Toby Jones
Toby Edward Heslewood Jones[1] OBE (born 7 September 1966)[1] is an English actor. Jones is known for his extensive character actor roles on stage and screen. From 1989 to 1991 he trained at L'École Internationale de Théâtre Jacques Lecoq. He made his stage debut in 2001 in the comedy play The Play What I Wrote, which played in the West End and on Broadway, earning him a Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role. In 2020, he was nominated for his second Olivier Award, for Best Actor for his performance in a revival of Anton Chekov's Uncle Vanya.
Toby Jones | |
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Jones in 2022 | |
| Born | Toby Edward Heslewood Jones 7 September 1966 Hammersmith, London, England |
| Education | Abingdon School |
| Alma mater | University of Manchester (1986–1989) L'École Internationale de Théâtre Jacques Lecoq (1989–1991) |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1992–present |
| Spouse | Karen Jones (m. 2015) |
| Children | 2 |
| Parent |
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Jones made his film debut in Sally Potter's period drama Orlando in 1992. He appeared in minor roles in films such as Naked (1993), Les Misérables (1998), Ever After (1998), Finding Neverland (2005), and Mrs Henderson Presents (2005). He won critical acclaim for his leading role as Truman Capote in the biopic Infamous (2006). He has since acted in Amazing Grace (2006), The Painted Veil (2006), W. (2008), Frost/Nixon (2008), Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (2011), My Week with Marilyn (2011), Berberian Sound Studio (2012), Dad's Army (2016), and Empire of Light (2022).
He is also known for his voice roles as Dobby in the Harry Potter films (2002–2011), Aristides Silk in The Adventures of Tintin (2011) and Owl in Disney's Christopher Robin (2018). He is also known for his blockbuster roles as Claudius Templesmith in The Hunger Games franchise (2012–2013), Arnim Zola in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) films Captain America: The First Avenger (2011) and Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014), and the Disney+ television series What If...? (2021), and as Mr. Eversoll in Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom (2018).
Jones's television credits include Doctor Who (2010), Julian Fellowes's Titanic miniseries (2012), MCU's Agent Carter (2015), and Wayward Pines (2015–2016). He was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Miniseries or Television Film for his role as Alfred Hitchcock in the HBO television film The Girl (2012) and won a Best Male Comedy BAFTA for his role in Detectorists (2018). In 2017, he portrayed Culverton Smith in "The Lying Detective", an episode of the BBC crime drama Sherlock.
Early life
Jones was born in Hammersmith, London[1] to actors Jennifer Jones (née Heslewood) and Freddie Jones. He has two brothers: Rupert, a director, and Casper, also an actor.[2] He attended Christ Church Cathedral School and Abingdon School in Oxfordshire in the 1980s. He studied drama at the University of Manchester from 1986 to 1989, and at L'École Internationale de Théâtre Jacques Lecoq in Paris from 1989 to 1991.
Career
Film and television
Jones has appeared in more than 20 films since his first acting role in the 1992 film Orlando. He voiced Dobby in two Harry Potter films: Chamber of Secrets (2002) and The Deathly Hallows – Part 1 (2010). He played Robert Cecil, 1st Earl of Salisbury in the HBO/Channel 4 production Elizabeth I. In 2006, he portrayed Truman Capote in the biopic Infamous. He appeared in the film adaptation of Stephen King's The Mist in 2007. In 2008, he portrayed Karl Rove in Oliver Stone's W and Hollywood agent Swifty Lazar in Frost/Nixon. He appeared alongside his father in the 2004 film Ladies in Lavender.
Jones appeared in the 2010 episode "Amy's Choice", of Doctor Who, as the Dream Lord, and in the Big Finish Productions series' Dark Eyes (audio drama) as Kotris. He also played the role of Samuel Ratchett in Agatha Christie's Poirot TV Series 12 episode "Murder on the Orient Express". In 2011, he played the role of the British spy master Percy Alleline in the adaptation of John Le Carré's Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy and Arnim Zola in Captain America: The First Avenger, a role which he reprised in the sequel Captain America: The Winter Soldier three years later as well as in a cameo in the TV series Agent Carter the following year. In 2012, he had a leading role in the ITV mini-series Titanic, starred as one of the seven dwarves in Snow White and the Huntsman, played Dr. Paul Shackleton in Red Lights, and Max in Virginia. He also portrayed film director Alfred Hitchcock in the HBO television film The Girl, a role that earned him his first Golden Globe Award nomination, as well as his first Primetime Emmy Award nomination.
