ROTTEN TOMATOES: Hellboy II's Doug Jones Shares His Five Favorite Films and Dream Role

Hellboy II's Doug Jones Shares His Five Favorite Films and Dream Role

The erstwhile Abe Sapien also talks up Guillermo del Toro and a potential Frankenstein film in our full interview.

by Jen Yamato | July 08, 2008

Discuss Article | Blog Article | Email To A Friend

Page | 1 2 3

You may not know it, but you've seen Doug Jones' work. One of the best physical actors in Hollywood, he has performed under heavy make-up and special effects as the Silver Surfer in Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, the "Gentlemen" on Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and gave life to both The Faun and the Pale Man in Guillermo del Toro's Oscar-winning horror-fairytale, Pan's Labyrinth. This week, Jones reprises his role of amphibian psychic Abe Sapien in Hellboy II: The Golden Army, the sequel to del Toro's 2004 comic book adaptation, in which he enjoys extended screen time as Hellboy's crime-fighting sidekick and romances a princess -- and more importantly, takes over (or takes back) Abe's voicing duties for the first time.

We spoke with Doug Jones about his work under prosthetics, his close relationship with Guillermo del Toro, and his battle to win Abe Sapien's voice back from David Hyde Pierce (who, as the story goes, graciously deferred vocal credit in the first Hellboy after seeing Jones' own performance). And after playing every fantastical creature from robots to aliens to yetis, Jones told us what his dream role would be --- and how he and del Toro may already be planning to bring it to the screen.

But first, Jones took time to share his favorite films of all time with Rotten Tomatoes. Read on for more!

Somewhere in Time (1980, 63% Tomatometer)

I have favorite chick flicks and favorite comedies. My taste goes to romantic comedy a lot. Somewhere in Time, with Christopher Reeve and Jane Seymour -- stop already! That was one of the most romantic stories I'd ever seen in my life; I was in tears, but it also involved a little bit of science fiction, with the time travel element. That one really moved me back in 1980.

Airplane! (1980, 100% Tomatometer)

Also, the very first Airplane! movie, with that zany comedy, slapstick-y, sight gag thing going on. I'd never seen a movie like that before. Of course, after that came more Airplanes and Hot Shots, Top Secret, and the Naked Gun movies. But Airplane took me so by surprise, and Leslie Nielsen was brilliant.

[RT: Surely, Airplane is one of the best spoof movies ever made. Doug Jones: Well it is, and stop calling me Shirley!]

Meet Joe Black (1998, 49% Tomatometer)

Coming up to more recent years, I think Meet Joe Black, again, was a tear-jerky chick flick for me that I loved. And the performances...Anthony Hopkins can do no wrong, Brad Pitt's become a favorite as well, and Claire Forlani -- stop already! All that girl has to do is blink and I'm enraptured. And that was another romance with a sci-fi twist; death coming to take a holiday.

Waiting for Guffman (1997, 95% Tomatometer)

What else? Waiting for Guffman! Stop already, right? Christopher Guest and all of his tomfoolery. Of course, there was Spinal Tap, but in more recent years...I think the storyline of [Guffman] was so relatable to any actor who's ever done community theater in their hometown. Here were all these egos, in a small town, where it just didn't matter. I come from Indiana, and when you're doing stage productions in high school, or in your community theater, or on the college stage, you think you're Broadway bound, for sure. You're all going to be stars! It's delusional theater, is what it is. But that whole cast of people, having their basic storyline, and then vamping on their own brilliance, was just golden. Just golden.

Waking Ned Devine (1998, 82% Tomatometer)

Waking Ned Devine. Loved it. There's something about aged, experienced, mature people acting like kids. This whole town bands together to pull a ruse, to win a lottery ticket and split lottery ticket winnings; it was kind of morally wrong, and yet also giddy and made you clap your hands and say, "Go you guys, go!"

Next: Our full interview with Doug Jones!

Next Page >>

Page | 1 2 3

(1-20 of 24 posts) | Reply

Crhualsees writes:
on Jul 08 2008 07:59 PM

Wow, those movies SUCK...

(Reply to this)

stacilayne writes:
on Jul 08 2008 09:12 PM

Great idea for an interview, Jen. Doug is amazing, and really underrated (even now; hopefully, he'll become more well-known when Hellboy 2 comes out). I would have guessed a couple of those movies, but there were some surprises, too. Good stuff. Thanks for always thinking outside the ol' box.

(Reply to this)

crossouttheD writes:
on Jul 08 2008 09:26 PM

In reply to this comment (#1853944)
Not cool. Doug Jones is eccentric, not "gay" (the real way you spell it neanderthale.)

(Reply to this)

adu writes:
on Jul 09 2008 12:25 AM

They say he'll have a role in the Hobbit, I wonder who he'll play.

(Reply to this)

jacog writes:
on Jul 09 2008 12:50 AM

You misspelled "neanderthal". :)

His movie choices are not bad, except Meet Joe Black, which was rather daft on many levels.

