Jon Favreau says films were a form of "escapism" for him growing up.
The director-and-actor used to immerse himself in Hollywood movies as a child when his family life was crumbling around him, but his passion for the industry has stayed with him ever since.
He explained: "My parents split up when I was seven, and by the time I was eleven my mother had passed away from leukaemia. If you stack up those experiences, those were the things that I spent the rest of my life contending with, and movies became an escapism from that."
Jon, 47, has had a string of successful movies roles, including 'The Break-Up', and directorial gigs, such as 'Iron Man', but still feels hurt by the poor reception his 2011 sci-fi western 'Cowboys & Aliens' received.
He explained to The Times newspaper: "It was the first time that critics didn't love something that I did. And that hurt. I didn't want to yell at anybody. I just felt sad, really."
The star has gone all out for his new low-budget comedy, 'Chef', which sees him play a disillusioned cook, who regains his passion by manning a taco truck across America and seduces Scarlett Johansson's alter-ego along the way.
Jon undertook an intensive French culinary training course and worked in the high-pressure kitchens of US chef Roy Choi in order to get into character, but he admits he has never charmed his wife of 14 years, Joya Tillem, with his own cooking.

Ferne McCann thinks she's the "queen bee" of 'The Only Way is Essex'.
The reality star thinks now that fan favourites Sam Faiers and Lucy Mecklenburgh have left the ITV2 show, the cameras are rightfully going to focus more on her.
She enthused: "I'm always the queen bee. A few of the girls have left, which has shot me into the limelight. And I'm a f***ing good character! One thing I will say, which I said to Tom Pearce and Charlie Sims on the way here, is: I'm Ferne McCann. I'm one of a kind."
Ferne has reconciled with her boyfriend Charlie following several tumultuous bust-ups and the pair think they're now the ITV2 show's power couple.
The 23-year-old brunette said: "I suppose we're the ones who've had the most turbulence and cheating scandals."
Charlie added: "But we're stronger now."
The cast recently soaked up the sun filming special 'The Only Way Is Marbs' and Ferne predicts newly single Danielle Armstrong might strike up a summer fling with Tom Pearce.
She told Now magazine: "Danielle Armstrong and Tom Pearce were getting a bit frisky! He was saying that they'd had a game of naked pool earlier."

Robert Pattinson claims he can't remember not being famous.
The British actor - who was propelled into the spotlight when he landed a leading role in the 'Twilight Saga' franchise when he was 22 - admits it took him a long time to adjust to being a Hollywood star, but the constraints of fame no longer bother him.
The 28-year-old actor said: "I had a bit of a struggle at first because my life really contracted and I couldn't do a lot of the stuff I used to be able to do. But once I got through that a year or two ago I just accepted my life is something else and now I can't really remember what it was like before, so it's much easier to deal with."
Robert enjoyed filming his upcoming movie, 'The Rover' in Australia, as it gave him a chance to relax away from prying eyes.
He said: "I just loved it because not only was there no one trying to find you, there's no one there at all. I wasn't worrying about anyone trying to sneak up on me or anything so I found it incredibly peaceful and relaxing."
The actor considers Los Angeles home now.
He said: "I spent two months in England last year which is the longest I've spent there in six years, which was nice, but I always go back to England at Christmas time and get so depressed that I'm glad to get back to Los Angeles. I've really grown to like L.A and I guess it's my home at the moment."
But the heartthrob - who split from Kristen Stewart last summer and is rumoured to be dating Imogen Kerr - insists he has never turned to a therapist to help him cope.
He jokingly told the UK's The Telegraph newspaper: "I would love to go into therapy but it makes me too anxious."
But he the added: "I've been talking to a lot of people about it and I don't know. I kind of like my anxiety in a funny sort of way and I like my peaks and troughs. Luckily depression never lasts long with me."

Kristen Bell says being a mother is "far more rewarding than exhausting."
The 'Veronica Mars' actress, who has 15-month-old daughter Lincoln with husband Dax Shepard, loves watching their little girl grow up and become more independent.
The 33-year-old star said: "She's delicious. It's such a fun age. I feel like having a toddler is exhausting and extremely rewarding -- and far more rewarding than exhausting."
The blonde beauty spends as much time as possible with her daughter and even takes her on hiking dates with her husband.
She told PEOPLE.com: "My go-to workout is usually hiking. I often will strap the baby to my chest for the hike."
She added: "[Hiking] is easy because sometimes it doesn't actually take me away from anything because my whole family's coming on the hike."
The 'Frozen' actress married Dax, 39, in a low-key ceremony that cost $142 in Los Angeles last October and the couple hope to have more children as soon as possible.
Kristen previously said: "I would love to give her a sibling. I had two older sisters ad I think the relationship between siblings is so special. You're able to share that, 'We're all in this together,' feeling. Because growing up is, like, the worst. Your body hurts and you can't communicate with anyone, and you think you know stuff before you know it, and your parents are idiots, and they're embarrassing."

