Movie Musings: Disney and More

Jon Favreau: The Real First Avenger

When we think of “multi-talented” people in the entertainment industry, it’s those who literally do it all: act, sing, produce, executive produce, direct, compose, etc. Few names come to mind who are able to master all those tasks simultaneously, but examples include Tom Hanks, who wrote, directed, wrote the music for and acted in That Thing You Do! (1996) and all the same in addition to producing Larry Crowne (2011). Lin-Manuel Miranda composed the music, wrote lyrics, was the librettist for, and originated the role of Alexander Hamilton in the Broadway musical Hamilton (2015), which won Miranda Tony’s in all of those categories, except acting. Jon Favreau is a member of this illustrious group, as well. A writer, producer, executive producer, director, and actor and for a little over three decades, he has been juggling all of these talents in addition to being a husband and father. 

Born in October 19th, 1966 in Queens, New York, his mother, Madeline, was a schoolteacher who was of Russian Jewish descent. She unfortunately died of leukemia when Favreau was only 13. His father was a Catholic of Italian and French-Canadian descent. Favreau graduated from Bronx High School of Science in 1984 and attended Queens College from ’84-’87. He worked for Bear Stearns Companies, Inc. for a short time but decided to go back to Queens College for another semester in early 1988. He ultimately dropped out of college for good in the summer of ’88 and moved to Chicago where he pursued a career in comedy. He performed at improvisational theaters, including ImprovOlympics and the Improv Institute.

Favreau made his film debut in the comedy Folks! (1992) opposite Tom Selleck and Don Ameche. The next year he landed a role in the film Rudy (1993) opposite Sean Astin. While filming “Rudy” he met and befriended Vince Vaughan, who also had a small role in the film. He later moved to Los Angeles where he appeared in an episode of Seinfeld (1989-1994) as Eric the Clown in 1994 and co-wrote, co-produced and starred in the film The Swingers (1996), along with pal Vince Vaughan. He also landed a recurring role on the third season of Friends (1994-2004). Around this time, he created his production company, Fairview Entertainment and is still releasing films under that label. Favreau’s directorial debut reunited him with Vaughan in the film Made (2001), and the year before, he married physician Joya Tillem with whom he has three children with: a son, Max and two daughters, Madeline and Brighton Rose Favreau. The same year as “Made,” he produced a comedy talk-show series called Dinner for Five (2001-2005) which earned him and his fellow producers a Primetime Emmy Nomination in its fifth season. Two years following “Made,” he directed the Christmas cult classic Elf (2003), playing the role of the doctor who confirms Buddy the Elf’s parentage.

In 2006, Jon Favreau was hired by Marvel Entertainment to direct the first Iron Man (2008). He was offered the chance to direct Captain America: The First Avenger (2011) but chose to do “Iron Man,” instead. In the film, he portrayed the role of Happy Hogan, Tony Stark’s chauffeur/bodyguard/Head of Stark Industries in the film and was an executive producer. There is also a roadster in the film that Tony Stark works on that in real life is owned by Jon Favreau. He reprised the role of Happy Hogan, and continued as executive producer and director for Iron Man 2 (2010), though remained only as an executive producer for Iron Man 3 (2010). He was also an executive producer on The Avengers (2012), Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015), Avengers: Infinity War (2018), and The Avengers 4 (2019). He also reprised the role of Happy Hogan for Spiderman: Homecoming (2017) and will do the same for “Avengers 4.” 

In 2014, Favreau made Chef (2014), a film that he wrote, produced, directed, and acted in. In preparation for the film, Favreau hired chef Roy Choi to be his mentor and Choi is also credited as a producer of the film. “Chef,” reunited him with “Iron Man 2,” co-stars Robert Downey Jr. and Scarlett Johansson. Not long after that film, Favreau was hired by Disney to direct the all-new live-action adaptation of The Jungle Book (2016) where he cast Johansson as the voice of Kaa the Snake. Favreau cast Gary Shandling, whom he had directed in “Iron Man 2,” as the voice of Ikki the porcupine in “Jungle Book.” Shandling unfortunately passed away before the film was released, and there is a dedication to him at the very end of the film. The film received 2016’s Best Visual Effects Oscar for its unique use of Motion-Capture Technology. Jon Favreau’s three children are all the voices of three of the wolf cubs whose parents adopted the boy Mowgli as part of their family in the movie. He is currently directing a new live-action adaptation of The Lion King for Disney which will be released in July of 2019. 

In addition to the films he has directed for Disney, Jon Favreau has also lent his voice to several Disney animated television series and films. He was a voice for the series Hercules (1998-1999) based on the 1997 film of the same name, Buzz Lightyear of Star Command (2000-2001), and was the voice of Hurley the guinea pig in G-Force (2009) and played the role of the Thark Bookie in Disney’s John Carter (2012). He will have a voice-over role in the upcoming film Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018). He is currently working with Disney to produce a new “Star Wars,” series, a possible sequel to “Jungle Book,” and a film called “Magic Kingdom,” which will tell a story of a family at Disneyland noticing the attractions of the park coming to life. The release of all three of the projects have yet to be determined.

Jon Favreau is an exceptional prodigy of movie-making. His films have made us laugh, cry, and have taken us as a movie audience on adventures that we never could have imagined. From “Iron Man 1 and 2,” to “Elf,” and “Chef,” to “Jungle Book,” and the forthcoming “Lion King,” his films are just great, period.