Donald Faison
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Donald Adeosun Faison (; born June 22, 1974) is an American actor and comedian, best known for his leading role as Dr. Chris Turk in the
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/
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comedy-drama ''
Scrubs Scrub(s) may refer to: * Scrub, low shrub and grass characteristic of scrubland * Scrubs (clothing), worn by medical staff * ''Scrubs'' (TV series), an American television program * Scrubs (occupation), also called "scrub tech," "scrub nurse," o ...
'' (2001–2010), and a supporting role as Murray in both the film ''
Clueless ''Clueless'' is a 1995 American coming-of-age teen comedy film written and directed by Amy Heckerling. It stars Alicia Silverstone with supporting roles by Stacey Dash, Brittany Murphy and Paul Rudd. It was produced by Scott Rudin and Robert La ...
'' (1995) and the subsequent television series of the same name. He also starred as Phil Chase in the
TV Land TV Land is an American pay television channel owned by Paramount Global through its networks division. Originally a spinoff of Nick at Nite consisting exclusively of classic television shows, the channel now airs a combination of recent and cla ...
sitcom A sitcom, a portmanteau of situation comedy, or situational comedy, is a genre of comedy centered on a fixed set of characters who mostly carry over from episode to episode. Sitcoms can be contrasted with sketch comedy, where a troupe may use ne ...
''
The Exes ''The Exes'' is an American sitcom starring Donald Faison, Wayne Knight, Kristen Johnston, David Alan Basche, and Kelly Stables. It debuted on TV Land on November 30, 2011, airing on Wednesday nights at 10:30 p.m. The series was created by ...
'' (2011–2015). Faison has also co-starred in the films ''
Waiting to Exhale ''Waiting to Exhale'' is a 1995 American romance film directed by Forest Whitaker (in his feature film directorial debut) and starring Whitney Houston and Angela Bassett. The film was adapted from the 1992 novel of the same name by Terry McMil ...
'' (1995), ''
Remember the Titans ''Remember the Titans'' is a 2000 American biographical sports film produced by Jerry Bruckheimer and directed by Boaz Yakin. The screenplay, written by Gregory Allen Howard, is based on the true story of coach Herman Boone, portrayed by Denzel W ...
'' (2000), ''
Uptown Girls ''Uptown Girls'' is a 2003 American comedy-drama film directed by Boaz Yakin, from a screenplay by Julia Dahl, Mo Ogrodnik and Lisa Davidowitz adapted from the story by Allison Jacobs. It stars Brittany Murphy as a 22-year-old living a charmed li ...
'' (2003), '' Something New'' (2006), ''
Next Day Air ''Next Day Air'' is a 2009 American dark comedy film that was released by Summit Entertainment on May 8, 2009. The film starring Donald Faison and Mike Epps was produced on an estimated budget of $3 million. Two criminals accidentally accept ...
'' (2009), ''
Skyline A skyline is the outline or shape viewed near the horizon. It can be created by a city’s overall structure, or by human intervention in a rural setting, or in nature that is formed where the sky meets buildings or the land. City skylines ...
'' (2010), and '' Kick-Ass 2'' (2013).


Early life

Faison was born in
Harlem Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street (Manhattan), 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and 110th Street (Manhattan), ...
in
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
, the son of Shirley, a talent agent, and Donald Faison, a building manager. His parents divorced in 1992. He is the older brother of singer/musician
Olamide Faison Olamide Aladejobi Patrick Alexander Faison ( (; born July 21, 1983) is an American actor and singer. Career He plays Miles Robinson on the children's television show ''Sesame Street''. Born in New York City, Faison joined the cast in 2003. H ...
. His middle name stems from the words "ade" (meaning "crown") and "
osun Ọṣun, is an orisha, a spirit, a deity, or a goddess that reflects one of the manifestations of the Yorùbá Supreme Being in the Ifá oral tradition and Yoruba-based religions of West Africa. She is one of the most popular and venerated ...
" (meaning "river of life") in the west African language of
Yoruba The Yoruba people (, , ) are a West African ethnic group that mainly inhabit parts of Nigeria, Benin, and Togo. The areas of these countries primarily inhabited by Yoruba are often collectively referred to as Yorubaland. The Yoruba constitute ...
. His parents were active with the
National Black Theatre The National Black Theatre is a non-profit cultural and educational corporation, and community-based theatre company located on 5th Avenue in Harlem, New York. History The National Black Theatre (NBT) is a non-profit cultural and educational co ...
in
Harlem Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street (Manhattan), 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and 110th Street (Manhattan), ...
. He attended the
Professional Children's School Professional Children's School (PCS) is a not-for-profit, college preparatory school geared toward working and aspiring child actors and dancers in grades six through twelve. The school was founded in New York City in 1914 to provide an academic ed ...
in Manhattan with his best friend, actor
Dash Mihok Dashiell Raymond Mihok (; born May 24, 1974) is an American actor and director best known for playing Brendan "Bunchy" Donovan in the Showtime drama ''Ray Donovan''. Early life Mihok was born in New York City, the son of theater actors Andrea Mi ...
.


