Jon Favreau's Real Name: Jonathan Kolia Favreau

Quick answer: Jon Favreau's full name is Jonathan Kolia Favreau. He was born on October 19, 1966, in Queens, New York. He is usually billed as Jon Favreau. He wrote and starred in Swingers (1996), directed Elf (2003) and Iron Man (2008), and later created the series The Mandalorian (Britannica Kids).

Real name and early life

Britannica Kids gives the name "in full" as Jonathan Kolia Favreau, born October 19, 1966, in the Forest Hills section of Queens. He was the only child of Madeleine, née Balkoff, an elementary-school teacher, and Charles Favreau, a special-education teacher. He attended the Bronx High School of Science, acted in school plays, and later studied at Queens College before moving to Chicago to try improvisational comedy. Encyclopedia.com and a Library of Congress CIP note say he studied with Second City there; Encyclopedia.com also lists ImprovOlympic. The Library of Congress heading is "Favreau, Jon," with the official variant "Favreau, Jonathan Kolia."

Career highlights

After a move to Los Angeles, he wrote and starred in Swingers (1996), a low-budget film that became a cult favorite and established him as a writer-actor. He had already appeared in Rudy (1993) and, under the name John Favreau, in Mrs. Parker and the Vicious Circle (1994), per Encyclopedia.com.

He became a major director with Elf (2003), starring Will Ferrell. He then directed Iron Man (2008) and Iron Man 2 (2010) and served as an executive producer on later Marvel films, including The Avengers (2012). In those movies he also played Happy Hogan, Tony Stark's bodyguard and driver, a role he continued in Avengers: Endgame (2019). He wrote, directed, and starred in Chef (2014), directed Disney's The Jungle Book (2016), which won the Academy Award for visual effects, and directed The Lion King (2019).

In 2019 he created the Star Wars series The Mandalorian for Disney+, a show that helped launch the streaming service's live-action Star Wars slate and starred Pedro Pascal. He later was an executive producer on two spin-off series, The Book of Boba Fett (2021–22) and Ahsoka (2023). D23, Disney's official fan organization, has honored him as a Disney Legend.

Name notes for searchers

Jonathan Kolia Favreau is the documented full name; Jon Favreau is the short form used in almost all credits. He was billed as John Favreau in at least one early film. He should not be confused with the political aide and podcaster Jon Favreau.