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BY DAVID SERVER | Recently,
David Server sat down to talk with Doug Jones. An actor and mime with
a history of playing creatures and aliens, Doug was recently been cast
in Guillermo del Toro's Hellboy as fishman Abe Sapien.
CD: Youve got a pretty strange and cool resume for someone with a
telecommunications major, having played one of the Spy Morlocks in The
Time Machine, a Yeti in MonkeyBone, and Joey the Mailroom Alien in
Men in Black 2 what events led you to become crazy costume and make-up
guy?
Doug Jones: (Laughs) Well its kind of funny how I didnt really go looking
for that, but back when my acting career started, one of my first jobs
I got was a commercial campaign for McDonalds; I was the Mac Tonight
Moon Guy. Remember him?
CD: Yea, I saw a picture of him in one of your old interviews that
I found.
DJ: Oh my gosh, you did some diggin, didnt you?
CD: (Laughs), I do what I can.
DJ: (Laughs) Oh, goshYea, so I worked with a special effects creature
guy on that named Steve Neill, and he referred me for a movie after that,
Dark Power, and I play a zombie guy in that, and so the thing is that
within the Creature Effects world, everybody who works at every shop tends
to move onto the next shop shortly after. So its a very incestuous like
world, so my name gets passed around as they all pass around. So before
long, I was being referred for these jobs all the time. And being an odd
shape and size helps, being a tall skinny guy. They like making me into
aliens and all sorts of weird creatures because they can, yknow? And
because I keep saying yes.
CD: Did you ever read any comics growing up as a kid?
DJ: Yknow what? I read the Archies! (Laughs) I was never into the sci-fi
thing as a kid.
CD: Were you at all familiar with the Hellboy comics before you got
involved with the movie?
DJ: No, and Im kind of embarrassed to say that I wasnt
CD: Actually, I hear that a lot, from a lot of the people involved
in the movie, but they all say that now that theyve gotten into it, its
so fascinating and weird
DJ: Right, no it is, its all that; its ooky when [director Guillermo
del Toro] gave me the script, he also gave me three different [trade paperbacks]
of the comicsand I would say its dark. Would you say dark?
CD: Yeah, Id say dark.
DJ: Its not something that youd give to your ten year old.
CD: So have you done some research with the stuff Guillermo has given
you since you got the part?
DJ: Yeah, Im hoping that I can do Abe Sapien justice, and Ill do my
darndest because I know that Ive been learning that Hellboy does have
its fan base already, and I would hate for them to think that the guy
that does Abe in the movie, well, sucks (laughs).
CD: After having been introduced to this universe, do you have any
specific thoughts on the character? Do you already have an idea of how
Abe would move and act?
DJ: Yeah, I think, and this is something I was actually discussing with
Guillermo not too long ago, a week ago when I last saw him, and I think
that the words that came up were fluid yet strong. And also, he seems
to be the intelligent guy with a heart.
CD: Was there a complicated audition process for the role?
DJ: Actually, there wasnt a whole lot of audition process for meThey
had found somebody before me, a British actor who was a little bit shorter
than me and a little bit thicker than mebut I guess that describes most
people on planet Earth really (laughs)but when they were discussing something
about how they wanted the character to be long and lanky, Steve Wang,
who is a Creature Designer over at the Spectral Motion Shop, and whos
a supervisor for that character, he had worked with me before, and so
had Guillermo (I was one of the bug guys in Mimic), so they were discussing
this over dinner and my name came up, and they were both like Oh yeah,
Doug would be great! So, before long, the cell phones come out and they
call me at home. So I kind of went in just to meet with the Producer and
Guillermo and Mike Elizalde the next day, and it was basically, I showed
them my demo reel, and they were all impressed with my acting, which was
nice. And so by the end of that half hour, I had a script in my hand and
three copies of the comic book with Guillermo saying please read this
and call me tonight. And I was very excited about doing the project.
So it wasnt a whole big grueling audition process.
CD: What do you think about the possibility that your dialogue might
be rerecorded by a different actor after you finish shooting? Have you
ever encountered something like this before?
DJ: No, but Guillermo told me that on the very first day. And the thing
is, with the actor that they had before me I guess that was the main choice
that they had. And with me coming on, he said, thats what we had already
talked about, and I just want to let you know that could happen. And
whats gone on is Guillermo has told me recently is that he really wants
me to do my own voice. And I really want to do my own voice! (Laughs)
So weve talked about what kind of a style to give him, and I think hes
gonna be soft-spoken, articulatewith a certain melodic sort of tone to
his voice. I want to make him quirky enough so hes not just a guy.
CD: What do you think of the look of your character?
DJ: So far, Ill tell you the guys over at Spectral Motion have been
doing a fantastic job. I think Abe Sapien is absolutely beautiful. And
the bummer is that I cant take any credit for it! I wish I could say,
Im gorgeous!
