Jeffrey Jones

Emperor, principal, fortuneteller and putz; Jeffrey Jones has worn many hats over his long career (not to mention the occasional powdered wig). He creates and endears each of his characters with certain qualities that are uniquely his own and while he may not always play the hero, his characters are very often likeable in a slightly oblivious fashion. But behind all the goofiness of so many of his characters lies a versatile actor capable of making us cringe, shriek, laugh and genuinely enjoy his presence whenever he is on screen.

Jeffrey Duncan Jones, a native of Buffalo, New York, was born on September 28, 1947. His first screen role was a bit part in the 1970 film, “The Revolutionary,” which starred Jon Voight and Robert Duvall. From there, he appeared in various films and television series, biding his time until his first great screen role came in the 1984 film, “Amadeus.” Directed by the great Milos Forman, “Amadeus” is a simply beautiful account of the iconic composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. In the film, Jones played Emperor Joseph II with wit, class and style. The performance earned Jones a Golden Globe nomination for Best Supporting Actor.

However, the critical acclaim Jones garnered for his work in Amadeus wouldn’t compare to the mass attention Jones would earn for his appearance in the 1986 comedy classic, “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.” Jones’ performance as a suspicious principal out to get Matthew Broderick’s Ferris Bueller forever cemented Jones in the minds teens growing up in the 80’s. Later in that same year, Jones had the distinct honor of being in another 80’s classic, the amusing flop, “Howard the Duck.” Jones would bounce back in works for television such as “Fresno” and “George Washington” and in 1987 was featured in the Vietnam War era drama, “The Hanoi Hilton.”

Jeffrey Jones’ next role was in the 1988 film, “Beetlejuice.” The film, which was Tim Burton’s second feature film, had Jones playing the ideal yuppie, Charles Deitz. Although his character in the film wasn’t thoroughly developed, Jones imbued Charles Deitz with a charmingly dimwitted sensibility. 1988 also saw Jones in the role of Inspector Lestrade in the revisionist Sherlock Holmes tale, “Without a Clue.” The film, which takes the familiar Sherlock Holmes mythology and turns it on its ear by having Holmes’s typically second tier sleuth assistant, Watson, as the hero of the story. Although the film was little seen upon its release it has gained a cult following over the years by film fans and Holmes aficionados alike.

The following year, Jones appeared in Milos Forman’s sumptuous take on the French novel, Les Liasons Dangereuses, “Valmont.” As the character Gercourt, Jones was a part of a uniformly excellent cast featuring the likes of Annette Bening, Meg Tilly, and Colin Firth as the title character. Despite a prestigious pedigree, the film was doomed before it was even released as just a year earlier director Stephen Frears released his version of “Dangerous Liasons.” Even though both films are quite different tonally, audiences didn’t care to see the same material presented to them again and “Valmont” was overshadowed by its predecessor.

It seemed that the less than warm reception “Valmont” received was balanced out with Jeffrey’s next film, “The Hunt For Red October,” directed by the great John McTiernan. The film, which was the first in a series to feature the character of Jack Ryan, (in this film played by Alec Baldwin) was a hit right out of the box and featured Jeffrey in one of his stronger supporting roles as Skip Tyler.

1992 saw Jones in his first big starring role, opposite Terri Garr, in “Mom and Dad Save the World.” Needless to day, the film didn’t exactly light the box office on fire. It has to be seen to believed. Later in that same year, Jones appeared in another spoof of sorts, “Stay Tuned;” a slightly dark comedy about T.V. hell. Hey, you can’t blame the guy for being adventurous.

Jones landed what is, perhaps, his most memorable role in 1994’s “Ed Wood.” Directed by some guy named Tim Burton, the film is a biopic of, but above all else a loving tribute to, “The World’s Worst Filmmaker” Edward D. Wood Jr. As Criswell, Jones delivered a touchingly goofy fortuneteller who befriends Johnny Depp’s Ed Wood on his road to filmmaking immortality. The film is arguably Burton’s masterpiece and featured magnificent black and white cinematography by “Edward Scissorhands’s” director of photography Stefan Czapky.

Jones followed up his work on “Ed Wood” with another classic of sorts: the Sinbad (no, not the sailor) laugh-a-thon “Houseguest.” The film also starred the late, great (not to mention “Pee-wee’s Big Adventure” screenwriter) Phil Hartman.

The 1996 adaptation of Arthur Miller’s “The Crucible” saw Jones once again don period clothing to portray Thomas Putnam in the famed dramatization of the Salem Witch trials. The film is also notable for Burton fans for re-teaming Jones with Lydia Deitz herself, Winona Ryder.

Jeffrey Jones’s role in 1997’s “The Devil’s Advocate,” an allegorical tale about greed American style, allowed him to stretch out a bit while still portraying one of his trade mark strong supporting roles. Watching his performance, it’s clear that he understood the darkly satiric tone laced throughout the film and played up this aspect of the story to its fullest.

One of the most unusual film’s released in 1999 was the little seen cannibal-horror film “Ravenous.” Definitely weird, the film starred future “Memento” man Guy Pearce, David Arquette and our man Jeffrey Jones. If there was ever a flick that earned the title “cult film,” this is it. Later that same year, Jones would again re-team with Tim Burton and “Ed Wood” co-star Johnny Depp, this time for Burton’s take on the legend of Sleepy Hollow dubbed simply, “Sleepy Hollow.” The film once again featured Jones in a period costume and powdered wig in what was his darkest role yet in a Burton film. The film was also notable for Burton fans (and probably Burton himself) for being a return to box office success after the lousy reception his previous film, “Mars Attacks,” received from critics and audiences alike.

2000 saw Jones appear in the very silly political comedy, “Company Man.” Jones’s performance as Senator Biggs wasn’t much of a stretch from what he is consistently type cast as in most films but did get to have a bit of fun when he portrayed the Vice President in “How High,” starring the latter day Cheech and Chong, rappers Redman Methodman. Jones can next be seen in the HBO television series “Deadwood,” which appears to be revisionists take on the traditional T.V. western.

Throughout his career, Jeffery Jones has delivered great performances in what could be seen as small roles, but in each film he appears in, he helps to contribute to the overall landscape of the picture with his wit, charm, and occasional goofiness and is a welcomed presence in any film he appears in.

Joe Cortez, 2004

LINKS:
Besotted: The Jeffrey Jones Obsession Site