He met his close friend and on-screen partner Vince Vaughn when both had supporting roles in Rudy (1993).
In 2019 he was named a Disney Legend.
He began his career in the 1980s at Bear Stearns on Wall Street. He later resigned and even considered becoming a firefighter in New York.
On February 13, 2023, he was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in the Television category at 6840 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, California. Robert Downey Jr. and chef Roy Choi were guest speakers at the ceremony.
Jon is an alumnus of Chicago's ImprovOlympic improv group. Other members include the late Chris Farley, Ian Gomez, Pat Finn, Tim Meadows, Rachel Dratch, Mike Myers and Horatio Sanz.
He is the first person to appear in both a Marvel comic book adaptation (Foggy Nelson in Daredevil (2003)) and a direct adaptation (Iron Man (2008) and Iron Man 2 (2010)). He is also the first person to play two unrelated Marvel characters, with Favreau portraying Harold "Happy" Hogan in Iron Man and Iron Man 2.
He is the father of Max Favreau (b. July 25, 2001), Madeleine Favreau (b. April 2003) and Brighton Rose Favreau (b. August 30, 2006) with his wife Joya Tillem.
He says he considered changing the title of Cowboys & Aliens (2011) when audiences laughed at the trailer, initially thinking it was a parody.
He directed Iron Man (2008), which was selected by the Library of Congress for the National Film Registry as "culturally, historically or aesthetically significant".
He attended Queens College of the City University of New York but dropped out.
His wife Joya Tillem is a doctor.
He attended and graduated from the Bronx High School of Science (1984).
He grew up at 61-20 Grand Central Parkway in Forest Hills, Queens, New York.
He wrote the screenplay for Swingers (1996) on a computer software his father gave him.
His father has French-Canadian, German and Italian ancestry, and his mother came from a Jewish family.
On June 1, 2023, he received an honorary doctorate in fine arts from CUNY-Queens College.
He was going to direct John Carter (2012) while the rights belonged to Paramount Pictures.
His mother died of leukemia in December 1978 at the age of 34.
He is the son of Charles Favreau and Madeleine Favreau.
He is the grandson of Joan Favreau.