Doug Jones (born May 24, 1960 in Indianapolis, Indiana) is an American actor, contortionist, and mime best known for his roles in science fiction, fantasy, and horror as non-human characters that usually require hours worth of makeup being applied to his person, very much like Lon Chaney in his day. He has performed in such films and television series as Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Hellboy, Hellboy II: The Golden Army, Pan's Labyrinth, and Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer. He frequently plays in Guillermo del Toro's films. He currently co-stars in Star Trek: Discovery as Captain Saru, a Humanoid Alien with a distinctive gait.
He is a big supporter of — and is involved in many — independent films and shorts. Special effects-wise, he is to Practical Effects monsters what Andy Serkis is to motion-captured ones.
He's much beloved by fans for his sweet, funny demeanor and giving of hugs to anyone who will take them.
Incidentally, he is not the same person as Alabama's former junior Senator. He's a busy man, but not that busy.
Productions Doug has been a part of:
Advertising
- McDonald's commercials as Mac Tonight (one of his earliest roles)
Film
- Night Angel as Ken
- Hocus Pocus, as Billy Butcherson
- Hocus Pocus 2 as Billy Butcherson
- The Time Machine (2002) as Spy Morlock
- Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer as the Silver Surfer
- Hellboy as Abe Sapien (physical performance only, David Hyde Pierce provides Abe's voice)
- Hellboy II: The Golden Army as Abe Sapien (physical and voice) and the Angel of Death
- Hellboy: Sword of Storms as Abe Sapien (voice only)
- Hellboy: Blood & Iron as Abe Sapien (voice only)
- The Butterfly Circus (short), as Otto
- Lady in the Water, as one of the Tartutic
- Pan's Labyrinth as the Faun and the Pale Man
- My Name Is Jerry as the titular character
- Gainsbourg as La Gueule
- Crimson Peak as various ghosts (specifically, Edith's mother and Thomas and Lucille's mother)
- Always Watching: A Marble Hornets Story as the Operator
- The Bye Bye Man as the titular character
- The Shape of Water as The Asset/Amphibian Man
Television
- Buffy the Vampire Slayer as the Gentleman
- Falling Skies as Cochise the Volm
- Teen Wolf as Barrow
- Face/Off as himself (guest judge and mentor)
- The Outer Limits (1995) in various alien guest roles
- Star Trek: Discovery as Saru
- Arrow/The Flash as Jake Simmons/Deathbolt
- The Strain as The Ancient
- What We Do in the Shadows (2019) as Baron Afanas
- DuckTales (2017) as Wereduck and Demonic Clown
Web Series
- Research as Denny.
- Dragon Age: Redemption as Saarebas
- The Guild as Gerald
- Fallout: Nuka Break as Mayor Touch Connors
Video Games
- Hellboy: The Science of Evil as Abe Sapien
This actor's work contains examples of:
- Actor-Inspired Element: Prone to making elaborate gestures with emphasis on his hands and fingers, frequently enough that sharp-eyed viewers can identify Doug's characters more easily by their body language than the man under the makeup.
- People in Rubber Suits: When it's not a complex make-up, his roles will require a tight creature costume.
- Same Language Dub: Notoriously, in his three most high-profile roles he had his voice dubbed - by David Hyde Pierce in Hellboy, Laurence Fishburne in Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, and by the narrator in Pan's Labyrinth.
- He learned to speak his lines as the Faun in Spanish phonetically, but he asked to be dubbed in order to give the character the proper accent.
- The Silent Bob: Has a background in miming and often plays characters who don't (or can't) say a word, and expresses reams of dialogue simply by body language.