Career

Faison first appeared in a 1989 commercial for
Folgers coffee Folgers Coffee is a brand of ground, instant, and single-use pod coffee produced and sold in the United States, with additional distribution in Asia, Canada and Mexico. It forms part of the food and beverage division of The J.M. Smucker Compa ...
at the age of 15, in which he played the younger brother of a soldier returning from war. In 1992, he appeared with
Malik Yoba A​​bdul-Malik Kashie Yoba (born September 17, 1967) is an American actor. He is known for his starring role as NYPD Detective J. C. Williams on the Fox police drama ''New York Undercover'' and as Yul Brenner in the film '' Cool Runnings''. ...
in the ABC News special ''Prejudice: Answering Children's Questions'', hosted by
Peter Jennings Peter Charles Archibald Ewart Jennings (July 29, 1938August 7, 2005) was a Canadian-born American television journalist who served as the sole anchor of ''ABC World News Tonight'' from 1983 until his death from lung cancer in 2005. He dropped o ...
. 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 ''Clueless'' is a 1995 American coming-of-age teen comedy film written and directed by Amy Heckerling. It stars Alicia Silverstone with supporting roles by Stacey Dash, Brittany Murphy and Paul Rudd. It was produced by Scott Rudin and Robert La ...
'' and the subsequent
television series A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite television, satellite, or cable television, cable, excluding breaking news, television adverti ...
, which ran from 1996 to 1999. In 1995, he also appeared in ''
Waiting to Exhale ''Waiting to Exhale'' is a 1995 American romance film directed by Forest Whitaker (in his feature film directorial debut) and starring Whitney Houston and Angela Bassett. The film was adapted from the 1992 novel of the same name by Terry McMil ...
'' as Tarik, the son of
Loretta Devine Loretta Devine (born August 21, 1949) is an American actress, singer and voice actor. She is known for numerous roles across stage and screen. Her most high profile roles include Lorrell Robinson in the original Broadway production of ''Dreamgir ...
's character, Gloria. He was featured in ''
New Jersey Drive ''New Jersey Drive'' is a 1995 crime drama film written and directed by Nick Gomez and executive produced by Spike Lee. The film is about joyriding teenagers in 1990s Newark, New Jersey, then known as the "car theft capital of the world". The fi ...
''. He also starred in ''
Big Fat Liar ''Big Fat Liar'' is a 2002 American comedy film, directed by Shawn Levy, adapted by Dan Schneider from a story by Schneider and Brian Robbins, and starring Frankie Muniz, Paul Giamatti, Amanda Bynes, Amanda Detmer, Donald Faison, Lee Majors, an ...
'' alongside
Frankie Muniz Francisco Muniz IV (; born December 5, 1985) is an American actor. He is best known for playing the title character in the Fox sitcom ''Malcolm in the Middle'' (2000–2006), which earned him an Emmy Award nomination and two Golden Globe Award n ...
,
Paul Giamatti Paul Edward Valentine Giamatti (; born June 6, 1967) is an American actor and film producer. He first garnered attention for his breakout role in '' Private Parts'' as Kenny "Pig Vomit" Rushton, leading to supporting roles in ''Saving Private R ...
, and
Amanda Bynes Amanda Laura Bynes (born April 3, 1986) is an American actress, known for her work in television and film throughout the 1990s and 2000s. Bynes began her career as a child actress, working on the Nickelodeon sketch comedy series ''All That'' ...
. He had a recurring role as Tracy on '' Felicity'', appeared in ''
Remember the Titans ''Remember the Titans'' is a 2000 American biographical sports film produced by Jerry Bruckheimer and directed by Boaz Yakin. The screenplay, written by Gregory Allen Howard, is based on the true story of coach Herman Boone, portrayed by Denzel W ...
'' as the running-back turned corner-back Petey Jones, and provided voice work for various characters in the MTV animated series ''
Clone High ''Clone High'' (occasionally referred to in the United States as ''Clone High USA'') is an adult animated science fiction sitcom created by Phil Lord, Christopher Miller and Bill Lawrence. The show centers on a high school populated by the clo ...
''. He had minor roles in the sitcoms '' Sister, Sister'' and ''
Sabrina, the Teenage Witch ''Sabrina the Teenage Witch'' is a comic book series published by Archie Comics about the adventures of a fictional American teenager named Sabrina Spellman. Sabrina was created by writer George Gladir and artist Dan DeCarlo, and first appeared ...
'', and in the film ''
Josie and the Pussycats Josie and the Pussycats (sometimes simply known as The Pussycats) are a fictional girl group A girl group is a music act featuring several female singers who generally harmonize together. The term "girl group" is also used in a narrower sense i ...
