Faizon Love | |
|---|---|
 Love in 2025 | |
| Born | Langston Faizon Santisima (1968-06-14)June 14, 1968 (age 57) Santiago de Cuba, Cuba |
| Citizenship | US |
| Occupations |
|
| Years active | 1983–present |
Faizon Andre Love (bornLangston Faizon Santisima; June 14, 1968[1]) is an American actor and comedian. He is best known for his roles in the comedy filmsThe Meteor Man (1993),Friday (1995),Don't Be a Menace to South Central While Drinking Your Juice in the Hood (1996),B.A.P.S. (1997),The Replacements (2000),Made,Mr Bones (both 2001),Blue Crush (2002), andCouples Retreat (2009), as well as the voice of Sean "Sweet" Johnson in the action-adventure gameGrand Theft Auto: San Andreas (2004) and his role as Wendell Wilcox on the sitcom television seriesThe Parent 'Hood (1995–1999).
Love was born inSantiago de Cuba on June 14, 1968. He has described himself as amilitary brat who was raised inSoutheast San Diego, California andNewark, New Jersey because of his father's career in theU.S. Navy.[2] He graduated fromMorse High School in Southeast San Diego.
Love got his start as a stand-up comedian at age 15 and made his acting debut in anoff-Broadway play at the age of 19.[3] His film debut,Bebe's Kids, saw him provide the voice of comedianRobin Harris, who died before production began on the film; Love offered a close vocal impression of Harris. He then had a role inThe Meteor Man, starringRobert Townsend. Townsend then cast Love in a co-starring role on his sitcomThe Parent 'Hood.
He followed up this role with a breakout performance as the drug supplier Big Worm in the 1995 filmFriday. Follow-up films have included3 Strikes,Elf,Don't Be a Menace to South Central While Drinking Your Juice in the Hood,Money Talks,Wonderland,The Fighting Temptations, andIdlewild.[4][5][6][7] In 2001, Love guest-starred in theLudacris single "Freaky Thangs" from the albumWord of Mouf. The same year, he made a cameo appearance as a bus driver, in the music video forLil Jon & The East Side Boys' single "Put Yo Hood Up".
Love lent his voice to the video gameGrand Theft Auto: San Andreas (2004), portraying Sean "Sweet" Johnson, the leader of the Grove Street Families and the older brother ofthe game's protagonist. He co-starred inCouples Retreat (2009), a comedy film chronicling four couples who partake in therapy sessions at a tropical island resort.[8]
In 2012, he playedStringer Bell in a satirical trailer forThe Wire: The Musical. In June of that year, he started to appear in a series of commercials forBoost Mobile, promoting its new4G phones.
In 2014, Love posted a series of controversialtweets in the wake ofthe sexual assault cases againstBill Cosby. Defending Cosby against the charges, he used profanity and racial slurs against Cosby's accusers as well as comedianHannibal Buress, who had been credited with bringing wider attention to the allegations in a stand-up routine.[9][10] In 2015, Love once again posted tweets in defense of Cosby, dismissing his fellow African-Americans who believed the allegations as "spineless monkeys".[11]
On March 7, 2017, Love was arrested on a charge ofmisdemeanor assault inColumbus, Ohio. An altercation with a valet had occurred atJohn Glenn Columbus International Airport, with video evidence showing Love grabbing the valet behind the neck in the baggage claim area and throwing him onto the ground and into a desk. Love pled not guilty,[12] but later pled no contest and received a $500 fine and a 180-day suspended jail sentence.[13]
In 2018, a personal assistant to Love sued him for sexual harassment, which case Love settled.[14]
In 2022, a personal assistant to Love, Hevekiah Walker, sued him and his company, Assembly Robot Inc., alleging that Love sexually harassed her during her five-month tenure as Love's personal assistant in Love'sGwinnett County home.[14] Neither Love, nor his company, responded to the complaint leading to a default judgment against them in 2023, the court awarding Walker $500,000 plus approximately $43,000 in interest and costs.[14] In June 2024, Walker filed agarnishment againstNBCUniversal to recover anyresidual payments due Love that NBCUniversal held.[15] NBCUniversal failed to respond to the garnishment and a $543,652 default judgment was rendered against it. Then NBCUniversal missed another deadline in failing to seek to modify the judgment within 90 more days.[14] After finally attempting to void the default judgment, which attempt was unsuccessful, on August 26, 2025, NBCUniversal appealed the judgment to the Georgia Supreme Court claiming it was arbitrary to be responsible for the entire judgment as it claimed it had just $652 in residual payments due Love that could be originally garnished.[14][16]
In February 2025, Love was accused of attacking a female hotel clerk with a credit card machine after she told him she couldn't give him the room he booked through a third party.[17] In July 2025, a San Diego County California judge said there was enough evidence to move the felony case forward. Love has pled not guilty with trial set for January 2026.[18]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1992 | Bebe's Kids | Robin Harris (voice) | |
