Favreau graduated fromThe Bronx High School of Science, a school for gifted students, in 1984[10] and attendedQueens College from 1984 to 1987,[11] before dropping out. His friend from college, Mitchell Pollack, has said that Favreau went by the nickname "Johnny Hack" because of his abilities in the gameHacky Sack.[12] He briefly worked forBear Stearns onWall Street before returning to Queens College for a semester in early 1988. He dropped out of college for good (a few credits shy of completing his degree),[11] and moved toChicago in the summer of 1988 to pursue a career in comedy.[13] He performed at several Chicago improvisational theaters, including theImprovOlympic and theImprov Institute.[14]
While in Chicago, Favreau landed his first film role alongsideSean Astin as tutor D-Bob in thesleeper hitRudy (1993).[15] Favreau metVince Vaughn – who played a small role in this film – during shooting. The next year, he appeared in the college filmPCU alongsideJeremy Piven, and the 1994 episode ofSeinfeld titled "The Fire" as Eric the Clown.[16]
Favreau then moved to Los Angeles, where he made his breakthrough in 1996 as an actor-screenwriter with the filmSwingers, which was also Vaughn's breakthrough role as the character Trent Walker, afoil to Favreau's heartbroken Mike Peters.[17] In 1997, he appeared on the television sitcomFriends, portraying Pete Becker –Monica Geller's millionaire boyfriend who competes in theUltimate Fighting Championship (UFC) – for several episodes.[18] Favreau made appearances in the sketch-comedy series,Tracey Takes On... in both 1996 and 1997.[19]
Favreau landed the role of Gus Partenza inDeep Impact (1998), and that same year rejoined Piven inVery Bad Things (1998).[20] In 1999, he starred in the television filmRocky Marciano, based on the life of world heavyweight champion,Rocky Marciano.[21] He later appeared inLove & Sex (2000), co-starringFamke Janssen.[22] Favreau appeared in 2000'sThe Replacements as maniacal linebacker Daniel Bateman, and that same year he played himself inThe Sopranos episode"D-Girl", as a Hollywood director who feigns interest in developing mob associateChristopher Moltisanti's screenplay in order to collect material for his own screenplay.[23][24]
In 2001, he made his film directorial debut with another self-penned screenplay,Made.[25]Made once again teamed him up with hisSwingers co-starVince Vaughn. Favreau also starred in a TV series calledDinner for Five, which aired on the cable TV channelIFC from 2001 to 2005.
He was a guest-director for an episode of the collegedramedyUndeclared in 2001, and Favreau got some screen time as lawyerFoggy Nelson in the 2003 movieDaredevil (2003) (considerably more in thedirector's cut version).[26][27] He also starred inThe Big Empty (2003), directed bySteve Anderson. His character was John Person, an out of work actor given a strange mission to deliver a blue suitcase to a man named Cowboy in the desert.[28] Favreau is credited as a screenwriter for the 2002 filmThe First $20 Million Is Always the Hardest.
He scored his first financial success as a director of the hit comedyElf (2003) starringWill Ferrell,Zooey Deschanel,James Caan, andPeter Dinklage. Also in 2003, Favreau had a small part inSomething's Gotta Give (a film starringDiane Keaton andJack Nicholson); Favreau played Leo, Harry Sanborn's (Nicholson) personal assistant, who visited Harry in the hospital.[29] In 2005, Favreau directed thefilm adaptation of the children's bookZathura. It received positive reviews, but was not commercially successful.[30][31] Favreau continued to make regular appearances in film and television. He reunited with friend Vaughn in the romantic comedyThe Break-Up and appeared inMy Name Is Earl as a reprehensible fast food manager. Favreau also made a guest appearance in Vaughn'sWild West Comedy Show.[32]
Also in 2005, Favreau appeared as a guest judge and executive representative of Sony Corporation in week five of theNBC business-focused primetime reality TV show,The Apprentice. He was called upon to judge the efforts of the show's two teams of contestants, who were assigned the task of designing and building a float to publicize his 2005 Sony Pictures movie,Zathura: A Space Adventure.[33]
On April 28, 2006, it was announced that Favreau was signed to direct the long-awaitedIron Man movie.[34] Released on May 2, 2008, the film was a huge critical[35] and commercial[36] success, solidifying Favreau's reputation as a director.[37] In 2022, the film was selected for preservation in the United StatesNational Film Registry by theLibrary of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant". It is one of three superhero movies to achieve this honor alongsideRichard Donner'sSuperman andChristopher Nolan'sThe Dark Knight.Iron Man was the firstMarvel-produced movie under their alliance withParamount, and Favreau served as the director and an executive producer. During early scenes inIron Man, Favreau appears as Tony Stark's driver,Happy Hogan. He wrote two issues of a planned mini-series forMarvel Knights titledIron Man: Viva Las Vegas, that debuted in September 2008 before being canceled in November 2008.[38] Favreau also directed and executive produced the film's sequel,Iron Man 2.[39] Favreau said in December 2010 that he would not directIron Man 3 but remain an executive producer.[40]
Favreau was the third director attached toJohn Carter, the film adaptation ofEdgar Rice Burroughs' swashbucklingspace hero. While he did not ultimately direct it, he did appear in a cameo in the film, as a bookie.
In 2008, he played Denver, a bully-type bigger brother to Vaughn inFour Christmases. Favreau co-starred in 2009'sCouples Retreat, a comedy chronicling four couples who partake in therapy sessions at a tropical island resort, which he wrote. The film saw him co-star with Vaughn again, whileKristin Davis played his wife.[41] He voices the character Pre Vizsla, the leader of the Mandalorian Death Watch, in the animated series,Star Wars: The Clone Wars.[42] In September 2009, he signed up to directCowboys & Aliens based on thegraphic novel of the same name created byScott Mitchell Rosenberg.[43] Thescience fictionWestern film was released in 2011, starringDaniel Craig andHarrison Ford, and is considered to be a financial disappointment, taking $174.8 million in box office receipts on a $163 million budget and received mixed reviews, with critics generally praising its acting while criticizing other aspects.
