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Jon Favreau Back in Front of the Camera for a Role in 'Identity Theft'

by Ben Pearson
May 2, 2012
Source: Variety

I'm guessing this week will be one of the best Jon Favreau has ever had. The Iron Man and Iron Man 2 director blew away everyone's expectations with his first entry into the superhero genre, and laid the groundwork for The Avengers, which I'm sure you all know hits theaters this Friday. Favreau executive produced that film, which is already breaking box office records overseas, and now Variety reports that he'll star alongside Jason Bateman, Melissa McCarthy, and Amanda Peet in Seth Gordon's upcoming comedy Identity Thief. Chalk up another highlight for the man who played Tony Stark's bodyguard Happy Hogan.

We're not sure what character he'll Favreau will be playing, but the film will follow Bateman's character, a timid guy whose life is turned upside down when his identity is stolen by a wild woman (McCarthy). Clark Duke plays an Eagle Scout whose identity has also been swiped, and John Cho is also on board as an executive who wants Bateman to join his team. Aside from a brief appearance as a "Thark Bookie" in John Carter and a role in Alex Kurtzman's directorial debut People Like Us, this will be the first time Favreau has been in front of the camera since Iron Man 2 and the first time he'll appear in a studio comedy since 2009's Couples Retreat. I prefer Favreau as a director these days, but he's definitely a solid comedic actor and I'm hoping his pairing with Seth Gordon will bring out the best in him. Thoughts?

Filed under Casting, Movie News

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Favreau's directorial work has outshone his acting by a long stretch, so I can't get excited about this. Neither he nor Vaughn has acted anywhere near as well, or in anything near a good, as Swingers but Favreau, particularly, is a limited range actor based on what we've seen of him. He's shown that he's got muscle in getting good movies made though, which is mightily impressive, so I'd like to see him concentrate on that. However, that said, if the guy wants to do a few acting jobs, good luck to him, he can do whatever he wants.