In 1998, he appeared as a City businessman in the music video for Gomez's song "Whippin' Piccadilly", from their album Bring It On.[3]
He played Neil Baldwin in the BBC drama Marvellous in 2014.[4][5][6][7][8][9] Sam Wollaston, in The Guardian, praised Jones's "lovely, very human, performance",[10] one that earned him his second British Academy Television Award nomination. From 2014, he appeared in the BBC Four television series Detectorists,[11] for which he received a nomination for the British Academy Television Award for Best Male Comedy Performance in 2016 before winning the award in 2018.
In 2015, Jones played the part of Roger Yount, a banker, in the three-part BBC series Capital based on John Lanchester's novel of the same name.[12] Discussing working with Jones on Capital, writer Peter Bowker said, "I think Toby is a genius and thought that long before I worked with him. He always wants to know a character's needs, and what's beneath those needs. Then he takes all that material and somehow embeds it into the character and physically inhabits the character, so that you never think he's playing the character. It's fascinating to watch him close up. He carries the emotional complexities in every tiny gesture that his character makes so that you immediately can see what his character is like. A character like Roger is full of contradictions, a city banker with an air of entitlement but also a little insecurity picking away at him. Toby can portray that in his walk alone. That's what's great about him, he can portray cold he can portray warm and he can portray both of those things at once."[13]
He plays Captain Mainwaring in the film Dad's Army, released in February 2016. In July, of the same year he starred as the eponymous agent Verloc in the BBC's The Secret Agent, a 3-part television adaptation of Joseph Conrad's 1907 novel.[14]
In 2017, he portrayed Culverton Smith in "The Lying Detective", an episode of the BBC crime drama Sherlock. In 2018, he played the dinosaur auctioneer Mr. Eversoll in Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, the fifth instalment of the Jurassic Park series.[15] In the same year, Jones voiced Owl in Disney's live-action Christopher Robin.
In 2018, he was awarded an honorary doctorate by Oxford Brookes University.[16]
Radio and audiobooks
In 2003 Jones played the part of Lord Brideshead in a BBC Radio adaptation of Brideshead Revisited. Jones voiced the title character in the 2005 BBC Radio 4 adaptation of Oblomov. He also read the 2009 Radio 4 adaptation of John Irving's A Prayer for Owen Meany. He played Inspector Goole in the 2010 BBC Radio adaptation of An Inspector Calls. Since 2013 Jones has been the voice of the lead character, Joey Oldman in the BBC Radio 4 series The Corrupted, an adaptation of the G. F. Newman novel Crime and Punishment. On 2 December 2012 he played Napoleon Bonaparte in Anthony Burgess's Napoleon Rising on Radio 3. In 2013 he played Kotris in the award-winning Doctor Who audio play, Dark Eyes, and read an abridged version of "The Manual of Detection" by Jedediah Berry for the BBC.[17] In 2020 he portrayed Falstaff in BBC Radio 3's Henry IV, Part 1.[18]
In 2021, Jones recorded the audiobook version of John Le Carré's final novel Silverview for Penguin Audio.
Stage
In 2001, he starred in the London West End comedy The Play What I Wrote, directed by Kenneth Branagh. His comic turn as Arthur earned him the Olivier Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role, and the play moved to Broadway in 2003.
In 2009, he returned to the stage in Every Good Boy Deserves Favour at the National Theatre,[19] Parlour Song at the Almeida Theatre,[20] and The First Domino at Brighton Festival Fringe.[21] In 2011, he played J. M. W. Turner in The Painter at the Arcola Theatre. Jones starred as Stanley in the 2018 revival of The Birthday Party at The Harold Pinter Theatre.[22] In 2020, he starred in the title role in the Conor McPherson adaptation of Uncle Vanya by Anton Chekhov, at the Harold Pinter Theatre.
