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A plus-sized actor of Afro-Cuban descent whose killer smile and infectious laugh can liven up any comedy, Faizon Love got his start in such well-received African-American comedies as Fear of a Black Hat and Friday before getting wide recognition in such high-profile comedies as Money Talks, The Replacements, and Elf. It was during high school in New Jersey that the aspiring comic first became interested in performing for a crowd, his English teacher recognizing Love's skill for comedy and allowing the student to perform for his classmates on days when lessons went especially well. A move to New York following graduation found Love making a bid for the big time in the East Coast entertainment capitol, and it didn't take long for the performer to land an Off-Broadway role in the Harlem National Black Theater production of Bitter Heart Midtown (a modernized re-telling of Charles Dickens' Great Expectations). The subsequent death of beloved comic Robin Harris during the production of the animated comedy BeBe's Kids provided the emerging performer with his first big break in film, and though it was strictly a vocal affair Love performed admirably under pressure and could next be seen performing alongside Robert Townsend, Rusty Cundieff, Ice Cube, and Shawn Wayans in a series of low-budget but well-received comedy features. His connection with Townsend later parlaying into an extended television role on the small screen sitcom The Parent Hood, love continued to climb the credits until his role as a gridiron giant in The Replacements punted him into the mainstream. It was following his role in the Keanu Reeves sports comedy that Love's career truly took off, with a 2001 performance opposite Sean "Puffy" Combs in Jon Favreau's Made marking the beginning of a working relationship between the director and the actor that would continue in when Love appeared opposite Wil Ferrell in Elf. A later turn as a surfing football player in the Blue Crush found the actor overcoming his duel fears of sharks and water to brave the waves, and after attempting to remain in control of a prison as the warden in The Fighting Temptations it was time to hit the road in Torque, a two-wheeled thrill-ride starring Love's former Friday co-star Ice Cube. Videogame players with an ear for detail would recognize Love's substantial role in the hit 2004 release Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, with additional roles opposite Lindsay Lohan in Just My Luck and in the long-awaited OutKast musical Idlewild effectively serving to mark the arrival of a comedic actor whose versatility continues to impress. |
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