You've seen this actor in dozens of movies, but you don't even know what he looks like

Doug Jones gained fame as "the man in the mask". The roles that he got throughout his career included kilograms of makeup and latex. He is one of the most prolific actors in Hollywood, with more than 150 roles to his credit. You could see him playing in such hits as "Buffy the Vampire Slayer", "Hellboy" and "The Faun's Labyrinth". This fall, he shone on the screens in the CBS series "Star Trek: Discovery" and in Guillermo del Toro's new film "The Shape of Water", awarded the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival.

"The performer of the role of a monster must have a unique set of qualities. He needs to be half mime and half marathon runner to be able to show his acting skills through many layers of latex. Doug is one of those people. He manages to remain talented even when incredible endurance is required," says director Guillermo del Toro.

Doug Jones without makeup.

The Doom movie.

The movie "Legion".

"Men in Black 2".

Jones in the image of the main character of the film "Nosferatu", the film will be released in 2018.

Jones as the character McKnight from the McDonald's commercial (left), the Gentleman from the TV series Buffy the Vampire Slayer (center) and Billy Butcherson from the movie Hocus Pocus (right).

Doug Jones met Guillermo del Toro in 1997 while working on the horror film "Mutants", where he played the role of a giant cockroach. Five years later, del Toro invited Jones again, this time for the role of the amphibian man Abe Sapien in the film adaptation of the popular comic book "Hellboy". "It took up to seven hours just to apply the appropriate makeup. No one could do this job better than Doug," says the director.

But despite the fact that Abe Sapien was given a significant amount of screen time, Jones was dissatisfied. Instead of his own voice during dubbing, the services of actor David Hyde Pierce were used for marketing purposes. "I burst into tears when I found out about it," Jones recalls.

The situation was repeated in 2006 during the filming of del Toro's new film "The Labyrinth of the Faun". According to the director's idea, the picture, which tells about the adventures of a young heroine in a fairy-tale reality that exists in parallel with Francoist Spain, is aimed at the Spanish-speaking viewer. This time Jones didn't resist. "When I read the script, I wanted to play in this movie at all costs. But I understood that I would not be able to speak Spanish at the proper level. Guillermo told me that I would be re-voiced," says Jones.

In the film, he played a faun — an ancient creature who became a guide to a fantastic world for the girl. Jones had to sit in the makeup chair for five hours and be in a faun costume all day long. They even made a special bicycle for him so that he could move around the set with a mechanized tail.

Jones in the role of the Pale Man from the movie "The Labyrinth of the Faun".

However, this is not the only role that Jones got in the "Labyrinth of the Faun". He also played the Pale Man — a horrible creature with eyes on his palms, eating children. The pale man appears in only one scene, but it can cause consternation even in the most sophisticated viewer.

As a result, "The Labyrinth of the Faun" won three Academy Awards, and one of them - in the nomination "Best makeup and hairstyles". According to experts, this victory was largely due to the talent of Doug Jones.

And soon he had a chance to play a really big role: Jones appeared on the screens in the image of a Silver Surfer - the antagonist of the Fantastic Four. He voiced his character himself, and Chris Evans and Jessica Alba, with whom he worked on the film, were constantly pouring out compliments about his voice. Doug was even more disappointed when the press reported that the Silver Surfer would be voiced by Laurence Fishburne. Jones clutched his head: "Again!"

"Hellboy 2: The Golden Army", Angel of Death.

By the time filming of the Hellboy sequel began, Guillermo del Toro knew for sure what Jones was capable of. He not only allowed him to voice the character of Abe Sapien with his voice, but also offered to play two more roles, including the chilling Angel of Death. The mechanism driving the wings of the demonic creature turned out to be so heavy that by the end of the filming process, Jones' entire body was covered with bruises, abrasions and bruises.

Jones as the Angel of Death from the movie "Hellboy 2: The Golden Army" (left), Sarah from the TV series "Star Trek: Discovery" (center) and Amphibian Man from the movie "The Shape of Water" (right).

In 2013, Jones got a role in the series about the invasion of the Earth by aliens "Collapsed Heaven". For three seasons, the actor played an alien named Kochis. He had to wear a mask and make-up every day for several months of the year. "I almost got depressed—" Jones admits. "Are these masks my curse?"

A year after the release of the last episode of "Collapsed Skies", Doug received an offer from the creators of "Star Trek: Discovery" — the first series in the Star Trek universe in 12 years. He grudgingly accepted the role of the ten-eyed humanoid Saru. However, the actor set his own conditions. As a result, the character became two-eyed, and Doug's eyes were not covered by anything. This time there was generally much less makeup: it took a little less than two hours to prepare for filming. This allowed Jones to fully show his acting skills, which were usually leveled by several layers of latex and makeup.

Jones in the image of the main character of the movie "Nosferatu".

And then another call from Del Toro. Jones got a key role in the director's latest work "The Shape of Water". He played an unnamed amphibian man who, unlike Abe Sapien, cannot speak. The film tells about his relationship with a mute woman named Eliza, who works in a secret laboratory studying an unusual creature against the backdrop of the US confrontation during the Cold War. Critics took the picture with a bang, and she has already managed to win the highest award of the Venice Film Festival.

"My ultimate goal was to make the viewer fall in love with the amphibian as much as Eliza fell in love with him," Jones says. And he also recalls the words of del Toro, who asked an old friend to "be a real actor, not just Doug Jones."

Soon came the news that the series "Star Trek: Discovery" was renewed for another season. Now Jones no longer felt violated in his rights: his acting career finally began to develop in the desired direction.

"When I was asked what character I would like to play, I answered: a vampire," says Jones. Now he has a chance to fulfill this cherished desire. In 2018, a remake of the classic 1922 silent horror film Nosferatu will be released. Jones got the main role, and he - finally! — you will need to say lines. "My dreams are coming true," the actor smiles.