Personal life
On The Graham Norton Show, Jones said that he and his wife Karen were together for 25 years before they married in 2015. They have two daughters.[23]
Jones was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2021 New Year Honours for services to drama.[24]
Filmography
Film
| Denotes works that have not yet been released |
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1993 | Lovejoy | Sgt. Protheroe | Episode: "Pig in a Poke" |
| 1994 | Cadfael | Griffin | Episode: "The Sanctuary Sparrow" |
| 1995 | Performance | Wart | Episode: "Henry IV" |
| 1996 | Death of a Salesman | Waiter | Television film |
| 1998 | Out of Hours | Martin Styles | 6 episodes |
| 1999 | Underground | Beast | Television film |
| Aristocrats | Ste Fox | 4 episodes | |
| 1999–00 | Midsomer Murders | Dan Peterson | 4 episodes |
| 2001 | The Way We Live Now | Squercum | Episode #1.4 |
| Victoria & Albert | Edward Oxford | 2 episodes | |
| In Love and War | Bolo | Television film | |
| Love or Money | Phil | Television film | |
| 2002 | 15 Storeys High | Obsessive-compulsive man | Episode: "Ice Queen" |
| 2005 | Coming Up | Simon | Episode: "Loving Ludmilla" |
| 2005 | Elizabeth I | Robert Cecil | 2 episodes |
| 2006 | A Harlot's Progress | William Hogarth | Television film |
| 2007 | The Old Curiosity Shop | Daniel Quilp | Television film |
| The Last Detective | Bennett | Episode: "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to Willesden" | |
| 2010 | Mo | Dr Mark Glaser | Television film |
| Doctor Who | The Dream Lord | Episode: "Amy's Choice" | |
| Agatha Christie's Poirot | Samuel Ratchett / Lanfranco Cassetti | Episode: "Murder on the Orient Express" | |
| 2011 | Christopher and His Kind | Gerald Hamilton | Television film |
| 2012 | Titanic | John Batley | 4 episodes |
| The Girl | Alfred Hitchcock | HBO/BBC Television film | |
| 2013 | Murder on the Victorian Railway | Narrator | Voice; Television film |
| Words of Everest | Jan Morris | Television documentary | |
| 2014 | Marvellous | Neil Baldwin | Television film |
| 2014–17 2022 | Detectorists | Lance Stater | 20 episodes |
| 2015–16 | Wayward Pines | David Pilcher/Dr. Jenkins | 15 episodes |
| 2015 | Agent Carter | Arnim Zola | Episode: "Valediction" |
| Capital | Roger Yount | 3 episodes | |
| The Last Days Of... | Narrator | Voice; 4 episodes | |
| 2016 | The Secret Agent | Anton Verloc | 3 episodes |
| The Witness for the Prosecution | John Mayhew | 2 episodes | |
| Civil | Otis O'Dell | Pilot | |
| 2017 | Sherlock | Culverton Smith[31] | Episode: "The Lying Detective" |
| 2019 | Don't Forget the Driver | Pete Green | 6 episodes; also co-creator and writer |
| The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance | The Librarian | Voice; 6 episodes | |
| 2021 | What If...? | Arnim Zola | Voice; 3 episodes |
| Danny Boy | Phil Shiner | Television film[32] | |
| Worzel Gummidge | The Bonfire Night Committee | Episode: "Guy Forks"[33] | |
| 2022 | Harry Potter 20th Anniversary: Return to Hogwarts | Himself | HBO Max Special |
| My Grandparents' War | Himself / presenter | Series 2 – Episode 4[34] | |
| The English | Sebold Cusk | Episode: "What You Want & What You Need"[35] |
Theatre
| Year | Title | Role | Venue |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | The Play What I Wrote | Arthur | Lyceum Theatre, Broadway |
| 2009 | Every Good Boy Deserves a Favor | Performer | Royal National Theatre, London |
| 2013 | Circle Mirror Transformation | Schultz | Rose Lipman Building, London |
| 2014 | Parlor Song | Ned | Almeida Theatre, London |
| 2018 | The Birthday Party | Stanley Webber | Harold Pinter Theatre, West End |
