Donald Faison
Template:Short description Template:Use mdy dates Template:Infobox person Donald Adeosun Faison (Template:IPAc-en; born June 22, 1974) is an American actor and comedian. He is known for his leading role as Dr. Chris Turk in the ABC/NBC comedy-drama Scrubs (2001–2010), and a supporting role as Murray in both the film Clueless (1995) and the subsequent television series of the same name. He also starred as Phil Chase in the TV Land sitcom The Exes (2011–2015). Faison has also co-starred in the films Waiting to Exhale (1995), Remember the Titans (2000), Uptown Girls (2003), Something New (2006), Next Day Air (2009), Skyline (2010), and Kick-Ass 2 (2013).
Early life and education
Donald Adeosun Faison was born on June 22, 1974,<ref name=tvguidebio>Template:Cite magazine</ref> in Harlem, New York City, to talent agent Shirley and building manager Donald Faison.<ref name=enielp>Template:Cite news</ref> His parents were active with the National Black Theatre in Harlem.<ref name=pse/> They divorced in 1992.<ref name=enielp /> He is the older brother of singer/musician Olamide Faison.Template:Cn Despite sharing a surname, Faison is not related to fellow actor Frankie Faison in any way whatsoever.
Faison attended the Professional Children's School in Manhattan with his best friend, actor Dash Mihok.<ref name=pse>Template:Cite news</ref>
Career
Faison first appeared in a 1989 commercial for Folgers coffee at the age of 15, in which he played the younger brother of a soldier returning from war.<ref>Template:Cite webTemplate:Cbignore</ref> In 1992, he appeared with Malik Yoba in the ABC News special Prejudice: Answering Children's Questions, hosted by Peter Jennings. He also had a small role in Sugar Hill starring Wesley Snipes. He then became famous for his role as Murray Duvall in the 1995 film Clueless and the subsequent television series, which ran from 1996 to 1999. In 1995, he also appeared in Waiting to Exhale as Tarik, the son of Loretta Devine's character, Gloria. He was featured in New Jersey Drive. He also starred in Big Fat Liar alongside Frankie Muniz, Paul Giamatti, and Amanda Bynes. He had a recurring role as Tracy on Felicity, appeared in Remember the Titans as the running back turned safety Petey Jones, and provided voice work for various characters in the MTV animated series Clone High. He had minor roles in the sitcoms Sister, Sister and Sabrina, the Teenage Witch, and in the film Josie and the Pussycats. In 2005, Faison produced one episode of MTV's Punk'd involving his Scrubs co-star Zach Braff.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> He also appeared in the music videos for Brandy's "Sittin' Up in My Room," Fall Out Boy's cover of Michael Jackson's "Beat It," and Gavin Degraw's "Chariot."
In 2008, Faison voiced Gary the Stormtrooper in Robot Chicken: Star Wars Episode II. Afterwards, he interned on the Robot Chicken show to learn more about stop motion animation, and started a Star Wars-themed Lego stop-motion show, BlackStormTrooper, on his YouTube channel, shundigga.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
On February 13, 2009, Faison participated in the NBA All-Star Weekend Celebrity Game. Other celebrities participating included NBA Hall of Famers Clyde Drexler and Dominique Wilkins, NFL wide receiver Terrell Owens, actor Chris Tucker, and four Harlem Globetrotters.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
In 2010, Faison starred alongside Scottie Thompson, Brittany Daniel, Eric Balfour, Laz Alonso, Crystal Reed, and David Zayas in the Brothers Strause science fiction thriller Skyline.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Faison was in the 2010 CBS comedy pilot The Odds.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
As of March 2011, Faison appeared in commercials for The Sims Medieval. In 2012, he made a cameo appearance in the movie Pitch Perfect.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In 2013, Faison hosted the short-lived TBS comedy sketch show Who Gets the Last Laugh?.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> From 2016 to 2018, he hosted the GSN game show Winsanity.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
From 2018 until 2020, Faison voiced pilot Hype Fazon, a character written and named for him by Dave Filoni, in Star Wars Resistance. Faison had caught Filoni's attention via his stop motion Star Wars cartoons.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Faison and Scrubs co-star Zach Braff co-host the rewatch podcast Fake Doctors, Real Friends, which launched in March 2020, sharing their stories and experiences of shooting the show. The podcast is distributed by iHeartRadio.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Faison created the web series Alabama Jackson for Adult Swim's YouTube channel, which premiered in 2022. Faison stars as the title character.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Personal life
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He had his first son, Sean Faison-Ince (born 1996), with ex-girlfriend Audrey Ince.
