Langston Faizon Santisima was born in Santiago, Cuba on June 14, 1968, but was raised in Newark, NJ and San Diego, CA. Changing his name to Faizon Love, he started out in showbiz as a stand-up comedian at 15, before finding steady work as a colorful character actor both on TV and in film.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Among the many movies on his resume\u2019 are Elf, Blue Crush, Friday, 3 Strikes, Money Talks, The Replacements, The Players Club, Idlewild. Torque, The Perfect Holiday and Who\u2019s Your Caddy? On television, the burly teddy bear has appeared on such sitcoms as \u201cThat\u2019s So Raven,\u201d \u201cThe Wayans Bros,\u201d and \u201cThe Parent \u2019Hood.\u201d Here, Faizon talks about his new film, Couples Retreat, a battle-of-the-sexes ensemble comedy co-starring includes Vince Vaughn, Jason Bateman, Kali Hawk, Kristin Davis and Jon Favreau.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Kam Williams<\/strong>: Hey, Faizon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Faizon Love<\/strong>: What\u2019s up, man?<\/p>\n\n\n\n KW<\/strong>: First, let me tell you how much I\u2019ve enjoyed your work. You seem to pop up doing a hilarious cameo in every other movie I see.<\/p>\n\n\n\n FL<\/strong>: [Laughs] That\u2019s funny, because this is one of the last two movies I\u2019m doing in order to focus on writing and directing. There\u2019s an Eddie Murphy project I may do, but I\u2019ve already directed my first piece. [Tao of the Golden Mask]<\/p>\n\n\n\n KW<\/strong>: Wow!<\/p>\n\n\n\n FL<\/strong>: Yeah. That\u2019s where it\u2019s at.<\/p>\n\n\n\n KW<\/strong>: So, what type of pictures do you want to direct?<\/p>\n\n\n\n FL<\/strong>: The first one is sort of an homage to Bruce Lee, but the good guys wear black. It\u2019s a fun popcorn movie. And I\u2019m going to make some more Seventies-style karate movies with budgets around $5 million. Hopefully, they\u2019ll turn over a profit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n KW<\/strong>: Speaking of directing, Couples Retreat was made by a first-time director, Peter Billingsley. Was that risky?<\/p>\n\n\n\n FL<\/strong>: Not really. Peter\u2019s a part of the family. He\u2019s been around the business. He had Jon [Favreau] there, and Vinnie [Vaughn] was hands-on, too. And most good directors are good actors, and Peter\u2019s been an actor for years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n KW<\/strong>: Yeah, as a child, he played Ralphie in A Christmas Story. <\/p>\n\n\n\n FL<\/strong>: Oh man, he goes back. He was also The Dirt Bike Kid. So, he\u2019s developed a very sensitive ear and a great eye, and he surrounded himself here with a great team.<\/p>\n\n\n\n KW<\/strong>: There are so many big names in this cast: Vince Vaughn\u2026 Kristin Davis\u2026 Jason Bateman\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n FL<\/strong>: [Cuts me off] Wait, you\u2019ve got to say, \u201cJason [expletive]-ing Bateman!\u201d That\u2019s how we say his name. Working with such a great bunch of guys made it easy to go on autopilot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n KW<\/strong>: But with such a talented cast, was it hard to find the space to do your thing?<\/p>\n\n\n\n FL<\/strong>: No, it went very naturally. It\u2019s not about the space, it\u2019s about the piece.<\/p>\n\n\n\n KW<\/strong>: Couples Retreat sounds a lot like Neil Simon\u2019s California Suite, the way it revolves around four couples. Did you ever see that film?<\/p>\n\n\n\n FL<\/strong>: Yes! Exactly! A lot of people don\u2019t know that movie.<\/p>\n\n\n\n KW<\/strong>: You\u2019ve done some outrageous things on camera? Is there a line you wouldn\u2019t cross?<\/p>\n\n\n\n FL<\/strong>: Yeah. It\u2019s got to be fun and it\u2019s got to make sense for the character. But this is just entertainment. Either you\u2019re going to be the dancing bear or you\u2019re going to be the girl with the big [expletives].<\/p>\n\n\n\n KW<\/strong>: What would you say was your big break?<\/p>\n\n\n\n FL<\/strong>: [Laughs] I\u2019m still looking for it. A career is like bricks and mortar. Each movie you make adds to the foundation of a body of work. When you retire, you may get to look back and reflect on what might have been your big break, but you don\u2019t have that luxury in the middle of your career. You have to keep plugging away, working hard and reinventing yourself <\/p>\n\n\n\n KW<\/strong>: Couples Retreat might be a bit of a breakout role, since your character Shane is more complex than most of the ones you\u2019ve generally played. <\/p>\n\n\n\n FL<\/strong>: Yes, this film is a little different for me, because I play more of a leading man.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Fav [Jon Favreau] has always been telling me, \u201cDude, you can do a lead role.\u201d But Hollywood tends to see you in a limited way that creates a ceiling. I was lucky that Stuber [producer Scott Stuber] and everybody else saw my acting range and felt I could do this.<\/p>\n\n\n\n KW<\/strong>: You\u2019re paired opposite Kali Hawk in this picture. How was it working with her?<\/p>\n\n\n\n FL<\/strong>: Kali\u2019s brand new, but I think people are going to like her.<\/p>\n\n\n\n KW<\/strong>: Tell me a little about your background.<\/p>\n\n\n\n FL<\/strong>: My father was in the Navy. So, I was raised in San Diego, and we did move to Newark, but I was born in Cuba.<\/p>\n\n\n\n KW<\/strong>: Is there any question no one ever asks you, that you wish someone would?<\/p>\n\n\n\n FL<\/strong>: Yeah. Why are they asking Obama for his birth certificate?<\/p>\n\n\n\n KW<\/strong>: Why do you think they\u2019re doing it?<\/p>\n\n\n\n FL<\/strong>: Because the guy is good.<\/p>\n\n\n\n KW<\/strong>: The Tasha Smith question: Are you ever afraid?<\/p>\n\n\n\n FL<\/strong>: No.<\/p>\n\n\n\n KW: The Columbus Short question: Are you happy?<\/p>\n\n\n\n FL: Yeah, sure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n KW: The Flex Alexander question: How do you get through the tough times?<\/p>\n\n\n\n FL: [Chuckles] Everybody prepares for victory, nobody prepares for defeat. There are no tough times. Those defeats make the victories sweeter. So, they both work hand-in-hand. <\/p>\n\n\n\n KW: The Teri Emerson question: When was the last time you had a good laugh?<\/p>\n\n\n\n FL: While hanging out with Eddie Murphy a couple of weeks ago. <\/p>\n\n\n\n KW: The bookworm Troy Johnson question: What was the last book you read?<\/p>\n\n\n\n FL: The autobiography of Fidel Castro.<\/p>\n\n\n\n