It’s Doug Jones‘ birthday! The actor, and former contortionist, has played some of the greatest cinematic monsters in recent memory. He’s more than just a pretty (and occasionally gruesome) face, though – and is an excellent actor both in and out of makeup.
I really need to start doing these sketches further ahead of time. I’d planned on doing a bunch of my favorite Doug Jones monsters – including Abe Sapien from both of the Guillermo Del Toro Hellboy movies, The Faun in Pan’s Labyrinth and Captain Saru in Star Trek: Discovery. Alas, work and deadlines (and flesh-tearing weasels) wait for no one, and I only had time for one of his most striking performances. The Pale Man (also from Pan’s Labyrinth). An astonishing makeup job by David Martí and Montse Ribé is perfectly complimented by Doug Jones’ physical presence (at first he’s completely still) and actions as a creature that must see with his hands.
One of my favorite underseen performances by Jones required very little makeup, however – that of Walter Lambert in Mike Flanagan‘s Absentia. He’s only in it for a few minutes, but he makes an impression.
It’s really hard to pick a best role for Jones – he’s done so much great work. From Billy Butcherson in Hocus Pocus to the amphibian star of The Shape of Water. He’s a performer equally worth watching if he’s loaded up with prosthetics of just using his amazingly expressive face.
What’s your favorite Doug Jones role?