Jamie Lynn Spears serenaded her daughter at a music festival for her birthday.
The 23-year-old singer helped her little girl Maddie celebrate turning six in style on Thursday (19.06.14), by bringing her on stage and singing 'Happy Birthday' with help from her fans at the Country Jam 2014 preview in Grand Junction, Colorado.
The country singer's proud older sister, Britney Spears, who has two sons, Sean, eight, and Jayden, seven, posted several videos of the performance on Instagram, with the caption: "Wishing a very Happy 6th Birthday to Princess Maddie!! Wish I was there to sing Happy Birthday to u (sic)."
Jamie Lynn later responded: "We wish you and the boys were here too!!!"
'Piece of Me' hitmaker Britney, 32, also shared a second clip of her niece, wearing a princess gown and singing at home, and wrote: "Sing it Maddie!!! Loving all the bday videos @jamielynnspears has been sending me today 🙂 So cute! (sic)"
Jamie Lynn recently claimed that her famous sibling was like a "second mother" to her when they were growing up.
She said: "There's such a big age difference between me and my sister that I think [she] almost was like a second mom.
"She's so supportive and she's so encouraging of me and she's like my biggest fan... She's always had my back."

Brandi Glanville insists she was joking when she branded her youngest son "a complete a**hole."
The 'Real Housewives of Beverly Hills' star - who caused controversy when she called her seven-year-old son, Jake Cibrian, a "d**k" and predicted he would end up in rehab during her podcast show, 'Brandi Glanville Unfiltered', this week - has no plans to apologise.
The 41-year-old star took to Twitter to defend herself today (21.06.14), writing: "I joke about my kids &dogs being a**holes sometimes cuz honestly they can be but I love them more then life!!people that know me know that! (sic)"
She added: "OMG I jokingly refer 2my kids&dogs as lil a**holes sometimes cuz they can be. My mom called us her lil- s***ts-stop taking things so seriously (sic)."
Speaking on the podcast, she told actor Jake Lacy: "My son's name is Jake. He's 7, he's a complete a**hole, but we love him. Oh man, he's a d*ck, seriously."
She then said that she was "already, like, booking rehab for Jake down the road" because of his bad behaviour.
Jake's father Eddie Cibrian, who also has an 11-year-old son, Mason, with Brandi, has yet to comment on the shocking exchange.
The actor and his second wife, LeAnn Rimes, have been locked in a bitter feud with Brandi since they embarked on an affair on the set of the movie 'Northern Lights' that led to the breakdown of both of their first marriages in 2009.

Keith Urban thinks Nicole Kidman is "extraordinary, pure and a beautiful light."
The Australian country singer - who previously credited his wife with helping him to overcome his drug addiction - paid a heart-warming tribute to the 'Grace of Monaco' actress before performing his track 'Once In A Lifetime' during his concert in Sydney today (21.06.14), and revealed she was initially worried about marrying him in 2006.
Speaking on stage, the 'American Idol' judge - who has daughters Sunday, five, and Faith, three, with Nicole, said: "I want to make a special dedication, about this time eight years ago we were about five days away from getting married.
"A few days before that my fiancée and I were talking about the wedding and she was worried about getting married to me - understandably - I was trying every way I could to reassure her that I was born to be her man ... the only thing I could do was reassure her, comfort her, be strong.
"The next day, I happened to be with a friend of mine who was a songwriter and I was telling him what happened and he said we should write about that so I wrote this song for my wife and she's here tonight."
The 46-year-old singer added: "In a world of so much darkness and toxicity and scary people, she is extraordinary, pure and a beautiful light and I love you with all my heart baby girl."
Nicole, 47, attended the star-studded gig with her parents, according to the MailOnline.

Jennifer Lopez felt like Angelina Jolie when she was married to Marc Anthony.
The 'Booty' singer, who has six-year-old twins, Max and Emme, with her ex-husband, loved spending with his other children, Ariana, 20, Cristian, 13, and Ryan, 10, from previous relationships because it gave her a sense of what life must be like for the 'Maleficent' actress, who has three adopted children and three biological children with fiancé Brad Pitt.
The 44-year-old star told New York City radio station Sirius XM: "When I was married to Marc, he had two boys, a girl and a stepson so there was four - [with the twins] there was six. When we went out, it was like Angelina and Brad. We had that flavour and I loved it."
Jennifer, who previously admitted she is a strict mother, is teaching her children to be charitable because she doesn't want them to grow up spoilt.
She explained: "They're growing up so differently than me. I grew up in The Bronx - we shared a bed until we were 16 and it was so different. [Emme] and [Max] have their own rooms; we live in a big house. When we go to grandma's house they're like, 'Grandma's house is small.' It occurs to them that this is different, so my whole thing is about teaching them to be aware of the world and realising that we are in a position now that we can help other people.
"I'm like, 'You realize that you don't just throw food out -- we eat food and if we don't want it, we don't ask for it.' I'm always trying to put that in their minds. We're in a different position and we have to be more giving."

