Doug Jones is the most popular actor you probably don't know, but there's a good reason for that. Aside from the actual acting ability, one of the toughest things for some actors to pull off is becoming the character at hand. While matching the personality of a character can be easier to accomplish, the ability to transform their look is something that actors like Christian Bale have repeatedly garnered praise for doing.
But the aspect of such a transformation that many actors aren't too fond of is excessive amounts of makeup or prosthetics to make certain looks possible. Plenty of actors don't want to spend hours in a chair at the start of every day, especially when it means covering up their faces and making them almost unrecognizable. Well, this cannot be said about everyone, and especially Doug Jones, as he has made a career for himself by playing some big characters, but you probably don't know they're him because of the requirements of each role.
Over the last 20 years, Jones has become a prolific actor that has brought to life some instantly recognizable characters. However, in almost every instance, he is doing so under heavy makeup or large prosthetics that make it impossible to identify him. As highlighted in a new Screen Rant video featured at the top of this post, a quick run-through of Jones' impressive filmography will help you realize just how many of his roles you've seen but didn't know it was him.
After playing a background character in Batman Returns, Jones' willingness to do the less-glamorous roles, which require a lot of prep, started to get recognized during Hocus Pocus where he played Billy Butcherson. From there Jones went on to play one of the creepy gentlemen in Buffy the Vampire Slayer's highly-regarded episode "Hush." But possibly his most famous role is that of Abe Sapien in Guillermo del Toro's Hellboy movies, which kicked off the start of a great partnership between them. His role as the blue aquatic creature led del Toro to use Jones for two different major roles in Pan's Labyrinth a few years later. It was there that he played the film's lead creature Fauno and the terrifying Pale Man.
While he spent time playing the physical role of the Silver Surfer in Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer before returning to play Abe Sapien, he reteamed with del Toro in 2015's Crimson Peak. However, it was their latest collaboration that was the most successful, as Jones starred as the Amphibian Man in del Toro's Oscar-winning The Shape of Water. With roles on the small screen in The Strain, What We Do In The Shadows, Falling Skies, and Star Trek: Discovery, Jones has remained incredibly busy despite many not recognizing his work. Since Jones is willing to put in the time and energy it takes to bring these various characters to life, hopefully, some more recognition for his work will come his way.