Jon Favreau
Birthdate: Oct 19, 1966
Birthplace: Queens, New York City, New York, USA
Jon Favreau (birth name: Jonathan Kolia Favreau) has made a rare career shift from comedy actor in wide-audience studio movies (often with stars Vince Vaughn and Paul Rudd) to director/writer/producer of large-scale non-comedies, including several Marvel Cinematic Universe and Star Wars movies. Favreau did launch his filmmaking work in comedies, first as director/writer/producer/star of Made (2001), co-starring Vaughn (who also produced), Peter Falk, Sean Combs, Famke Janssen, and Vincent Pastore, photographed by Christopher Doyle, and released by Artisan Entertainment (U.S.)/Summit Entertainment (International).
Favreau’s second comedy as director—and what made him an in-demand Hollywood filmmaker--was the beloved Christmas movie, Elf (2003), starring Will Ferrell, James Caan, Zooey Deschanel, Mary Steenburgen, Ed Asner and Bob Newhart, produced by the company Guy Walks Into a Bar and delivering a smashing $229 million theatrical gross (based on estimated costs)—before its long, lucrative post-theatrical life for New Line Cinema. Favreau directed the Jumanji spinoff, Zathura: A Space Adventure (2005), adapted from Chris Van Allsburg’s 2002 children’s book by co-writers David Koepp and John Kamps, with Josh Hutcherson, Jonah Bobo, Dax Shepard, Kristen Stewart, and Tim Robbins, grossing $65 million for Columbia Pictures/Sony Pictures Releasing.
Jon Favreau notably directed the first MCU movie (and appeared for the first time as Harold “Happy” Hogan) with Iron Man (2008), starring Robert Downey Jr., Terrence Howard, Jeff Bridges, Gwyneth Paltrow, Leslie Bibb, and Shaun Toub, produced by Avi Arad and Kevin Feige via Marvel Studios, and grossing a knockout $585.8 million for Paramount Pictures. Favreau followed this as director of the sequel, Iron Man 2 (2010), written by actor Justin Theroux, with new cast members Don Cheadle, Scarlett Johansson, Sam Rockwell, Mickey Rourke, and Samuel L. Jackson, and delivering $624 million for Marvel Studios/Paramount Pictures.
Favreau was director of the DreamWorks Pictures/Universal Pictures/Imagine Entertainment hybrid sci-fi western, Cowboys & Aliens (2011), starring Daniel Craig, Harrison Ford, Olivia Wilde, Sam Rockwell, Adam Beach and Paul Dano, also produced by Reliance Entertainment/Relativity Media/K/O Paper Products/Fairview Entertainment/Platinum Studios, but grossing a disappointing $174.8 million return (based on estimated costs). Favreau starred in his second movie as director/writer/producer, Chef (2014), co-starring Sofia Vergara, John Leguizamo, Scarlett Johansson, Dustin Hoffman, Oliver Platt, Bobby Cannavale, Amy Sedaris, and Robert Downey Jr., and earned a terrific $46 million (based on estimated costs) for Open Road Films (U.S.)/Lionsgate (U.K.).
Jon Favreau was the director/producer of his first movie, blending live-action and photorealistic animation for a highly successful remake of Disney’s The Jungle Book (2016), starring Bill Murray, Ben Kingsley, Idris Elba, Lupita Nyong’o, Scarlett Johansson, Giancarlo Esposito, and Christopher Walken, delivering nearly $967 million for distributor Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures and winning the Oscar for visual effects. Favreau continued as director/producer in the same vein of a Disney classic remake with photorealist animation and Favreau’s most commercially successful movie, The Lion King (2019), written by Jeff Nathanson, starring Daniel Glover, Seth Rogen, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Alfre Woodard, John Kani, John Oliver, Beyonce Beyoncé Knowles-Carter and James Earl Jones, grossing a blockbuster $1.66 billion (based on the estimated budget), the highest grossing animated movie on record as of 2019 until 2024.
Favreau continued at Disney and entered the Star Wars universe as director/co-writer/producer of the big-screen expansion of Disney+’s streaming series, Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu (2026), produced (in part) by Kathleen Kennedy, starring Pedro Pascal, Jeremy Allen White, Brendan Wayne, Lateef Crowder, and Sigourney Weaver, and which was released by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures.
Favreau was a busy actor before he dove into filmmaking, acting in significant roles in largely studio movies with Rudy (1993), PCU (1994), his breakout turn in Swingers (1996), Very Bad Things (1998), Deep Impact (1998), The Replacements (2000), Daredevil (2003), The Break-Up (2006), Four Christmases (2008), Iron Man (2008), Couples Retreat (2009), I Love You, Man (2009), Iron Man 2 (2010), John Carter (2012), People Like Us (2012), Iron Man 3 (2013), Martin Scorsese’s The Wolf of Wall Street (2013), Chef (2014), Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017), and then continuing his ongoing Marvel Cinematic Universe character Harold “Happy” Hogan in Avengers: Endgame (2019), Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019), Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021) and Deadpool & Wolverine (2024).
Jon Favreau Photos and Videos
Personal life
Jon Favreau was born and raised in Flushing, Queens, New York City, by his parents, Madeleine (elementary school teacher) and Charles (special education teacher). Favreau dropped out of his Hebrew school, but graduated from The Bronx High School of Science in 1984, and then also dropped out of Queens College in 1988. Favreau has been married to Joya Tillem since 2000; the couple has three children, Madeleine, Brighton, and Max. Favreau’s height is 6’ 1”. Favreau’s estimated net worth is $200 million.