Tom Felton still receives "odd" mail from 'Harry Potter' fans.
The 26-year-old actor, who played troubled young wizard Draco Malfoy in the franchise, claims people have even offered to adopt him because they are obsessed with his "dark" character in the films.
He told PEOPLE.com: "It's always a bit of fun for me, the dark side of things. I'm not actually thinking of being a reckless criminal or evil mastermind. And some people are.
"Some people revel in the darker side of it, which is a little odd. I've had a couple of proposals from people who want to adopt me. A few requests to change my name legally to Malfoy. Gifts of homemade potions and spells. I have to admire the level of dedication."
Meanwhile, the British star, who was devastated by the death of his beloved dog, Timber, a few weeks ago, is still grieving the loss of his pet.
He said: "She wasn't well a few months ago in Los Angeles and she got diagnosed with cancer. We had to take her back to London and she passed away a few weeks ago. She was a very sweet soul and she'll be missed."

Chelsea Handler turned down Playboy for the sake of her family.
The comedienne and chat show host claims she rejected an offer to pose nude in the magazine because she was worried her brothers would be offended.
The 39-year-old star said: "I don't think any of my brothers need to see my vagina. I don't mind nudity, but I don't really need to have my vagina in a magazine."
The blonde beauty is close friends with a number of celebrities, including Jennifer Aniston, Reese Witherspoon and Charlize Theron, but insists most Hollywood stars aren't fascinating.
She told The Guardian newspaper: "I am sick of interviewing celebrities. Some are fascinating but most aren't."
Chelsea is stepping down from her show in August and wants to cover more serious topics, including politics.
She said: "A key component for having a television show is for you to be interested, because then your viewers are interested. The minute I'm not interested, it's not interesting to anyone who is watching.
"I don't want to focus solely on politics but it is definitely something I want to delve into. I don't want to be fluffy. I want people to be brave enough to sit there and answer any questions. There is nothing more annoying than people coming on your show and they don't want to talk about this or they don't want to talk about that. If you agree to do an interview you should be interviewed."

Emily Deschanel is raising her child to be "99 percent vegan."
The 37-year-old actress, who has two-year-old son Henry with husband David Hornsby, stopped eating and wearing animal products entirely when she was 15 after watching a documentary about how food choices affect health and the environment, but her family isn't quite as committed to the diet.
The 'Bones' star said: "Henry is 99-percent vegan because my husband is not 100-percent vegan."
The brunette beauty tries to spend as much time as possible with her son and admits her exercise routine has suffered since she became a mother.
She told PEOPLE.com: "You could be dealing with one issue, and then the next day it's gone and you're dealing with something else. I don't know how things change so quickly or how much he can surprise you.
"You work all of these hours and when you have time off, you don't want to spend it working out while raising a child. [But it is] important ... to be healthy and show him that that's important."
The actress has the summer off and plans "to hang out with my son, put him to bed, and cuddle - do all of the fun things I love doing with him."
She added: "I love this age because I can communicate with him so well and have conversations."

Kendra Wilkinson's husband allegedly checked into a motel near their home on Friday (20.06.14).
Former NFL star Hank Baskett - who has four-year-old son Hank Jr. and one-month-old daughter Alijah with the reality TV star - was spotted looking "downtrodden" while speeding away from their Los Angeles mansion in his white Jeep at around 4 p.m., sparking rumours they had a major bust-up.
An eyewitness told RadarOnline.com: "Hank was wearing a royal blue NBA shirt and long khaki shorts. He got out of the Jeep with a woman who appeared to possibly be one of the couples' baby nurses because she was wearing a medical type uniform.
"They went into the office of the motel and then pulled the jeep around to the other side where their room was located. Hank appeared disoriented and downtrodden. At one point, he kicked the ground."
The National Enquirer source added: "An hour later, he emerged from the room but then returned back inside."
Hank, 31, spent most of Friday with his father at a Major League Gaming Competition in Anaheim, California, but his wife hasn't spoken to her family since October.
The 'Kendra On Top' star's mother, Patti Wilkinson, recently claimed fame had ruined the 28-year-old former Playboy model.
She said: "When Kendra was on 'The Girls Next Door' I think that she was down to earth, she was fun, it was all new to her and exciting. That was Kendra, that definitely was Kendra.
"As years go by Hollywood has crept in and I think it has changed her and not for the better and I never thought it would happen."