In 1997, Faison started dating Lisa Askey, a nursing student. The two were married from 2001 to 2005, and had three children, twins Kaya and Dade (born 1999), and Kobe (born 2001).
Faison married his second wife, CaCee Cobb, on December 15, 2012, after six years of dating. They have two children, Rocco (born 2013) and Wilder Francis (born 2015).<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The wedding was held at the home of Faison's best friend, and former Scrubs co-star, Zach Braff, who also served as a groomsman. Serving as a bridesmaid was singer Jessica Simpson, for whom Cobb formerly worked as a personal assistant.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
When Askey, Faison's first wife, died in 2017,<ref name="askey people">Template:Cite magazine</ref> their children moved in with Faison and Cobb.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite podcast</ref> Faison is also the first cousin of actor Julian Horton.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Filmography
Film
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1992 | Juice | Student | |
| 1994 | Sugar Hill | Kymie Daniels | |
| 1995 | New Jersey Drive | 'Tiny Dime' | Credited as Donald Adeosun Faison |
| Clueless | Murray Duvall | ||
| Waiting to Exhale | Tarik Matthews | Credited as Donald Adeosun Faison | |
| 1996 | The Quest | Robber | Uncredited |
| 1997 | Academy Boyz | Glen Lewis | |
| 1998 | Butter | Khaleed | |
| Can't Hardly Wait | Dan | ||
| 1999 | Trippin' | June Nelson | |
| 2000 | Remember the Titans | Petey Jones | |
| 2001 | Double Whammy | Cletis | |
| Josie and the Pussycats | D.J. | Uncredited | |
| 2002 | Big Fat Liar | Frank Jackson | |
| 2003 | Ravedactyl: Project Evolution | Gunner | Short film |
| Uptown Girls | Huey | ||
| Good Boy! | Wilson | Voice only | |
| 2005 | King's Ransom | Andre | |
| 2006 | Something New | Nelson McQueen | |
| Bachelor Party Vegas | Ash | ||
| Homie Spumoni | Renato Molina / Leroy | ||
| 2007 | Venus & Vegas | Stu | |
| 2009 | Next Day Air | Leo | |
| 2010 | Skyline | Terry | |
| 2012 | Pitch Perfect | Older Acapella Man | |
| 2013 | Kick-Ass 2 | Samuel Keers / Doctor Gravity | |
| A Snow Globe Christmas | Ted | ||
| Stag | Ken | ||
| 2014 | Wish I Was Here | Anthony | |
| Let's Kill Ward's Wife | Ward | ||
| Wonderland | Ted | ||
| 2016 | The Perfect Match | Rick | |
| Hot Bot | Mr. Huffington | ||
| 2017 | Little Evil | Larry | |
| 2018 | Game Over, Man! | Himself | |
| 2019 | The Wave | Jeff | |
| 2020 | Embattled | Mr. Dan Stewart |
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1992 | Sesame Street | Duane | 9 episodes |
| 1996 | New York Undercover | James | Episode: "Sympathy for the Devil" |
| 1996–2000 | Sabrina, the Teenage Witch | Justin | Episode: "Magic Joel" |
| Dashiell Calzone | 3 episodes | ||
| 1996–1999 | Clueless | Murray Duvall | Main role |
| 1998 | Sister, Sister | Darryl | Episode: "Greek to Me" |
| 1999 | Supreme Sanction | Marcus | Television film |
| 2000–2002 | Felicity | Tracy | 23 episodes |
| 2002–2003 | Clone High | Toots / Various Characters | Voice only; 13 episodes |
| 2001–2010 | Scrubs | Christopher Turk | Main role |
| 2004–2005 | Higglytown Heroes | Firefighter Hero | Voice only; 2 episodes |
| 2005–present | Robot Chicken | Various voices | 10 episodes |
| 2006 | The Playbook | Host | 3 episodes |
| 2007 | Saturday Night Live | Christopher Turk | Episode: "Zach Braff/Maroon 5" |
| Robot Chicken: Star Wars | Dr. Cornelius Evazan / Mace Windu | Voice only; television special | |
| Kim Possible | Ricky Rotiffle | Voice only; episode: "Homecoming Upset" | |
| 2008 | The Boondocks | Catcher Freeman / Tobias / Wedgie Rudlin | Voice only; 3 episodes |
| Robot Chicken: Star Wars Episode II | Gary / Darth Maul / Imperial Pilot | Voice only; television special | |
| 2009 | Scrubs: Interns | Christopher Turk | Episode: "Our Meeting with Turk and Todd" |
