Doug Jones (actor)

Early life and education

Doug Jones was born on May 24, 1960, in Indianapolis, the youngest of four brothers.

He attended Bishop Chatard High School. He graduated from Ball State University,

Career

Jones started his career in the television and movie industry as a 1980s advertising character, "Mac Tonight". He worked as a contortionist, saying, "You'd be surprised how many times that comes into play in commercials. They'll want somebody to hold a box of Tide funny or something. I once squished into a box for a commercial for relaxed fit jeans." In 1994, he appeared in an episode of Unsolved Mysteries as Gordon Page Jr., a young man with autism who disappeared from a treatment center in 1991.

Although known mostly for his work under prosthetic makeup, such as the zombie William "Billy" Butcherson in the Walt Disney Pictures Halloween film Hocus Pocus, or the lead spy Morlock in the 2002 remake of the 1960 film The Time Machine, he has also performed without prosthetics in such films as Adaptation, Mystery Men, and Batman Returns, and indie projects such as Stefan Haves' Stalled, AntiKaiser Productions' Three Lives, Phil Donlon's A Series of Small Things, and as Cesare in David Fisher's 2005 remake of the 1920 silent classic The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari.

Jones played Abe Sapien in Hellboy; the voice was performed by an uncredited David Hyde Pierce in the first film, but Jones's voice was used in the sequel. Explaining the challenge of working so often in rubber suits and prosthetics, he notes, "I have to make that a part of my being and my physicality and again, acting is a full-body experience and that's a part of it when you're doing a costumed character."

In 2005, he worked again with Mexican director Guillermo del Toro, starring as the Faun in del Toro's multiple-Academy Award-winning Spanish-language fantasy/horror project Pan's Labyrinth. He also has a secondary role in the film as the Pale Man, a gruesome creature with a penchant for eating children. Working once more under heavy prosthetics in both roles, he was also required to learn large amounts of dialogue in Spanish, although ultimately his voice was redubbed by Pablo Adan. That same year also brought success for The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, the film receiving three awards at the Screamfest Horror Festival in Los Angeles, including the Audience Choice Award.

In 2006, Jones appeared in the feature films The Benchwarmers and Lady in the Water, and reprised his role as Abe Sapien by voicing the character in the new Hellboy Animated television project, recording two 75-minute animated films.

In February 2007, Jones's likeness was used for Nvidia's "Human Head" tech demo. In June 2007, he appeared in Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer as the Silver Surfer, though Laurence Fishburne provided the character's voice. He reprised his role as Abe Sapien in Hellboy II: The Golden Army, once more under the direction of del Toro, for which he provided both the voice and body performance. He played two other roles in the film: the Angel of Death and the Chamberlain, both under heavy prosthetics. In 2009, del Toro announced on BBC Radio that Jones would be playing the monster in his upcoming version of Frankenstein.

In 2007, Jones was disappointed to learn that his voice part of the Silver Surfer had been dubbed by another actor (Fishburne) when the film was released. Upon inquiry, he determined that studio pressure had been imposed in order to add more "names" to the movie. As Jones gained greater clout in the industry, he eventually was able to add a clause to his contracts ensuring that no English dialogue of his characters would be dubbed. Roles that include other languages may be dubbed, however. This came into play in Pan's Labyrinth – Jones learned enough Spanish to voice his characters. Still, the decision was made to use a native speaker in order to access the language's nuances adequately.

Jones starred as himself in Sockbaby 4, the fourth installment of the Internet martial arts comedy series Sockbaby.

Jones appeared in the French-language film Gainsbourg (Vie héroïque), written and directed by French comic book author Joann Sfar and produced by Universal Europe. Jones played La Gueule ("The Mug"), the grotesque fantasy muse and malicious doppelganger who teases, guides, and accompanies Serge Gainsbourg throughout his life. He was fitted with prosthetics designed and created by the Academy Award-winning Spanish FX shop DDT Efectos Especiales, with whom he had already worked on Pan's Labyrinth; the FX technicians requested specifically that Jones be given the role of the Mug creature, due to his ability to perform (without complaining)

In January 2010, Jones signed a book deal with Medallion Press to model a nonfiction comedic coffee table book called Mime Very Own Book, co-authored by Adam Mock and Scott Allen Perry and photographed by Eric Curtis. The book was due for publication in December 2011.

Jones plays Dr. Henry Vataber in the web series Universal Dead. In late June 2010, it was announced that Universal Dead would be made into a feature film. He appeared in the independent film The Candy Shop, a "modern fairy tale" shedding light upon child sex trafficking, created by the American film studio Whitestone Pictures.

Jones played the "Operator", a fictional entity based on the Internet myth known as the "Slender Man", in Always Watching: A Marble Hornets Story, a 2015 film adaptation of the popular Marble Hornets YouTube series.

Jones was cast as Saru, a non-human Kelpien in Star Trek: Discovery, which premiered on September 24, 2017. That same year, Jones reunited with Guillermo del Toro, this time in a romantic lead role, the Amphibian Man (the "asset") in the Academy Award-winning The Shape of Water.

In 2022, Jones reprised his role as Billy Butcherson in Hocus Pocus 2.

Personal life

Jones describes himself as a "dyed-in-the-wool Christian from the Midwest", to the point that he was initially apprehensive about his role in Hellboy due to the titular character's demonic nature.

In 1984, Jones married his college sweetheart, Laurie Pontoni. They relocated to Los Angeles in 1985 to further his acting career. Marotta, Jenna (2017). "'The Shape of Water' Star Doug Jones". IndieWire. November 24, 2017. Retrieved August 13, 2019.