In 2012, Favreau directed the pilot for the NBC show,Revolution, and served as one of the show's executive producers, alongsideJ. J. Abrams.[44] In 2013, Favreau directed an episode (Season 9, Episode 16) of NBC'sThe Office.[45] That same year he filmed a pilot for a TV series based on the novelAbout a Boy, but set in San Francisco.[46] He also directed theDestiny trailer "The Law of the Jungle".
In 2014, Favreau wrote, co-produced, directed, and starred inChef. Favreau played a chef who, after a public altercation with a food critic, quits his job at a popular Los Angeles restaurant to operate afood truck with his young son. It co-starsSofía Vergara,John Leguizamo,Scarlett Johansson,Oliver Platt,Bobby Cannavale andDustin Hoffman, along withRobert Downey Jr. in a cameo role. Favreau wrote the script after directing several big-budget films, wanting to go "back to basics" and to create a film about cooking. It was well received by critics, who praised the direction, music, writing, story, and performances grossing $45 million against a production budget of $11 million.[47]
Favreau directed and produced the live-action adaptation ofThe Jungle Book, forWalt Disney Pictures, which was released on April 15, 2016, to critical and commercial acclaim.[48] That same year, it was reported that Favreau would direct aCGI adaptation ofDisney'sThe Lion King,[49][50] marking his first time directing a musical.[49]Donald Glover voiced Simba,[51] andJames Earl Jones reprised his role as Mufasa from theoriginal film.[52] The film was released in July 2019. On July 29,The Lion King surpassedThe Jungle Book to become Favreau's highest-grossing film as director, while also surpassing the original film.[53] Simultaneous with his directorial projects, he worked as a consultant on 24 episodes ofThe Orville from 2017 to 2019.[54]
He returned asHappy Hogan in the filmSpider-Man: Homecoming (2017), and co-executive producedAvengers: Infinity War (2018). Favreau filmed a scene forAvengers: Infinity War, but was cut, ending up on the Blu-Ray release. In 2017, Favreau directed the pilot episode ofCBS'Young Sheldon.[55] On March 8, 2018, Lucasfilm announced that Favreau would executive produce and write a live-actionStar Wars television series, titledThe Mandalorian, forDisney+.[56][57] The series premiered on November 12, 2019, alongside the streaming service and was co-produced by Favreau's production companyGolem Creations. Jon Favreau also lent his voice to the character of Paz Vizsla, who was portrayed by Tait Fletcher.[58]
During that same year, Favreau appeared inSolo: A Star Wars Story voicing Rio Durant, "a very cool and important alien character" and member of Beckett's crew.[59] In the 2019 filmAvengers: Endgame, Favreau reprised his role as Happy Hogan in a cameo near the end of the film. The film, directed by theRusso brothers,[60] was executive-produced by Favreau.[61]Avengers: Endgame was released on April 26, 2019. In 2019, Favreau also appeared in the sequel toSpider-Man: Homecoming,Spider-Man: Far From Home.[62]
In January 2024,Lucasfilm announced that a feature film titledThe Mandalorian and Grogu was in active development, with Favreau directing, writing, and co-producing alongsideKathleen Kennedy andDave Filoni.[65] The film is scheduled to be released in theatres on May 22, 2026.[66]
In March 2025, it was reported that Favreau is developing a live-action animation hybrid series based onOswald The Lucky Rabbit for Disney+ as writer and producer.[67]
In 1997, Favreau was working on aMiramax projectThe Marshal of Revelation, an offbeatWestern featuring "aHasidic Jewish gunslinger."[68]
Amotion-captured animated film titledNeanderthals[69] was in development atSony Pictures Animation in the mid-2000s that Favreau would have written and produced, but the project was cancelled sometime in 2008[70] after four years in development.
In November 2010, it was reported that Favreau would direct a film titledMagic Kingdom, based onThe Walt Disney Company's theme parkof the same name.[71] In July 2012, Favreau reported that he was officially working on the film.[72][73] In 2014, he stated that he still had interest in the project, and that he could direct it after finishing filmingThe Jungle Book (2016).[74]
In October 2012, Favreau was attached to direct the racing filmBattle for Bonneville about the story ofArt andWalt Arfons, withRyan Reynolds set to star as one of the leads.New Regency was in negotiations to acquire the package. The script was written byDan Gilroy. Favreau also was additionally developing to directJersey Boys at the time, and wanted to follow it withBattle for Bonneville.[75]
In December 2013,Will Ferrell stated that he did not want to make a sequel toElf.[78] Despite this, during an interview in January 2016, Favreau stated that a sequel could possibly be made.[79] The next month however, Ferrell reiterated that it was unlikely that the sequel would happen and that he still did not want to return to the role.[80]
In April 2016, it was reported that Favreau would return to directthe sequel to his critically acclaimed live-action adaptation ofThe Jungle Book.[81][82] Early pre-production of the sequel had begun by June 12, 2018, withJustin Marks, who wrote the previous film, having written an early draft for the film.[83]
Favreau married Joya Tillem, a physician, on November 24, 2000.[84] The couple has a son and two daughters.[85] Tillem is the niece of lawyer/talk show hostLen Tillem.[86]
Favreau credits the role-playing gameDungeons & Dragons with giving him "a really strong background in imagination, storytelling, understanding how to create tone and a sense of balance."[87]