Known For
Jon Favreau Movies
actor
Upcoming (1)
Previous (45)
- 2024 |
Deadpool & Wolverine
asHappy Hogan
Deadpool is offered a place in the Marvel Cinematic Universe by the Time Variance Authority, but instead recruits a variant of Wolverine to save his universe from extinction.
- 2021 |
Spider-Man: No Way Home
asHappy Hogan
With Spider-Man's identity now revealed, Peter asks Doctor Strange for help. When a spell goes wrong, dangerous foes from other worlds start to appear.
- 2019 |
Spider-Man: Far from Home
asHappy Hogan
Peter Parker, the beloved superhero Spider-Man, faces four destructive elemental monsters while on holiday in Europe. Soon, he receives help from Mysterio, a fellow hero with mysterious origins.
- 2018 |
Solo: A Star Wars Story
asRio Durant
During an adventure in the criminal underworld, Han Solo meets his future co-pilot Chewbacca and Lando Calrissian years before joining the Rebel Alliance.
- 2017 |
Spider-Man: Homecoming
asHappy Hogan
Peter Parker tries to stop Adrian 'The Vulture' Toomes from selling weapons made with advanced Chitauri technology while trying to balance his life as an ordinary high school student.
- 2016 |
- 2016 |
The Jungle Book
asPygmy Hog
After a threat from the tiger Shere Khan forces him to flee the jungle, a man-cub named Mowgli embarks on a journey of self discovery with the help of panther Bagheera and free-spirited bear Baloo.
- 2014 | After the Fair: The Legacy of the 1964-65 New York World's Fair
- 2014 | Chefas Carl Casper
- 2013 |
The Wolf of Wall Street
asManny Riskin
Based on the true story of Jordan Belfort, from his rise to a wealthy stock-broker living the high life to his fall involving crime, corruption and the federal government.
- 2013 |
Iron Man 3
asHappy Hogan
When Tony Stark's world is torn apart by a formidable terrorist called the Mandarin, he starts an odyssey of rebuilding and retribution.
- 2013 |
Identity Thief
asHarold Cornish
Mild mannered businessman Sandy Patterson travels from Denver to Florida to confront the deceptively harmless looking woman who has been living it up after stealing Sandy's identity.
- 2012 |
People Like Us
asRichards
While settling his recently deceased father's estate, a salesman discovers he has a sister whom he never knew about, leading both siblings to re-examine their perceptions about family and life choices.
- 2011 | Cowboys & Aliens
- 2010 | Brother's Justice
- 2010 | Iron Man 2
- 2010 |
Iron Man 2
asHappy Hogan
With the world now aware of his identity as Iron Man, Tony Stark must contend with both his declining health and a vengeful mad man with ties to his father's legacy.
- 2009 | Couples Retreatas Joey
- 2009 |
Couples Retreat
asJoey
A comedy centered around four couples who settle into a tropical-island resort for a vacation. While one of the couples is there to work on the marriage, the others fail to realize that participation in the resort's therapy sessions is not optional.
- 2009 | I Love You, Manas Barry
- 2008 | Four Christmasesas Denver
- 2008 |
- 2008 |
- 2006 | Wild West Comedy Show: 30 Days & 30 Nights - Hollywood to the Heartland
- 2006 | Open Seasonas Reilly
- 2006 |
Open Season
asReilly
Boog, a domesticated 900lb. Grizzly bear, finds himself stranded in the woods 3 days before Open Season. Forced to rely on Elliot, a fast-talking mule deer, the two form an unlikely friendship and must quickly rally other forest animals if they are to form a rag-tag army against ... Read all
- 2006 | The Break-Upas Johnny O
- 2006 |
The Break-Up
asJohnny O
A couple's break-up proceeds to get uglier and nastier by the moment as each tries to keep their luxurious condo from the other.
- 2004 | Wimbledonas Ron Roth
- 2003 | The Big Emptyas John Person
- 2003 | Something's Gotta Giveas Leo
- 2003 |
Something’s Gotta Give
asLeo
A swinger on the cusp of being a senior citizen with a taste for young women falls in love with an accomplished woman closer to his age.
- 2003 | Daredevilas Franklin 'Foggy' Nelson
- 2002 | The First $20 Million Is Always the Hardest
- 2001 | Madeas Bobby
- 2000 | Love & Sexas Adam Levy
- 2000 | The Replacementsas Bateman
- 1998 | Very Bad Thingsas Kyle Fisher
- 1998 | Deep Impactas Gus Partenza
- 1996 | Persons Unknownas Terry
- 1995 | Notes from Undergroundas Zerkov
- 1996 | Swingersas Mike
- 1995 |
Batman Forever
asAssistant
Batman must battle former district attorney Harvey Dent, who is now Two-Face and Edward Nygma, The Riddler with help from an amorous psychologist and a young circus acrobat who becomes his sidekick, Robin.
- 1994 | PCUas Gutter
- 1993 |
director
Upcoming (1)
- 2026 |
Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu
Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu
Once a lone bounty hunter, Mandalorian Din Djarin and his apprentice Grogu embark on an exciting new Star Wars adventure.
Previous (3)
- 2019 |
The Lion King
After the murder of his father, a young lion prince flees his kingdom only to learn the true meaning of responsibility and bravery.
- 2005 |
Zathura: A Space Adventure
Two young brothers are drawn into an intergalactic adventure when their house is hurled through the depths of space by the magical board game they are playing.
- 2003 |
Facts About Jon Favreau
Legend: Jon Favreau was officially named by the studio a Disney Legend at the D23 Expo in 2019, “for outstanding contributions to The Walt Disney Company.”
Role-Playing: Favreau has noted in interviews that playing Dungeons & Dragons gave him storytelling skills and trained his imagination and sense for storytelling tone.
People Also Searched For