Filmography

Film

Television

Web series

Video games

Music videos

Awards and nominations

References

References

1. "Biography". Doug Jones' official website.
2. where he parlayed his background as a [[mime]] into portraying the school mascot "[[Charlie Cardinal]]."[http://www.thedougjonesexperience.com/ballstateinterview.htm "Charlie Cardinal Interview"] {{Webarchive. link. (August 30, 2011. The Doug Jones Experience. Reprinted from [[Ball State University]]'s ''Alumnus Magazine''. August 2004)
3. (March 9, 2017). "Doug Jones Was the McDonald's Mac Tonight Guy!".
4. Johnson-Ott, Edward. [http://www.nuvo.net/archive/2004/04/14/hellboys_fishguy_gets_filleted.html "Hellboy's fish-guy gets filleted."] {{Webarchive. link. (August 20, 2008 Nuvo.net. April 14, 2004.)
5. Bell, David Christopher (November 14, 2013). [http://www.filmschoolrejects.com/features/7-iconic-costume-actors-you-didnt-notice-in-non-costumed-roles.php "7 Iconic Costume Actors You Didn’t Notice In Non-Costumed Roles"] {{webarchive. link. (November 14, 2013. [[Film School Rejects]].)
6. (October 25, 2006). "The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari – Movies – Review". The New York Times.
7. Topel, Fred. [https://archive.today/20160706115406/http://www.craveonline.com/site/157036-fantastic-four-2-doug-jones "Fantastic Four 2: Doug Jones: Doug Jones talks sequels, Fantastic Four and Hellboy"], Crave, June 15, 2007.
8. [http://www.canmag.com/news/4/3/6216 "Doug Jones En Espanol"] {{Webarchive. link. (March 16, 2011 , canmag.com; accessed March 8, 2018.)
9. "The Faun". Behind the Voice Actors.
10. (June 14, 2009). "Guillermo Del Toro Casts Doug Jones in ''Frankenstein''".
11. (December 2020). "Doug Jones: Shapeshifter (Episode 153)". Imaginary Worlds.
12. "Sockbaby". Sockbabt.
13. Ebert, Roger. (2012). "Roger Ebert's Movie Yearbook 2013: 25th Anniversary Edition". Andrews McMeel Publishing.
14. Hewitt, Chris. (January 20, 2009). "Doug Jones to star in Gainsbourg Biopic". [[Empire (magazine).
15. [http://www.thedougjonesexperience.com/gainsbourg.htm Information on ''Gainsbourg: Vie Heroique''] {{Webarchive. link. (February 16, 2010, The Doug Jones Experience; accessed March 22, 2018.)
16. [http://www.cinemotions.com/interview/90291 "Doug Jones incarne la Gueule de 'Gainsbourg'"] {{Webarchive. link. (January 9, 2016, cinemotions.com; accessed March 22, 2018.)
17. [http://www.medallionpress.com/blurbs/mime.html ''Mime Very Own Book''] {{webarchive. link. (February 13, 2010 at Medallion Press.)
18. "Watch Universal Dead | Prime Video".
19. [http://indieintertube.tv/static/universal-dead-full-length-feature/ "Universal Dead full length feature?"] {{webarchive. link. (August 18, 2011 Indie Intertube; June 28, 2010)
20. ""The Candy Shop Film Announcement"".
21. "Web Series 'Marble Hornets' Getting Its Own Movie". Spill.
22. (March 19, 2018). "7 reasons Doug Jones is the best part of Star Trek: Discovery".
23. Jones, Nate. "How Doug Jones Became Guillermo del Toro's Favorite Monster". Vulture.
24. Pulver, Andrew. (March 5, 2018). "The Shape of Water has won the Oscar for best picture at the 90th Academy Awards".
25. "Billy Butcherson returns from the grave in 'Hocus Pocus 2' first look".
26. (October 2022). "'Hocus Pocus 2' star Doug Jones says when he first arrived on set, 'it was as though Elvis had risen from the dead'".
27. Moro, Eric. "Doug Jones – Interview – Fish Out Of Water".
28. "Doug Jones List of Movies and TV Shows".
29. "Doug Jones".
30. (March 31, 2015). "Always Watching: A Marble Hornets Story Official Trailer". YouTube.
31. (March 21, 2018). "Escultor da criatura do filme revela nome do monstro". Omelete.
32. (November 17, 2023). "'Nosferatu' remake premieres in Novi". C&G Newspaper.
33. Squires, John. (October 2, 2024). "'Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror' Starring Doug Jones as Count Orlok Releasing This Month".
34. Complex, Valerie. (April 1, 2024). "'The Weight Of Darkness': Angus Macfadyen, Jaime King, Doug Jones, Corbin Bernsen & Angus Benfield Sign On For Indie Thriller".
35. DiVincenzo, Alex. (February 18, 2025). "Timothy Granaderos, London Thor, Doug Jones to Star in Supernatural Horror 'The Remedy'".
36. Goodfellow, Melanie. (April 16, 2025). "Spyder Dobrofsky's Haunted Forest Horror 'The Weeping' Unveils Doug Jones Casting & First Image".
37. Goodfellow, Melanie. (July 30, 2025). "'Horrified' Adds Jason Behr, Allison Dunbar, Doug Jones & Aimeé Teegarden As Filming Gets Underway In Tulsa".
38. "Star Trek Discovery Beams Up Three Cast Members". Star Trek.
39. (March 15, 2018). "'Star Trek: Discovery' Nominated For 5 Saturn Awards". [[TrekMovie.com]].
40. "Cast". Mildly Fearsome Films.
41. "Doug Jones on Instagram".
42. (December 2009). "All Star". [[Smash Mouth]]/YouTube.