''. In 2005, Faison produced one episode of MTV's ''
Punk'd ''Punk'd'' is an American hidden camera–practical joke reality television series that first aired on MTV in 2003. It was created by Ashton Kutcher and Jason Goldberg, with Kutcher serving as producer and host. It bears a resemblance to both the ...
'' involving his ''Scrubs'' co-star
Zach Braff Zachary Israel Braff'Scrubs' Star Zach Braff Wows ...
. He also appeared in the music videos for
Brandy Brandy is a liquor produced by distilling wine. Brandy generally contains 35–60% alcohol by volume (70–120 US proof) and is typically consumed as an after-dinner digestif. Some brandies are aged in wooden casks. Others are coloured with ...
's "
Sittin' Up in My Room "Sittin' Up in My Room" is a song by American recording artist Brandy Norwood. It was written and produced by Babyface and recorded by Norwood for the soundtrack of the 1995 film ''Waiting to Exhale'', starring Whitney Houston and Angela Bassett. ...
,"
Fall Out Boy Fall Out Boy is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Wilmette, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago, in 2001. The band consists of lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Patrick Stump, bassist Pete Wentz, lead guitarist Joe Trohman, and drummer A ...
's cover of Michael Jackson's "
Beat It "Beat It" is a song by American singer Michael Jackson from his sixth studio album, '' Thriller'' (1982). It was written by Jackson and produced by Jackson and Quincy Jones. Jones encouraged Jackson to include a rock song on the album. Jackson l ...
," and
Gavin Degraw Gavin Shane DeGraw (born February 4, 1977) is an American singer-songwriter. DeGraw rose to fame with his song "I Don't Want to Be" from his debut album '' Chariot'' (2003); the song became the main theme song for The WB drama series ''One Tree ...
's "
Chariot A chariot is a type of cart driven by a charioteer, usually using horses to provide rapid motive power. The oldest known chariots have been found in burials of the Sintashta culture in modern-day Chelyabinsk Oblast, Russia, dated to c. 2000&nbs ...
." 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 Stop motion is an animated filmmaking technique in which objects are physically manipulated in small increments between individually photographed frames so that they will appear to exhibit independent motion or change when the series of frames i ...
animation, and started a ''Star Wars-''themed
Lego Lego ( , ; stylized as LEGO) is a line of plastic construction toys that are manufactured by The Lego Group, a privately held company based in Billund, Denmark. The company's flagship product, Lego, consists of variously colored interlocking ...
stop-motion show, ''BlackStormTrooper'', on his
YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...
channel, ''shundigga''. On February 13, 2009, Faison participated in the
NBA All-Star Weekend The National Basketball Association All-Star Weekend is a weekend festival held every February during the middle of the NBA regular season that consists of a variety of basketball events, exhibitions, and performances culminating in the NBA All-Star ...
Celebrity Game. Other celebrities participating included
NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United St ...
Hall of Famers
Clyde Drexler Clyde Austin Drexler (born June 22, 1962) is an American former professional basketball player and the commissioner of the Big3 3-on-3 basketball league. Nicknamed "Clyde the Glide", he played 15 seasons in the National Basketball Association ...
and
Dominique Wilkins Jacques Dominique Wilkins (born January 12, 1960) is an American former professional basketball player who primarily played for the Atlanta Hawks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Wilkins was a nine-time NBA All-Star, a seven-time All ...
,
NFL The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the major ...
wide-receiver
Terrell Owens Terrell Eldorado Owens (; born December 7, 1973), nicknamed T.O., is an American football wide receiver for the Knights of Degen of Fan Controlled Football (FCF). He previously played in the National Football League (NFL) for 15 seasons. Regar ...
, actor
Chris Tucker Christopher Tucker (born August 31, 1971) is an American actor and comedian. Tucker made his debut in 1992 as a stand-up performer on the HBO comedy series ''Def Comedy Jam'', where he frequently appeared on the show during the 1990s. He app ...
, and four
Harlem Globetrotters The Harlem Globetrotters are an American exhibition basketball team. They combine athleticism, theater, and comedy in their style of play. Created in 1926 by Tommy Brookins in Chicago, Illinois, the team adopted the name ''Harlem'' because of i ...