| 1993 | The Meteor Man | Husband | |
| 1994 | Fear of a Black Hat | Jam Boy | |
| 1995 | Friday | Big Worm | |
| 1996 | Don't Be a Menace | Rufus | |
| A Thin Line Between Love and Hate | Manny | ||
| 1997 | B*A*P*S | Tiger J | |
| Money Talks | Cellmate | ||
| 1998 | The Players Club | Officer Peters | |
| 2000 | 3 Strikes | Tone | |
| The Replacements | Jahmal Abdul Jackson | ||
| 2001 | Inhumanity | - | Video |
| Made | Horrace | ||
| Mr Bones | Fats Pudbedder | ||
| 2002 | Play'd: A Hip Hop Story | Domino Breed | TV movie |
| Blue Crush | Leslie | ||
| 2003 | Wonderland | Greg Diles | |
| The Fighting Temptations | Luther Washington | ||
| Elf | Wanda | ||
| Ride or Die | David Rabinawitz | Video | |
| 2004 | Torque | Sonny | |
| 2005 | The Luau | Hustle | |
| Animal | Double T | Video | |
| 2006 | Just My Luck | Damon Phillips | |
| All You've Got | Coach Harlan | TV movie | |
| Idlewild | Sunshine Ace | ||
| 2007 | Who's Your Caddy? | Big Large | |
| The Perfect Holiday | Jamal | ||
| 2008 | Of Boys and Men | Roman | |
| Days of Wrath | Cash Flow | ||
| 2009 | A Day in the Life | "Black" Ike Smith | |
| Steppin: The Movie | - | ||
| Couples Retreat | Shane | ||
| 2010 | Life as We Know It | Cab Driver | |
| 2011 | Big Mommas: Like Father, Like Son | Kurtis Kool | |
| King of the Underground | Faizon | ||
| Zookeeper | Bruce the Bear (voice) | ||
| The Cookout 2 | David Turner | TV movie | |
| Budz House | Big Shitty | ||
| 2012 | The Wire: The Musical | Russell 'Stringer' Bell | Short |
| The Paperboy | Comedian | ||
| 2013 | White T | Anthony | |
| 2014 | Matthew 18 | Lifton Tyler | |
| Tell | Dwight Johnson | ||
| 2015 | November Rule | Theo | |
| Brotherly Love | Uncle Ron | ||
| 2016 | She's Got a Plan | Dr. Funkman | |
| 2017 | Grow House | Rollin Reg | |
| Ripped | Reeves | ||
| 2018 | Bad Paramedics | Craig | Short |
| 2020 | Bulletproof 2 | Jack Carter | |
| She Ball | Big Meat Tuna | ||
| The War with Grandpa | David | ||
| 2021 | Fuck Child Support the Animated Movie | Mr. Mack | Short |
| 2022 | Block Party | Gus | |
| Santa Games | Santa Charles | ||
| 2023 | The Sandlerverse 2 | Bruce The Bear | Short |
| Prince of Detroit | Teddy Hall | ||
| Back on the Strip | Desmond 'Da Body' Day | ||
| The Last Stop in Yuma County | Vernon |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1992 | An Evening at the Improv | Himself | Episode: "Episode #10.14" |
| 1993 | Def Comedy Jam | Himself | Episode: "Episode #3.5" |
| 1995 | What a Cartoon! | Sledgehammer O' Possum (voice) | Episode: "Sledgehammer O'Possum: Out and About" |
| 1995-98 | The Parent 'Hood | Wendell Wilcox | Recurring cast: Season 1, Main Cast: Season 2–4 |
| 1996 | The Wayans Bros. | Nigel Lovejoy | Episode: "Mama, I Wanna Act" |
| 2002 | Dinner for Five | Himself | Season 1, episode 7 |
| 2004 | The Big House | Warren Cleveland | Main cast |
| Dinner for Five | Himself | Season 3, episode 1 | |
| That's So Raven | Cyrus | Episode: "Radio Heads" | |
| 2005 | Dinner for Five | Himself | Season 4, episode 6 |
| 2007 | It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia | Coach | Episode: "The Gang Gets Invincible" |
| 2008 | Black Poker Stars Invitational | Himself | Main guest |
| 2009 | My Name Is Earl | Reverend Greene | Episode: "Gospel" |
| 2013 | Big Morning Buzz Live | Himself/Panelist | Episode: "Maggie Q/Joan & Melissa Rivers/Cast of '21 & Over'" |
| Mr. Box Office | Big Whane | Episode: "There Goes the Neighborhood" | |
| 2013-16 | Real Husbands of Hollywood | Himself | Recurring cast: Season 1 & 4-5, Guest: Season 2 |
| 2015-17 | Black-ish | Sha | Guest cast: Season 2-3 |
| 2017 | Wild 'N Out | Himself/Team Captain | Episode: "Faizon Love/2 Milly" |
| Hip Hop Squares | Himself/Panelist | Recurring panelist | |
| The New Edition Story | Maurice Starr | Episode: "Part 1" | |
| 2018 | Detroiters | Farmer Zack | Episode: "Farmer Zack" |
| 2018-22 | Step Up: High Water | Al Baker | Main cast |
| 2023 | Diners, Drive-ins and Dives | Himself | Episode: "Smokin' Southern Decadence" |
| The Upshaws | Terry | Episode: "Thera Please" |
| Year | Song | Artist | Role |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | "Keep Their Heads Ringin'" | Dr. Dre | Thief |
| 2003 | "Gossip Folks" | Missy Elliott featuringLudacris | Teacher |
| 2004 | "Roses" | Outkast | Himself |
| 2005 | "We Belong Together" | Mariah Carey | Minister |
| 2012 | "Ring Finger" | Lil Playy | Father |
| 2016 | "Drum Machine" | Big Grams featuringSkrillex | Bike Cop |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas | Sean "Sweet" Johnson | Voice role |
| 2021 | Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy – The Definitive Edition | Archival recordings Remaster ofGrand Theft Auto: San Andreas only |
| Year | Title |
|---|---|
| 2009 | Why We Laugh: Black Comedians on Black Comedy |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Artists | |
| Other | |
