Meet Hollywood’s MR PROSTHETIC
You’ve seen Doug Jones in countless blockbuster movies… but you wouldn’t recognise him
As the makers of The Shape Of Water triumphantly took to the stage last week to accept the Oscar for best picture, the line-up was a who’s who of famous faces. But one among them was harder to place. Doug Jones, who stars in the lead role as Amphibian Man (yes, the humanoid, sea-dwelling love interest) is one of Hollywood’s most prolific actors – yet it’s more than likely that you’d walk right by him. Ladies and gents, allow us to introduce you to the world’s most famous unknown actor…
FINDING HIS NICHE
Born in Indianapolis in 1960, Doug trained as a contortionist, before beginning his film career in the 1980s. With his super-bendy, 6ft 3in frame, and ability to put both legs behind his head, he quickly found his niche playing monsters and magical creatures – transforming himself from role to role with the clever use of silicone, make-up and latex. Remember Billy Butcherson in Hocus Pocus? Yep, that’s Doug. Or Abe Sapien in
Hellboy, or Faun and the beast with eyes in its hands in Pan’s
Labyrinth, or the Silver Surfer in
Fantastic 4? All Doug. He’s hardly had a line to learn over the past 30 years – but his unique ability to convey emotion through movement and touch alone has made him indispensable on the silver screen. Just as Gollum
actor Andy Serkis is the king of CGI, Doug is the master of prosthetics. “Words can often pollute and deceive, but a glance of the eyes doesn’t lie,” the 58 year old explains. “Touch doesn’t lie. It’s a whole other dialogue.”
To ready himself for every part, the performer spends hours practising in a dance studio, surrounded by mirrors. He develops every character by starting with its posture, and letting its oddities permeate his body. Then, after hours and hours of heavy make-up, and fitting of the anthropomorphic costumes, he adapts again.
Despite Doug’s different way of rendering each role, the actor says he’s nothing out of the ordinary. “Some actors wear a T-shirt and jeans, some wear a tail and talons and horns on their head. That would be me. But it all has to start in the same place: what are these characters’ wants, needs, fears, loves, desires and intentions? I have to go there, even if I’m growling at somebody.”
A VERY SUCCESSFUL PARTNERSHIP
A large part of Doug’s success has been his partnership with director Guillermo del Toro, who also picked up this year’s Oscar for best director. The Shape Of Water is the pair’s sixth movie together, with Doug first starring as the insectoid beast Long John in Del Toro’s 1997 horror Mimic. On each movie, the director hands his muse a list, detailing the creature’s back story, emotions and instincts. As TSOW called for him to be wild and animallike – but also virile and strangely attractive – their shorthand ability to “get” each other proved essential. “The last bullet-point Guillermo gave me was, ‘Dougie, throw in a little bit of Matador,’” the actor remembers. “I knew exactly what he meant because, if you’ve watched a toreador when they’re facing off with a bull, it’s very choreographed, very sexy and confident – they lead with the pelvis.”
Now, as the actor approaches 60, he says he’s keen to ease up on the full-body transformations. After all, seven hours in makeup, followed by 16-hour days glued into a suit that offers little allowance for eating or using the facilities, can take its toll. His goal? To quietly shape-shift again. “I could play the father of an adult daughter who’s going through some issues,” he suggests. “I’ll give her some great advice while I’m wearing a Christmas sweater… There’s my dream job.”
Watch this space – and this face – we might just be seeing a whole lot more of it.