. In 2010, Faison starred alongside
Scottie Thompson Susan Scott "Scottie" Thompson (born November 9, 1981) is an American film, television, and stage actress. She is best known as ''Jeanne Benoit'' in '' NCIS''. Early life Thompson grew up in Richmond, Virginia, where she attended Collegiate Sc ...
,
Brittany Daniel Brittany Ann Daniel (born March 17, 1976) is an American actress. She is the twin sister of photographer and former actress Cynthia Daniel Cynthia Lynn Daniel (married name: Cynthia Hauser) is an American photographer and former actress. ...
,
Eric Balfour Eric Salter Balfour (born April 24, 1977) is an American actor and singer. He is the lead singer of Born as Ghosts, formerly known as Fredalba. He made his film debut in the drama ''Shattered Image'' (1998), followed by roles in ''What Women Want' ...
,
Laz Alonso Laz or LAZ may refer to: People * Laz people of the Black Sea area **Laz language First name * Laz Alonso (born 1975), American actor * Laz Barrera (1924–1991), Cuban-born American racehorse trainer * Laz-D (born 1982), American rapper *Laz Dí ...
, and
Crystal Reed Crystal Marie Reed (born February 6, 1985) is an American actress. She came to prominence for playing Allison Argent in the series ''Teen Wolf'' (2011–2014). She departed the series after the third season but made a guest appearance in the fif ...
in the
Brothers Strause Greg and Colin Strause, known professionally as The Brothers Strause, are American film directors, producers and special effects artists. They are known for directing the 2007 film '' Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem'' and the 2010 film ''Skyline.'' ...
science fiction thriller ''
Skyline A skyline is the outline or shape viewed near the horizon. It can be created by a city’s overall structure, or by human intervention in a rural setting, or in nature that is formed where the sky meets buildings or the land. City skylines ...
''. Faison was in the 2010
CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...
comedy
pilot An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its directional flight controls. Some other aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are also considered aviators, because they a ...
''The Odds''. As of March 2011, Faison appeared in commercials for ''
The Sims Medieval ''The Sims Medieval'' is a life simulation video game that was released in March 2011 by Electronic Arts for Microsoft Windows and Mac OS X, and on September 22, 2011 for iOS, as part of ''The Sims'' series. It was also made available for Windo ...
''. In 2012, he made a cameo appearance in the movie ''
Pitch Perfect ''Pitch Perfect'' is a 2012 American musical comedy film directed by Jason Moore and written by Kay Cannon. It features an ensemble cast, including Anna Kendrick, Rebel Wilson, Skylar Astin, Anna Camp, Brittany Snow, Hana Mae Lee, Alexis Knap ...
''. In 2013, Faison hosted the short-lived TBS comedy sketch show '' Who Gets the Last Laugh?''. From 2016 to 2018, he hosted the GSN game show '' Winsanity''. From 2018 until 2020, Faison voiced pilot Hype Fazon, a character written and named for him by
Dave Filoni David Filoni (born June 7, 1974) is an American director, producer, screenwriter, and voice actor. He has worked on ''Avatar: The Last Airbender'', ''The Mandalorian'', and on the theatrical film and television series of '' Star Wars: The Clone ...
, in ''
Star Wars Resistance ''Star Wars Resistance'' is an American 3D animated comic science fiction television series produced by Lucasfilm Animation. It follows Kazuda Xiono, a New Republic pilot who is recruited by the Resistance to spy on the growing threat of the ...
''. Faison had caught Filoni's attention via his stop motion Star Wars cartoons. Faison and ''
Scrubs Scrub(s) may refer to: * Scrub, low shrub and grass characteristic of scrubland * Scrubs (clothing), worn by medical staff * ''Scrubs'' (TV series), an American television program * Scrubs (occupation), also called "scrub tech," "scrub nurse," o ...
'' co-star
Zach Braff Zachary Israel Braff'Scrubs' Star Zach Braff Wows ...
co-host the rewatch
podcast A podcast is a program made available in digital format for download over the Internet. For example, an episodic series of digital audio or video files that a user can download to a personal device to listen to at a time of their choosing ...
''Fake Doctors, Real Friends'', which launched in March 2020, sharing their stories and experiences of shooting the show. The podcast is distributed by
iHeartRadio iHeartRadio (often shortened to just "iHeart") is an American freemium broadcast, podcast and radio streaming Computing platform, platform owned by iHeartMedia. It was founded in August 2008. , iHeartRadio was functioning as the national umbr ...
.


