Biography
Born Jeffrey Duncan Jones in Buffalo, NY to parents Ruth, an art historian, and Douglas, who died while he was still a child, Jones was encouraged by his mother to pursue his interest in acting, cultivated by his frequent childhood visits to the Stratford Theater in Ontario, Canada. He came to the attention of Tyrone Guthrie while acting in a production of "Hobson's Choice" at Wisconsin's Lawrence University, then spent his sophomore year at the prestigious Guthrie Theatre in Minneapolis, working there while on breaks from school. It was Guthrie who arranged for him to study at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art on a full scholarship, following his feature film debut with a small part in the political activist drama "The Revolutionary" (1970). Jones went on to perform with the Stratford Festival in Ontario, the New York Shakespeare Festival, and the Actors Theatre of Louisville before settling in New York City. After appearing alongside Meryl Streep and John Lithgow in a 1975 Lincoln Center production of "Trelawny of the Wells," he appeared in a successful revival of "Boy Meets Girl" (1976), directed by Lithgow. He also made his Broadway debut in "The Elephant Man" (1980), starring David Bowie, and acted in the original off-Broadway production of "Cloud Nine" (1981), directed by Tommy Tune. Interspersed with his theatrical endeavors, Jones also made headway with more minor turns in films like the cut-rate actioner "The Soldier" (1982), and series such as his 1983 guest spot on the spy drama, "Remington Steele" (NBC, 1982-87). Jones made his first indelible impression on the public with his marvelous portrayal of vacuous Austrian Emperor Joseph II in director Milos Foreman's Academy Award-winning feature adaptation of "Amadeus" (1984). Capitalizing on the notoriety gained from his breakout role, he then delivered one of his most inspired bits of nonsense as Principal Ed Rooney, the hapless nemesis of Matthew Broderick in John Hughes' "Ferris Bueller's Day Off" (1986). Although critics liked Jones' performance in "Howard the Duck" (1986), a comic book adaptation produced by George Lucas, and starring Lea Thompson, it did not fare well at the box office. He rebounded nicely when he teamed up with director Tim Burton in the haunted house comedy "Beetlejuice" (1988), starring an over-the-top Michael Keaton as the titular unwanted poltergeist. Jones played a stressed-out Manhattanite looking for peace and quiet in the home of a spectral couple (Geena Davis and Alec Baldwin). Jones reteamed with director Forman in "Valmont" (1989), the second filmed adaptation of the classic 18th-Century novel "Les Liaisons Dangereuses." He also starred in his own series, "The People Next Door'' (CBS, 1989-1990). Developed by horror director Wes Craven, the sitcom was canceled within a month's time. Jones kick-started the 1990s with a bang, appearing as technical consultant Skip Tyler in the John McTiernan blockbuster "The Hunt for Red October'' (1990), based on Tom Clancy's novel, opposite "Beetlejuice" alum Alec Baldwin. In 1992, Jones was whisked away on an interplanetary adventure with onscreen wife Teri Garr in the intentionally silly comedy "Mom and Dad Save the World'' (1992). Next, he rejoined Burton in the comedic biopic "Ed Wood" (1994), as the amazing Criswell, a bogus psychic who enters the orbit of the eponymous Z-movie director, played by Johnny Depp. Revisiting his live theater roots, Jones portrayed Thomas Putnam in Nicholas Hytner's film version of "The Crucible" (1996). As one millennium came to a close and a new one began, other turns by Jones included that of a town elder in Tim Burton's reimagining of Washington Irving's "Sleepy Hollow" (1999), and as a genial, but ineffectual, commanding officer in the darkly comic thriller "Ravenous" (1999). He also had a small role as Uncle Crenshaw in the family feature "Stuart Little" (1999), and later joined the cast of "Heartbreakers" (2001), the satire about a mother-daughter con team (Sigourney Weaver and Jennifer Love Hewitt). Jones received a different kind of attention in 2002 when the actor was arrested and charged with possessing child pornography and soliciting a minor. His punishment was five years probation, counseling and mandatory registration as a sex offender for life. At the time, it appeared as if Jones' acting career had ended. That is, until he resurfaced in the profanity-laced revisionist Western series "Deadwood" (HBO, 2004-06) and then the hip-hop golf comedy "Who's Your Caddy?" (2007). Jones reprised his role as A.W, Merrick in "Deadwood: The Movie" (2019) and landed a role in "My Brothers' Crossing (2020.)