CD: (Laughs) Well, you get to bring him the movement! From what youve
said, the way he moves will be beautiful too.
DJ: Yeah, hes beautiful.
CD: How have the makeup tests been going?
DJ: Good so far. They did about sixteen, seventeen different life casts
of me, body parts, very specific. Theyre gonna be gluing things to my
actual body from head to toe, so theres going to be an awful, awful lot
of doing up. Most expensive Ive ever done. Cause often times theyll
do a full body cast, and they do a suit and youll slip into it. This
is different because theyre creating a chest piece, some shoulder pieces,
and the neck with the gills, and the this, and the that, and the head,
and the hoo-hahso theres a lot of different components that have to
come together, and I love the overall shape. Yknow, theyve given me
an amazing body, one that would take me years of 24 hour fitness to get.
And the face, the lines, they are just beautiful.
CD: Youve said that fellow actors and crew members become like extended
family in more distant shoots, and Prague is a ways away from the US.
Have you met any of the rest of the cast yet?
DJ: Brian Steele is another creature actor guy, and hes going to be
playing a big, ugly heavy thing in a three ton suit [Ed. Note: Perhaps
he means Sammael?], and Ive worked with him before. But Ive pretty much
just been in the shopI know a couple people there, and I know a couple
of them that are going to be going to PragueBut the family kind of develops
once youre there. And thats the cool part for me. I like being thrown
into a different culture like that, and meeting the local people as well.
One of my favorite things to do when I travel, actually the first thing
I do, is I find a local church I can go to. And from that springs instant
people going Come on over to our house! And thats my favorite thing,
you get invited to someones house you can really find out a lot about
the culture quickly. So thats a great thing. And when youre all staying
in a hotel together? You cant help but, yknow, put on your slippers
and go down to someones room to play Monopoly or whatever, I just love
that. Kind of takes you back to your college days in a way.
CD: Are you excited about working with Ron Perlman? Hell be one of
the only guys on set with almost as much makeup as you
DJ: Exactly! I am very excited to work with Ron. Everything Ive seen
him in, I just think gosh, hes an incredible actor. And every other actor
that Ive told Im gonna be working on a movie with Ron Perlman, they
all say the same thing, Oh, Id LOVE to work with Ron Perlman! And,
yknow, thats a compliment to him that other actors want to work with
him. He always commits 100% to his roles, and he can get very intense
without looking overdone.
CD: This is your second time working with Guillermo what do you
think of him as a director? Youve said you like directors with a visual
eye, and I think its safe to say that can be said of Guillermo certainly
DJ: Oh my gosh, yes. Hes just wonderful. He gets the poetry behind the
story and everything, and the thing is hes such a happy guy anyways,
hes good to be around as a person, when you take that to the workplace,
it just makes the day more fun anyways. And when I get direction, I trust
it more coming from him, more so than I would if he were different perhaps.
CD: If Hellboy is a big hit, have you considered if you would come
back to reprise the role, or are you waiting to see how grueling it will
be to put on all that makeup every morning during the shoot?
DJ: Ive worn lots of grueling makeup in mucho-many things now, so so
far what Ive had on in this is not that hard to wear. Would I do part
II? Since I havent done part I yet, its premature to say for sure, but
what Im feeling today is that I would most definitely love for this to
become a franchise, and I would love to see myself as a part of it, yes.
CD: Got anything else coming up before Hellboy?
DJ: Yeah, because its still far off, I still have three months before
I even go to Prague, but Im up for a couple things right now, but theyre
trying to squeeze in a Sci-Fi original movie for me before I go. And that
would shoot in Bangladesh or something like that, I dont know (Laughs).
I just cant stay home, yknow? But actually one piece of news that was
rather exciting was that I was cast in Jodie Fosters Flora Plumb that
shes gonna be directing. That was going to be a couple years ago, but
it fell through because Russell Crowe injured his shoulder before the
filming started, so the plug was pulled. But I got word recently that
its back in preproduction, theyre gonna be starting filming maybe like
a year from now in late 2003. So hopefully that will happen for sure,
and if so then Ill be working on that when I get back from Prague.
CD: Cool. Thanks again so much for the time, this project is really
looking like its going to be so cool
DJ: Yea, it is. It is indeed, and like I said, I trust Guillermo, I mean
reading one of these comics, I saw that he wrote a forward to itIt helps
that hes a huge fan. And I also feel a certain responsibility because
he mentioned in that that Abe Sapien is one of his favorite characters(laughs).
CD: Yeah, well he is pretty popular. A lot of fans tend to gravitate
to him because hes a really well written character and hes really visually
stunning
DJ: So I promise the fans that I will do my darndest, and I hope they
will be a forgiving audience (laughs).
CD: Im sure they have absolutely nothing to worry about. Thanks again
so much for your time, Doug!
DJ: Sure thing. Good talking to you. Bye!
CD: Bye!
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