The
youngest of four brothers, Doug Jones was born on the 24th
May, 1960, in Indianapolis, Indiana, and grew up in the
city's Northeastside. After attending Bishop Chatard High
School, he headed off to Ball State University, where he
graduated in 1982 with a Bachelor's degree in Telecommunications
and a minor in Theatre.
He learned
mime at school, joining a troupe called "Mime Over
Matter" and doing the whole white-faced thing. “I
was a mime for one summer at Kings Island theme park in
Cincinnati, Ohio after graduating Ball State. Scaring children
from Kentucky is basically what you do down there,”
he said with a laugh.
Doug has also
worked as a contortionist. “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.” He is nearing 100 TV commercials now,
including the McDonald's character he made famous around
the world, Mac Tonight.
After a hitch
in theatre in Indiana, he moved to Los Angeles in 1985,
and has not been out of work since - he's acted in over
25 films, many television series (Including the award-winning
Buffy The Vampire Slayer, his episode 'Hush' garnering
two Emmy nominations) over 90 commercials and music videos
with the likes of Madonna, The Red Hot Chili Peppers, and
Marilyn Manson.
Although known
mostly for his iconic work under prosthetics, such as the
floppy zombie 'Billy' in the Halloween classic Hocus
Pocus, or the lead Spy Morlock in the 2001 remake The
Time Machine, he has also performed as 'himself' in
such highly-rated films as Adaptation with Nicholas
Cage, Mystery Men with Ben Stiller, Batman
Returns with Danny DeVito, and indie projects such
as Stefan Haves' Stalled, Phil Donlon's A Series
of Small Things, and as 'Cesare' in David Fisher's
daring 2005 remake of the 1919 silent classic The Cabinet
Of Dr. Caligari.
But it is his
sensitive and elegant performance as 'Abe Sapien' in Hellboy,
which stormed to the top of the U.S. box office in the spring
of 2004, that brought him an even higher profile and much
praise from both audiences and critics.
In 2005 he
renewed his association with Mexican director Guillermo
del Toro when he starred in the title role of 'Pan' in del
Toro's Spanish language fantasy/horror project El Laberinto
del Fauno (Pan's Labyrinth). He also has a
cameo 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 also was required to
learn huge chunks of dialogue in archaic Spanish - which
he did perfectly.
2005 continued
to be a hectic year for Doug, with roles in Doom, The
Benchwarmers and Lady in the Water, the latter
being the brainchild of award-winning cult director/writer
M. Night Shyamalan. The year also brought success for The
Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, the film reaping three awards
at the Screamfest Horror Festival in Los Angeles, including
the coveted Audience Choice Award.
He also stepped
out from behind the prosthetics for several roles, most
notably to guest-star as freaked-out drug addict 'Domino
Thacker' in the episode 'Blood Hungry' of the hugely popular
TV series Criminal Minds, his jittery, unnerving
performance being lauded by cast, crew and audiences alike.
Doug continued
his collaboration with Guillermo del Toro into 2006, as
he reprised his role as 'Abe Sapien' by voicing the character
in the new Hellboy Animated television project,
recording two 70-minute animated films, Hellboy: Sword
of Storms and Hellboy: Blood and Iron.
On December
18th, 2006, he finished filming his role as the 'Silver
Surfer' in the film Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver
Surfer, which hit theaters in June 2007, Doug's haunting
performance as the' Surfer' bringing universal praise from
critics and cinema audiences. He also attended the Oscars
for the first time as El Laberinto del Fauno garnered
six nominations, winning three, including triumph for the
makeup team behind the creation of Doug's characters, the
Barcelona-based DDT Efectos Especiales led by David
Marti and Montse Ribe. This was the crowning glory for a
film that won countless major awards throughout the world
and has since become acknowledged as a cinematic masterpiece.
On May 16th,
2007, Doug headed out to Budapest, Hungary, to reprise his
role as 'Abe Sapien' in the sequel to Hellboy,
Hellboy II: The Golden Army, which began filming
on June 8th, 2007, and once more under the direction of
Guillermo del Toro. Playing all of 'Abe' this time,
voice and performance, Doug played two other roles, the
'Angel of Death' and 'The Chamberlain,' both under heavy
prosthetics. The film hit Number One at the box office on
its opening weekend in the U.S.A.
Doug has also
been expanding his voice work resumé, including work
on the indie short movie Rise, the independent
film Man in the Silo and the animated film Quantum
Quest - A Cassini Space Odyssey, as well as narrating
the animated short The Dream and The Alphabet
Sonnets by Calix Lewis Reneau.
2008 brought
more screen work, including guest cameos in Super Capers,
Legion and Quarantine, as well as a highly-acclaimed
performance on the television series Fear Itself,
starring in the episode Skin and Bones directed
by cult horror director Larry Fessenden. Doug's chilling
performance as possessed rancher 'Grady Edlund' won rave
reviews from critics and audiences alike.
Doug's reputation
for being able to cope with dialogue in a language he doesn't
speak stood him in good stead when he joined the cast of
Serge Gainsbourg: Vie Heroique, French writer Joann
Sfar's first foray into directing. An affectionate and surreal
tribute to the life and works of French singer-songwriter
Serge Gainsbourg, Sfar cast Doug as Gainsbourg's strange
alter-ego 'La Gueule,' a comic-book style character who
is Gainsbourg's muse. Working once more with David Marti
and Montse Ribe of DDT Efectos Especiales, the
Oscar-winning FX shop from El Laberinto Del Fauno,
Doug spent a happy four months during 2009 filming in Paris.
The film has been enthusiastically received worldwide, with
Doug's performance being universally praised.
But most satisfying
of all is his starring role in the independent film My
Name is Jerry, shot in his home state of Indiana with
fellow Ball State University alumnus director Morgan Mead.
In what he calls his 'dream role' written specially for
him, he worked in the summer of 2008 in Muncie, Indiana
with a unique crew combining industry professionals and
film students from Ball State, giving many talented young
film makers a chance to gain experience in a professional
production. The film has won numerous awards and brought
Doug a 'Best Actor' award at the 3rd Strasbourg International
Film Festival in 2010. My Name is Jerry was released
on DVD in 2010.
When he has
spare time (an increasingly rare occurance these days!)
he loves to rollerblade at Venice Beach, and is a pretty
decent barber - he cuts his own hair and is known to happily
give haircuts to cast and crew while on location - he says
he finds it cathartic! He also loves to sing (He has a smooth
and very versatile baritone voice), and is an active member
of his church choir - singing gospel music at the top of
his lungs is one of his favourite things, and he is a very
popular solo singer. One of the items on his 'To Do' list
is to record an album sometime in the future when he can
put aside the time, along with his long-held ambition to
write his first novel.
A deeply spiritual
man, Doug is often asked to talk at youth festivals and
universities, and indeed many of the independent films he
makes have a spiritual leaning. His faith in God means a
great deal to him, and he is an active member of Media
Fellowship International, a Christian group working
within the entertainment industry.
Doug and his
wife Laurie also mentor young people who wish to work in
the medium of film and are beginning their careers in the
business. Not having children of their own, and remembering
how hard it was for Doug when he started out, he and Laurie
now provide a kind of surrogate parental support mechanism
for many young folks struggling to make their way in a very
tough industry. They are affectionately known as the 'Puppies,'
and they are all very proud of their moniker!
Doug and Laurie
live in California, but return home to visit Indiana whenever
they can.
Copyright © 2004-2010
Doug Jones. All rights reserved.

Home
| Biography | Filmography
| FAQs | News
Archive | Photo Album | Media
| Dougie Trivia | Contact
|