| 2019 | Glass. Kill. Bluebeard. Imp. | N/A | Royal Court Theatre, London |
| 2020 | Uncle Vanya | Uncle Vanya | Harold Pinter Theatre, West End |
Theme park attractions
| Year | Title | Role | Venue |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | Ant-Man and The Wasp: Nano Battle! | Arnim Zola | Hong Kong Disneyland |
Awards and nominations
Film
| Year | Award | Category | Work | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | London Film Critics' Circle Award | British Actor of the Year | Infamous | Won |
| 2008 | London Film Critics' Circle Award | British Supporting Actor of the Year | The Painted Veil | Nominated |
| 2009 | Screen Actors Guild Award | Outstanding Cast in a Motion Picture | Frost/Nixon | Nominated |
| London Film Critics' Circle Award | British Supporting Actor of the Year | Frost/Nixon and W. | Nominated | |
| 2013 | London Film Critics' Circle Award | British Actor of the Year | Berberian Sound Studio | Won |
Television
| Year | Award | Category | Work | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | Golden Globe Award | Best Actor – Miniseries or TV Movie | The Girl | Nominated |
| Primetime Emmy Award | Lead Actor in a Miniseries or Movie | Nominated | ||
| British Academy Television Award | Best Actor | Nominated | ||
| 2015 | Best Actor | Marvellous | Nominated | |
| 2016 | Best Male Performance in a Comedy Programme | Detectorists | Nominated | |
| 2018 | Won |
Theatre
| Year | Award | Category | Nominated work | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | Laurence Olivier Award[36] | Best Actor in a Supporting Role | The Play What I Wrote | Won |
| 2020 | Laurence Olivier Award[37] | Best Actor | Uncle Vanya | Nominated |
See also
References
- ^ a b c Births, Marriages & Deaths Index of England & Wales, 1916–2005.; at ancestry.com
- ^ Braun, Liz (10 October 2006). "'Infamous' shows another look at Capote". Toronto Sun. Archived from the original on 19 February 2013. Retrieved 26 September 2014.
- ^ "Gomez – Whippin' Piccadilly". 28 February 2009. from the original on 20 December 2011. Retrieved 22 August 2012 – via YouTube.
- ^ "Toby Jones on playing Neil Baldwin in Marvellous". BBC News. 24 September 2014. from the original on 25 September 2014. Retrieved 26 September 2014.
- ^ Simon, Jane (25 September 2014). "Marvellous – Toby Jones is outstanding portraying extraordinary life of Stoke City kit man Neil Baldwin". Daily Mirror. from the original on 25 September 2014. Retrieved 26 September 2014.
- ^ Dickson, E Jane (25 September 2014). "Neil Baldwin: "Prince Edward is the best royal I've met – I just knocked on his door"". Radio Times. from the original on 28 September 2014. Retrieved 26 September 2014.
- ^ Jeffries, Stuart (21 September 2014). "Toby Jones: totally Stoked". The Guardian. from the original on 22 September 2014. Retrieved 26 September 2014.
- ^ Collin, Robbie (23 September 2014). "Toby Jones interview: 'Every character has a special need'". The Daily Telegraph. from the original on 23 September 2014. Retrieved 26 September 2014.
- ^ Walsh, John (13 September 2014). "Quiet genius of Toby Jones: From The Hunger Games to Truman Capote, Hollywood can't get enough of British acting's most versatile talent". The Independent. from the original on 25 September 2014. Retrieved 26 September 2014.
- ^ Wollaston, Sam (26 September 2014). "Marvellous; Your Home in their Hands review – two Neil Baldwins meet real Lou Macari and real Gary Lineker". The Guardian. from the original on 27 September 2014. Retrieved 26 September 2014.
- ^ Hawksley, Rupert (2 October 2014). "Detectorists, BBC Four, review: 'first-rate writing'". The Daily Telegraph. from the original on 2 November 2014. Retrieved 2 November 2014.
