He’s acted in nearly 60 movies and television shows, but you have probably never heard of Doug Jones, nor would you recognize his face upon seeing him. That’s right, Doug Jones doesn’t even have the honor of being a that guy. Why is that? Because the majority of the time, you will find Mr. Jones in a costume that nobody else wants to wear and doesn’t even get to use his voice half the time. Some of the more recent movies you’ve seen him in would include Hellboy, in which he played Abe Sapien (but did not voice him, and he will also be playing three different characters in the upcoming Hellboy sequel); Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, in which he played the body of the Silver Surfer; and Pan’s Labyrinth, in which he played both the Faun and the Pale Man/Ogre. He’s played an alien in three episodes of The Outer Limits, and played The Gentleman (the silent and widely grinning pale guy) in a memorable episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
One of the rare movies where he both dressed up and got to speak was in Disney’s 1993 movie, Hocus Pocus, in which he played back-from-the-dead Billy Butcherson, although he had his mouth sewn shut for most of the movie.
You have to give this guy massive props for having been in the game for over 20 years now, having been in nearly 60 features, and having almost nobody know who the heck he is. You should definitely check out the behind-the-scenes features for Pan’s Labyrinth, where they go into extensive detail about all the stuff Doug has to go through in what he does. I really have quite a bit of respect for the guy.
I just watched Pan's Labyrinth again last night, and yeah the guy certainly deserves kudos for what he must endure. The Pale Man still freaks me out.
ReplyDeleteHeck yeah... the Pale Man scene is my favorite scene in Pan's Labyrinth. He's just so creepy.
ReplyDelete(raises hand) I knew he he was! ;)
ReplyDeleteYeah, I think Del Toro is one of the few, or at least was amongst the earliest, to fully appreciate and use him. He's like the American Andy Serkis. If Del Toro had made King Kong, Jones would have been the model.
Great post!
ReplyDeleteI did admire his work in Pan's Labyrinth very much. He created such individual characters without the usual aids actors use.
I didn't realize he was the Gentleman on Buffy. Definitely one of the scariest big bads in perhaps the best episode of the entire series.
The Gentleman from Buffy was such a memorable creature/character. Doug Jones definitely deserves mad props for all of the film's he's been in (even F42, I mean it wasn't his portrayal of the Surfer that stank it up).
ReplyDeleteDoug's certainly one hell of a talented guy. I've been trying to get hold of him for an interview for a while now.
ReplyDeleteI met him recently at 'Wizard World' and he signed a picture of Billy for me. :) He's sucha nice guy as well.
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