Personal life

In 1997, Faison started dating Lisa Askey, a nursing student. The two were married from 2001 to 2005. After six years of dating, Faison married his second wife, CaCee Cobb, on December 15, 2012. The wedding was held at the home of Faison's former ''
Scrubs Scrub(s) may refer to: * Scrub, low shrub and grass characteristic of scrubland * Scrubs (clothing), worn by medical staff * ''Scrubs'' (TV series), an American television program * Scrubs (occupation), also called "scrub tech," "scrub nurse," o ...
'' co-star and best friend
Zach Braff Zachary Israel Braff'Scrubs' Star Zach Braff Wows ...
, who also served as a groomsman. Serving as a bridesmaid was singer
Jessica Simpson Jessica Ann Simpson (born July 10, 1980) is an American singer, actress, entrepreneur and philanthropist. After performing in church choirs as a child, Simpson signed with Columbia Records in 1997, aged seventeen. Her debut studio album, '' Swe ...
, for whom Cobb formerly worked as a personal assistant. Faison has six children: son Shawn, born in 1997, with ex-girlfriend Audrey Ince; fraternal boy-girl twins Dade and Kaya born in 1999, and son Kobe, born in 2001, with first wife Lisa Askey; and with second wife Cobb, a son Rocco born in 2013 and a daughter Wilder, born in 2015. Dade, Kaya, and Kobe moved in with Donald and CaCee after their mother Lisa Askey died in 2017.


Filmography


Film


Television


Music videos


Video games

A dance that Faison performs during an episode of ''Scrubs'' is featured in the video game ''
Fortnite ''Fortnite'' is an online video game developed by Epic Games and released in 2017. It is available in three distinct game mode versions that otherwise share the same general gameplay and game engine: ''Fortnite Battle Royale'', a free-to-p ...
''. Faison's permission was not sought before including the dance, and he did not receive royalties for it.


Awards and nominations


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Faison, Donald 1974 births Living people African-American game show hosts African-American male actors American male film actors American male television actors American male voice actors Comedians from New York City Male actors from New York City People from Harlem 20th-century African-American people 21st-century African-American people 20th-century American comedians 21st-century American comedians 20th-century American male actors 21st-century American male actors