Donald Faison

Donald Adeosun Faison (; 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, in Harlem, New York City, to talent agent Shirley and building manager Donald Faison. His parents were active with the National Black Theatre in Harlem. They divorced in 1992. He is the older brother of singer/musician Olamide Faison.

Faison attended the Professional Children's School in Manhattan with his best friend, actor Dash Mihok.

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. 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. 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''.

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.

In 2010, Faison starred alongside Scottie Thompson, Brittany Daniel, Eric Balfour, Laz Alonso, and Crystal Reed in the Brothers Strause science fiction thriller ''Skyline''.

Faison was in the 2010 CBS comedy pilot ''The Odds''.

As of March 2011, Faison appeared in commercials for '' The Sims Medieval''. In 2012, he made a cameo appearance in the movie '' Pitch Perfect''. 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, in ''Star Wars Resistance''. Faison had caught Filoni's attention via his stop motion Star Wars cartoons.

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.

Faison created the web series ''Alabama Jackson'' for Adult Swim's YouTube channel, which premiered in 2022. Faison stars as the title character.

Personal life

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). 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.

When Askey, Faison's first wife, died in 2017, their children moved in with Faison and Cobb. Faison is also the first cousin of actor Julian Horton.

Filmography

Film

Television

Music videos

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.

Awards and nominations

References

External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Faison, Donald
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