Rudy (1993). He performed at several Chicago improvisational theaters, including the ImprovOlympic and the Improv Institute. He dropped out of college for good (a few credits shy of completing his degree), and in the summer of 1988, moved to Chicago to pursue a career in comedy. He briefly worked for Bear Stearns on Wall Street before returning to Queens College for a semester in early 1988. His friend from college, Mitchell Pollack, said that Favreau went by the nickname "Johnny Hack" because of his abilities in the game Hacky Sack. įavreau graduated from The Bronx High School of Science, a school for gifted students, in 1984 and attended Queens College from 1984 to 1987, before dropping out. However, following his mother's death, both sides of his family worked to ensure he had a Bar Mitzvah ceremony. Favreau dropped out of Hebrew school to pursue acting. His mother was Jewish (of Russian-Jewish descent), and his father is a Catholic of Italian and French-Canadian ancestry. Jonathan Kolia Favreau was born in Flushing, Queens, New York on October 19, 1966, the only child of Madeleine, an elementary school teacher who died of leukemia in 1979, and Charles Favreau, a special education teacher.
He produces films under his production company banner, Fairview Entertainment, and also presents the television cooking series The Chef Show. He also serves as a director and executive producer for its spin-off series The Book of Boba Fett. Favreau is the creator of the Star Wars Disney+ original series The Mandalorian (2019–present) as well as one of its executive producers and directors. He has also directed the films Elf (2003), Zathura: A Space Adventure (2005), Cowboys & Aliens (2011), Chef (2014), The Jungle Book (2016), and The Lion King (2019).
He also served as an executive producer for, and/or appeared as the character in, the films The Avengers (2012), Iron Man 3 (2013), Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015), Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017), Avengers: Infinity War (2018), Avengers: Endgame (2019), Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019), and Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021). He directed, produced, and appeared as Happy Hogan in the films Iron Man (2008) and Iron Man 2 (2010). As an actor, Favreau has appeared in the films Rudy (1993), PCU (1994), Swingers (1996), Very Bad Things (1998), Deep Impact (1998), The Replacements (2000), Daredevil (2003), The Break-Up (2006), Four Christmases (2008), Couples Retreat (2009), I Love You, Man (2009), The Wolf of Wall Street (2013), Chef (2014), and films created by Marvel Studios.Īs a filmmaker, Favreau has been significantly involved with the Marvel Comics franchise. Jonathan Kolia Favreau ( / ˈ f æ v r oʊ/ born October 19, 1966) is an American actor, comedian and filmmaker.