Doug Jones key to balancing faith and demons

Trailer for fantasy romance film The Shape of Water

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Doug Jones, 62, is a specialised non-human actor who has played an array of fantastical and ghoulish characters, from the loyal Abe Sapien in Hellboy to the demonic entity in The Bye Bye Man. The Shape of Water star spoke exclusively to Express.co.uk about his incredibly haunting career and how he balances his unshakeable faith while playing demonic characters. 

As a non-human actor, Jones is often the face behind layers of prosthetics, makeup and costumes of iconic characters that are evidently inhuman. While it may appear this boxed him into a very niche typecast, Jones said it allowed him “to play a much wider array of characters than I ever would have been able to with my own face”.

The actor fell into this character niche accidentally, as he landed one of his first professional roles in an Eighties McDonald’s commercial as Mac Tonight, the fictional, moon-headed piano player.

Known to be a team player, and willing to try almost anything for his craft, Jones began receiving a few referrals for more peculiar characters and soon found himself working with the likes of iconic filmmakers Tim Burton and Guillermo Del Toro. 

While he catapulted to the top of Hollywood, his own image remained in relative obscurity, which he claimed is a welcomed blessing. 

He shared: “Another best part is being able to play memorable characters in huge projects without being easily recognized in public or causing a mob scene when I go out to a coffee shop.”

With a background in mime and contortion, Jones quickly became the top choice for abnormal characters, finding particular success in the horror genre. He has played the disturbing entities in hit blockbusters like Ouija, Quarantine, Legion, The Terror of All Hallow’s Eve and many more. 

While his resume is incredible, playing the bad guy in horror films can sometimes lead to some isolation for the actor, as he described on the set of Quarantine: “The lead actress Jennifer Carpenter could not look at me between takes and avoided contact, apologising all the while, but she admittedly was freaked out by me.”

For 2006’s Pan’s Labyrinth, Jones took on two roles as the haunting Pale Man and Faun, starring alongside 11-year-old Ivana Baquero. 

The Pale Man in particular is a visually terrifying entity, as any Pan’s Labyrinth fans will note, and so to ensure young Baquero felt safe the crew arranged for her to have a unique inside look at the creation of the villain. 

Jones shared: “My aim is never to scare child actors I’m working with. We had her join us in the make-up room so she could start with seeing the real un-intimidating me, then watch as the artists built and glued on my look for the day, both as the Faun and the Pale Man.  That made me not so scary to work with.”

When looking at some of his startling characters many may not realise that Jones has strong ties to his Christian faith and has found a unique balance between his beliefs and his work. 

He candidly revealed: “Basic rule of thumb and hope for me would be if the entire story is moving somewhere positive, as in the forces of good overcoming the forces of evil. In such a story, someone has to play the bad guy, and I’m okay if that has to be me. 

“As long as that kind of story doesn’t negate or mock the God who loves me, I can find the entertainment value in them.”

Due to his niche, Jones has had the opportunity to wear some of the most incredible costumes in Hollywood, and his first time arriving on-set in full character garb is always a momentous occasion. 

He shared: “One of the more memorable ones was when I was revealed as Abe Sapien for the first Hellboy movie. I was met with gasps, but also applause, and even tears. My tears included, as I was overcome with how beautiful the artists at Spectral Motion had made me.”

Jones’ physical acting skills are unrivaled, but that doesn’t mean the jobs is easy under layers of latex, makeup, clothing and extra appendages. 

He explained: “The further you get from human, the more difficult it’s going to be. Among those difficult ones was when I played a six-legged giant insect, the Mother Bug in a straight-to-VHS feature called Bug Buster.”

Another downside to this is that Jones is often on-set hours before his colleagues and stays hours after filming stops: “And in the middle of all that is a grueling filming day trying to keep my energy up and staying true to my character as I deal with extra weight, heat, and sticky discomforts that are unavoidable.”

The actor declared this is “the worst part” of being a creature actor.

Although he spent most of his career in relative obscurity, the actor is being recognised “now more than ever” as he has appeared onscreen with his own face recently, most notably as the titular character in My Name is Jerry. 

Jones admitted he felt “a bit more exposed” using his actual face, comparing it to “walking out of the house in nothing but a Speedo. But I soon realise that everyone else is also in a Speedo, and it’s okay.”

Despite being one of the most famous creature actors in modern cinema, the Hocus Pocus star is still undeniably humble, noting that he is a victim of imposter syndrome when aspiring actors mention he is a mentor to them. 

He gushed: “Just when I wonder if anything I’ve done on film amounts to anything, it is these moments with a young actor that are quite fulfilling. 

“I am humbled to the point of even feeling a little imposter syndrome, where I fear they may find out I’m not all I’m cracked up to be.  But I imagine that Don Knotts, Danny Kaye, Jerry Lewis, Lon Chaney, Boris Karloff, and Dick van Dyke may have all felt the same way if I ever got the chance to gush on them with how much they changed my life and inspired what I’ve become.”

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