Doug Jones is a huge name in Hollywood but has managed to maintain a low profile for decades(Picture: REX)
Doug Jones is a huge name in the film industry but has managed to fly under the radar in public because of his unique skill that has made him pivotal to countless blockbusters.
The actor, 64, has portrayed monsters, aliens, and demons, and found a fantastic niche as the go-to guy for anything and everything including prostheses.
Doug starred as the sexy amphibian in The Shape of Water, a film which received 13 nominations at the 90th Oscars, the most of any film in the 2018 race. It won in four categories: best production design, best original score, best director, and best picture.
Although he’s been in the industry for decades, Doug has managed to strike the perfect balance of immense success and private personal life, as he reveals he’s only started to be recognised more frequently in recent years.
The actor chatted with Metro about some of his most iconic roles, revealing that sometimes his friends and family don’t even recognise him on screen.
‘It happens a lot,’ he said. ‘I’ve had both extremes, honestly, I’ve had a character that should never be recognized. But someone says, “Oh my gosh, those are Doug’s hands.”
‘Other times, someone will watch an entire show, well, I’ll give an example. A current example is from the What We Do In The Shadows series.’
Doug plays a character in the series named Baron Afanas, a blood-thirsty promiscuous vampire with heavy prosthetics.
‘No one quite knew [it was me] I got a lot of people scratching and until, until I magically became my own face with a wig in season four. Some people were like, Oh my gosh, “that’s been Doug this whole time?”
The actor was unrecognisable as a vampire in the FX series (Picture: FX)
The film received huge critical acclaim (Picture: Fox Searchlight/Everett/REX/Shutterstock)
Doug looks rather different underneath the makeup (Picture: Kevin Winter/Getty Images)
The affable actor played Faun and the Pale Man in Pan’s Labrinth (2006), a role which a Spanish actor dubbed but Doug learned the Spanish script in its entirety in order to do the role justice.
He revealed that he once had a hilarious encounter on a plane with someone who was watching him on screen, while he was sitting right next to her.
‘I was sitting next to someone on a plane a few years ago. They were watching Pan’s Labyrinth, and they were glued to it and watching the entire thing. I could tell it was their first time ever watching it.
‘So after it was done, I said, “Did you like that movie?” She goes, “Oh my gosh, it was so amazing.” I had some eight by 10s in my carry-on bag, and I pulled out my faun picture, and I said, “Oh, would you want me to sign this for you? I played that character.” So it was kind of a fun little surprise while we were in flight.’
He then clarified: ‘By the way, I don’t carry eight by 10s of myself around all the time. I was coming from an event where I had been signing autographs. Yeah, it wasn’t because I’m just hoping someone will recognise me!’
The actor was behind the iconic Faun in Pan’s Labyrinth (Picture: Tequila Gang/Wb/Kobal/REX/Shutterstock)
Doug also played the creepy Pale Man in Pan’s Labyrinth 2006 (Picture: Tequila Gang/Wb/Kobal/REX/Shutterstock)
The Pale Man was certainly one of the actor’s scariest roles, Doug even admitted to being creeped out seeing himself on screen.
‘The two times that gave me the heebie jeebies while I watched it was, yes, Pale Man from Pan’s Labyrinth, and also The Gentleman from Buffy the Vampire Slayer in the Hush episode.’
‘Still to this day yeah. I guess I’ve played many characters that are evil and you wouldn’t invite over for dinner.
‘I can get around it and think “I remember filming that. Blah, blah, blah,” But yeah, those two characters were filmed in such a way that you get absorbed in the story.’
Doug as The lead gentleman in a 1997 episode of Buffy The Vampire Slayer (Picture: 20th Century Fox Television/Kobal/REX/Shutterstock)
When asked about which of his many iconic roles was the toughest, Doug had a diplomatic answer and revealed it’s typically the ones where he is robbed of all of his senses, as was the case in Pan’s Labyrinth.
‘In the Angel of Death costume there were cracks that ran through it, and my eyes lined those cracks up with, so I could see out one crack with each eye, but it was like a slanted slit, again. Not good vision.’
He added that he was also unable to hear: ‘So there’s a lot of motor sounds in my head that no one else could hear. It was so loud to me, so I had to get over all of that and act like none of that was happening. No, that was a tough one.’
The actor played the horrifying Angel of Death in Hellboy II: The Golden Army. (Picture: Alamy Stock Photo)
Oscar-winning Director Guillermo Del Toro once told a story about Doug dripping with blood during one shoot but not telling a soul.
Doug confirmed that this took place on the set of the second Hellboy film: ‘I had humongous black wings on my back that had eyeballs in them that were mechanically operated, no CG. It was all practical effects. And I was very impressive.’
‘But what that came with was a very heavy battery pack and motor pack that sat in the middle of my back, and it was about 40 pounds of weight,’ he explained.
‘They brought Guillermo del Toro over to have a look. Apparently, there was a trickle of blood coming out from under the battery pack. I wasn’t aware of that, but I knew that something wasn’t right.’
Doug played the Ice Cream Man in (Picture: Bold Films/Kobal/REX/Shutterstock)
He revealed that in recent years, after various on-screen interviews with journalists and since his real face was unveiled on Star Trek: Discovery and on What We Do in The Shadows, he’s had some more fan recognition.
‘So I do get recognised in public, occasionally, more now than before, but it’s still, I still don’t cause a mob scene.
‘I can still go to a coffee shop and sip on a latte with in peace.’
The actor played Abe Sapien in the Hellboy series (Picture: Universal/Dark Horse Comics/Kobal/REX/Shutterstock)
Although he may be known for playing some of the spookiest characters on screen, he admits that personally, he avoids the horror genre in his free time.
‘The dark films come looking for me, yes, but once I’ve played in that world all day, for 12 hours or 15 hours or 18 hours. I turn on light fluffy fare with happy endings, like the Hallmark Channel or the great American Family Channel or just Christmas movies.
‘If there’s a little romance happening and the worst thing that happens in the movie is a little misunderstanding. I, you know that’s that that cleanses my palette.’
Doug was the actor under the suit in 2007’s Fantastic Four – Rise Of The Silver Surfer (Picture: 20th Century Fox/Marvel/Kobal/REX/Shutterstock)
The actor is set to star as the fearsome Count Orlock in Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror, which is set to be released this month. Doug’s set to be ‘fully unrecognisable’ once again with a reconstructed face and prosthetic makeup.
Since filming this iconic role, Doug has revealed he’s happy to stay out of the prosthesis for a little while – unless the right role crops up.
‘I’m at a phase in my career right now where I am entertaining more human characters than rubber-clad ones.
‘I’ll never say never. If it’s the right director, the right character, the right story that I want to help tell. Yes, I would go back under rubber bits again.’
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