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; 2026), 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).
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Early life, family 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. Actor Julian Horton is their first cousin. Despite sharing a surname, Faison is not related to fellow actor Frankie Faison.
Faison attended the Professional Children's School in Manhattan, and actor Dash Mihok was his classmate and best friend.
Career
Faison first appeared in a 1989 commercial for Folgers coffee at age 15, in which he played the younger brother of a soldier. In 1992, he appeared with Malik Yoba in the ABC News special Prejudice: Answering Children's Questions, hosted by Peter Jennings. He had a small role in the feature film Sugar Hill starring Wesley Snipes.
Faison's breakout role was Murray Duvall in the 1995 feature 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 appears in 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 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 Game Show Network game show Winsanity.
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. They married in 2001 and had three children, twins Kaya and Dade (born 1999), and Kobe (born 2001). They divorced in 2005.
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 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.
Filmography
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.
