Jon Favreau

Jon Favreau married Joya Tillem in November 2000. She is a physician by profession. The couple has one son Max, and two daughters Madeleine and Brighton.

Jonathan Kolia Favreau was born on 19th October 1966 in Queens, New York, in the United States. His parents Madeleine and Charles Favreau were both teachers. While his mother was of Russian descent, his father belonged to Italian, French and Canadian ancestry.

Favreau graduated from The Bronx High School of Science in 1984. He later attended Queens College for few years before finally dropping out. Later, in order to pursue a career in comedy, Favreau moved to Chicago and soon he started performing in improvisational theatre.

Jon Favreau made his film debut in 1993 with a role in the biographical sports film ‘Rudy’. It was about the life of Daniel Ruetigger, an American motivational speaker and footballer, who, despite several obstacles, pursued his dreams of playing football for the University of Notre Dame. The film did well commercially and also received positive reviews.

Over the next few years, he appeared in several films such as ‘Mrs. Parker and the ‘Vicious Circle’ (1994), ‘Very Bad Things’ (1998) and ‘Love & Sex’ (2000). He made his directorial debut in 2001 with the film ‘Made’. He co-produced the film as well and also played the lead role. Although the film wasn’t very successful commercially, it was met with positive reviews from critics.

In 2003, he directed the Christmas comedy film ‘Elf’. The story revolved around one of the elves of Santa Claus, who after learning about his true human identity, goes to New York to meet his biological father. The film was a huge success commercially. It is also regarded as one of the best Christmas films of all time. The same year, he also played an important role in the superhero film ‘Daredevil’.

In 2005, he directed the sci-fi film ‘Zathura: A Space Adventure’. Though the film was a commercial failure, it was met with positive reviews. The following year, he appeared in two films ‘The Break-up’ and ‘Open Season’ in supporting roles. He also played a role in the comedy TV series ‘My name is Earl’.

In 2008, he directed and co-produced the superhero film ‘Iron Man’, which was based on the Marvel Comics character of the same name. The film was a huge commercial success. It was also appreciated by critic and won several accolades as well. In 2010, he directed ‘Iron Man 2’ the sequel to ‘Iron Man’, which also was a huge hit. It also earned an Oscar nomination for Best Visual Effects.

Jon Favreau came to international fame for his work as a director in the superhero film ‘Iron Man’. The film starred well-known actors such as Robert Downey Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow, and Scarlett Johansson. The film revolved around Tony Stark, an industrialist and a skilled engineer who becomes Iron Man after he builds a super-powered armor for himself.

The film was a commercial success and received positive reviews. Favreau also directed the sequel ‘Iron Man 2’, which also was a commercial success, and received an Oscar nomination.

The 2016 fantasy adventure film ‘The Jungle Book’ is another one of the most significant works of Favreau’s career. Based on the famous 1967 animated film of the same name by Walt Disney, the movie tells the story of an orphan boy named Mowgli who grows up among animals. The film did very well commercially, grossing $966 million on a budget of $175 million. The film also received several awards including an Oscar.