(Reply to this)

vaodsi writes:
on Jul 09 2008 01:35 AM

doug jones is my best friends father.;)

(Reply to this)

Gimy writes:
on Jul 09 2008 05:41 AM

what the h3ll does this guy actually sound like? i don't know him(no offense buddy) but the only two roles i've seen him in are F4 and Hellboy(saw it, wasn't impressed). thats like playing first base and having a DH for you, its pretty sad. its even MORE sad when you get replaced by a massively manly voice like...the dude from Frasier.

who the h3ll cares if the dude(which it looks like) is gay? are you not going to see the flick because of it? gonna break out ya bibles and throw it threw the movie screen when Hello-boy 2 comes out? c'mon...its 2008, not 1955. accept and get over it people.

(Reply to this)

jasper de large writes:
on Jul 09 2008 07:23 AM

i like airplane!, meet joe black, and waiting for guffman, want to see waking ned devine but i think i'd pass on somewhere in time

(Reply to this)

mm273589 writes:
on Jul 09 2008 07:27 AM

If not for the interview on Rotten Tomatoes with the cast of Hellboy, I wouldn't have recognized Doug when I saw him at a restaurant in Burbank. I approached him and asked if he was in the movies. Mind you, he was the first celebrity I've ever talked to (other than Ann Magnuson!!). He was extremely gracious and polite, introduced himself, and let me get a picture with him! He was a super friendly person! I would have been even more flustered had I known he was in Pan's Labyrinth! That was an amazing film! Meeting Doug was memorable and very enjoyable!!!

(Reply to this)

Jen Yamato writes:
on Jul 09 2008 09:35 AM

I'm glad some of you appreciate Doug Jones and didn't revert back to infancy with your comments. (And hi Staci! -- Ladies and gentlemen, Ms. Staci Layne Wilson!) To the reader who met him in Burbank, I agree; he's probably the nicest man in Hollywood, and a delight to interview. Plus, he's inhabited some of the most memorable creature characters in recent years -- even without voicing them, which of course is the choice of producers and not his own.

(Reply to this)

Kudama writes:
on Jul 09 2008 09:37 AM

Who the heck is posting comments these days? 9 year olds?

(Reply to this)

arendr writes:
on Jul 09 2008 09:50 AM

In reply to this comment (#1855422)
8 year olds, dude.

(Reply to this)

lestatthevampire writes:
on Jul 09 2008 10:17 AM

Looks like you got a spammer, RT.

(Reply to this)

vaodsi writes:
on Jul 09 2008 10:21 AM

Jasper....Waking Ned Devine is AWESOME! SEE IT!!!!!

doug jones is probably the most unappreciated actor in the business. I thought Andy Serkis was unappreciated when he didn't get an oscar nomination for Gollum, but at least EVERYBODY knew his name thanx to the big "ANDY SERKIS AS GOLLUM" text on the posters. Doug Jones is just in the backround, doing his thing brilliantly. Can't wait for hellboy. AND FRANKENSTEIN!!!!!!! YESSSSSSS!!!!!!

DEATH TO ALL EIGHT YEAR OLD SPAMMERS and R I C H K I S S!!!!!!!!!! WE'LL CAPTURE THEM, hang them by their toes AND FEED THEM TO ELI ROTH!!!!!

(Reply to this)

Skekses writes:
on Jul 09 2008 10:38 AM

Doug Jones is a different kind of actor that more people should appreciate. A lot of the best actors couldn't do what he does, especially physically.

And the Frankenstein idea? I'd see it in a heartbeat.

(Reply to this)

RT-Ryan writes:
on Jul 09 2008 10:45 AM

We're taking care of the problematic comments at the moment. As for the article itself, Doug Jones seems like a classy guy. He's been great in everything I've seen him in, so best of luck to the guy.

(Reply to this)

RT-Ryan writes:
on Jul 09 2008 10:46 AM

Oh, and yes, if Del Toro did a Frankenstein movie with Doug Jones, I'd be there, no question. That would be incredible.

(Reply to this)

Jen Yamato writes:
on Jul 09 2008 11:00 AM

Just so you know, those comments and spammers will be gone very shortly.

(Reply to this)

Jen Yamato writes:
on Jul 09 2008 11:24 AM

Also, I got in touch with the creator of that incredible Frankenstein design, Alex Tuis. He's got his own website (http://a.tuis.free.fr/) and has done a lot of concept design/poster art for movies like Frontieres, James Wong's Dragonball movie, and the planned remake of Spider Baby. If you like his Frankenstein, I'd definitely recommend checking out his other work.

(Reply to this)

minderbinder writes:
on Jul 09 2008 11:42 AM

"its even MORE sad when you get replaced by a massively manly voice like...the dude from Frasier"

Did you even read the article? He got replaced because they wanted to use a celebrity name to promote the movie - even DHP admitted that his performance was good and not much different from what DHP did. Same thing happened with F4, another "name" to add an obviously recognizable voice.

Movies would be much better off with performances that suit the character instead of distract you with a recognizable voice that sticks out.

And you RT guys REALLY need to add "report abuse" to article comments. I have to wonder if any moderation happens at all, have you seen some of the threads on say, the Hancock board??

(Reply to this)