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(Credit: Eva Rinaldi)<\/p>\n
Sun 28 September 2025 1:00, UK <\/p>\n
If you total up the influence the famous guest stars of the TV show Friends have had on entertainment as a whole, the person who comes out on top bypasses Julia Roberts and Brad Pitt as Jon Favreau<\/a>. <\/p>\n Favreau plays Monica\u2019s boyfriend Pete in season three. You know, the rich guy who gets beaten to a pulp during an MMA fight and flies his dates to Rome? His impact as an actor may have been lost to the wind, but that all changed when he directed Iron Man and effectively created the globe-conquering Marvel Cinematic Universe. Had he gotten this wrong, there would be no Avengers assembling, no galaxy guardians, no Eternals! Actually, that last one may have been a blessing in disguise\u2026<\/p>\n The world of comic books made Favreau, and it turns out his love for science fiction goes much deeper than a man flying around in a metal onesie. Pre-Tony Stark, Favreau directed Zathura: A Space Adventure, an intergalactic sequel to Jumanji. Once in bed with the \u2018House of Mouse\u2019, he was placed in charge of The Mandalorian, a wildly successful spin-off from the Star Wars franchise. Favreau is set to direct the movie The Mandalorian and Grogu in 2026. He did also make Cowboys & Aliens, a film most people, including star Harrison Ford, would like to forget.<\/p>\n In an interview with Goop<\/a> (yes, that Goop), Favreau revealed several of his favourite films. In a list that also included Kurosawa\u2019s Seven Samurai, the documentary Vision of Light, and the animated children\u2019s film Kung Fu Panda, he also made space for the 1973 movie Westworld. \u201cDirected by Michael Crichton. Great concept. Great violence,\u201d he said, \u201cYul Brynner created the paradigm for Jason [Voorhees] and The Terminator\u201d.<\/p>\n Though best known for penning the novel Jurassic Park and a bunch of other books turned less-successful films<\/a>, Crichton has taken a few swipes at the director\u2019s chair, too. Westworld was based on his script about a futuristic amusement park designed to look like a town in the Wild West, where Yul Brynner plays a hyper-realistic android called The Gunslinger who malfunctions into hunting down the park guests and unleashing a bloodbath. His emotionless, relentless performance is what Favreau likened to the hockey mask-wearing killer and Arnold Schwarzenegger\u2019s futuristic murder machine.<\/p>\n