| American Dad! | Christopher Turk | Voice only; episode: "G-String Circus" | |
| Titan Maximum | Martian Fleet Commander | Episode: "Pilot" | |
| 2010 | Fact Checkers Unit | Donald | 9 episodes |
| Cubed | Himself | Episode: "2.12" | |
| Robot Chicken: Star Wars Episode III | Gary | Voice only; television special | |
| The Odds | Tyler | Television film | |
| 2011 | Love Bites | Ricky | 2 episodes |
| 2011–2015 | The Exes | Phil Chase | 64 episodes |
| 2012 | Tron: Uprising | Bartik | Voice only; 5 episodes |
| Adventure Time | Princess Cookie | Voice only; episode: "Princess Cookie" | |
| 2013 | Wedding Band | Moses | Episode: "99 Problems" |
| Who Gets the Last Laugh? | Host | 9 episodes | |
| A Snow Globe Christmas | Ted | Television film | |
| 2014 | Hollywood Game Night | Himself | 3 episodes |
| Jim Henson's Creature Shop Challenge | Wizard | Episode: "Head's Up" | |
| 2015 | Undateable | Donald | 2 episodes |
| 2015–2018 | Supermansion | Quiplash | Voice only; 4 episodes |
| Drunk History | Joe Louis / Mansa Musa | 2 episodes | |
| 2016 | Winsanity | Host | |
| House of Lies | Donald | 2 episodes | |
| 2017 | Bill Nye Saves the World | Himself | |
| 2017–2019 | Ryan Hansen Solves Crimes on Television | 2 episodes | |
| 2017–2018 | Ray Donovan | Antoine A'Shawn Anderson | 7 episodes |
| 2018 | Unsolved: The Murders of Tupac and the Notorious B.I.G. | Jacques Agnant | 2 episodes |
| 2018–2020 | Star Wars Resistance | Hype Fazon/TIE Pilot #1 | Voice only; 18 episodes |
| 2019 | Timeline | Principal Anderson | Main role |
| 2019–2020 | Emergence | Alex Evans | |
| 2020 | Star Wars The Clone Wars | Tactical Droid | Voice only; episode: "Old Friends Not Forgotten" |
| 2021 | The L Word: Generation Q | Tom Maultsby | 5 episodes |
| Powerpuff | Prof. Drake Utonium | Unaired pilot | |
| 2022–2024 | Alice's Wonderland Bakery | Harry the March Hare | Voice only<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> |
| 2022 | Legends of Tomorrow | Mike Carter / Booster Gold | Episode: "Knocked Down, Knocked Up"<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> |
| Reindeer in Here | Bucky (voice) | Television special<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | |
| Alabama Jackson | Alabama Jackson | Main role; also creator, executive producer and writer | |
| 2023 | The Wonder Years | Terrence | Episode: "Blockbusting" |
| 2023–2024 | Extended Family | Trey | Lead role |
Music videos
| Year | Title | Artist |
|---|---|---|
| 1995 | "Sittin' Up in My Room" | Brandy |
| 1996 | "Kissin' You ("Oh, Honey" Remix)" | Total, Puff Daddy & Notorious B.I.G |
| 1999 | "No Doubt" | Imajin |
| "Flava" | ||
| "Da Bomb" | DJ Fury and RX Lord | |
| 2003 | "Chariot" | Gavin DeGraw |
| 2008 | "Beat It" | Fall Out Boy featuring John Mayer |
| 2013 | "More Champagne" | DJ Whoo Kid featuring A$AP Ferg, Problem and Wiz Khalifa |
| 2015 | "Time Machine"<ref>Template:Cite AV mediaTemplate:Cbignore</ref> | Ingrid Michaelson |
Video games
A dance that Faison performs during an episode of Scrubs is featured in the video game Fortnite. Faison's permission was not sought before including the dance, and he did not receive royalties for it.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Awards and nominations
References
External links
- Pages with broken file links
- 1974 births
- Living people
- African-American game show hosts
- American game show hosts
- American male film actors
- American male television actors
- American male voice actors
- Comedians from Manhattan
- Male actors from Manhattan
- People from Harlem
- 20th-century African-American male actors
- 21st-century African-American male actors
- 20th-century American comedians
- 21st-century American comedians
- 20th-century American male actors
- 21st-century American male actors
- African-American male comedians
- African-American comedians
- American male comedians