- ^ "BBC One: Capital". BBC. from the original on 25 November 2015. Retrieved 24 November 2015.
- ^ "Adapting 'Capital' for BBC One". BBC. 23 November 2015. from the original on 28 November 2015. Retrieved 30 November 2015.
- ^ "The Secret Agent: Episode 1: Credits". BBC. from the original on 14 July 2016. Retrieved 25 July 2016.
- ^ Kroll, Justin (7 November 2016). "Toby Jones and Rafe Spall in Talks to Join Sequel to 'Jurassic World' (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Archived from the original on 6 December 2016.
- ^ "Inspirational Honorary Graduates for 2018 graduation ceremonies announced – Oxford Brookes University". brookes.ac.uk. from the original on 5 August 2019. Retrieved 9 September 2019.
- ^ "BBC Radio 4 Extra – Jedediah Berry – the Manual of Detection". from the original on 30 January 2021. Retrieved 22 January 2021.
- ^ "BBC Radio 3 – The Shakespeare Sessions, Who is Falstaff?". BBC. from the original on 23 May 2020. Retrieved 28 April 2020.
- ^ Cavendish, Dominic (9 January 2009). . The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 15 November 2011. Retrieved 13 September 2011.
- ^ "Parlour Song – The Cast". Almeida Theatre. from the original on 2 November 2014. Retrieved 2 November 2014.
- ^ Emily-Ann Elliott (5 May 2009). "Bomb survivor writes Brighton play". The Argus (Brighton). from the original on 9 October 2012. Retrieved 27 July 2011.
- ^ Billington, Michael (18 January 2018). "The Birthday Party review – Pinter's cryptic classic turns 60 with a starry cast". The Guardian. from the original on 15 August 2020. Retrieved 30 August 2020.
- ^ Ryan Reynolds and Catherine Zeta-Jones Have Some Weird Dating Advice – The Graham Norton Show – S18E16, from the original on 27 October 2022, retrieved 28 October 2022
- ^ "No. 63218". The London Gazette (Supplement). 31 December 2020. p. N12.
- ^ "Toby Jones to play evil scientist in 'Captain America' (exclusive)". Heatvisionblog.com. from the original on 10 May 2010. Retrieved 22 August 2012.
- ^ Fernandez, Jay A.; Kit, Borys (27 January 2009). . The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on 31 January 2009. Retrieved 9 September 2009.
- ^ Valby, Karen (24 May 2011). "'The Hunger Games' finds its voice: Toby Jones cast as Claudius Templesmith". Entertainment Weekly. from the original on 25 July 2011. Retrieved 31 July 2011.
- ^ Lovett, Jamie (27 February 2022). "Indiana Jones 5 Wraps Filming". Comicbook.com. from the original on 27 February 2022. Retrieved 27 February 2022.
- ^ "Toby Jones | ARG Talent". ARG Talent. from the original on 30 January 2023. Retrieved 30 January 2023.
- ^ "Shooting of "The Actor" Moving to Budapest This Quarter". Budapest Reporter. 16 November 2022. from the original on 9 December 2022. Retrieved 30 January 2023.
- ^ "Culverton Smith Is Sherlock's "Darkest" Villain Yet". denofgeek.com. 2 August 2016. from the original on 6 August 2017. Retrieved 28 April 2018.
- ^ "First-look pictures released of BBC Two drama Danny Boy". bbc.co.uk/mediacentre. from the original on 20 March 2021. Retrieved 23 March 2021.
- ^ "Mackenzie Crook and Toby Jones reunite as Worzel Gummidge returns to BBC One and BBC iPlayer later this year" (Press release). BBC Media Centre. 27 September 2021. from the original on 27 September 2021. Retrieved 12 January 2022.
- ^ "My Grandparents' War". channel4.com. from the original on 17 November 2022. Retrieved 17 November 2022.
- ^ Kanter, Jake (11 May 2021). "'The English': Chaske Spencer, Rafe Spall Among Cast Joining Emily Blunt In BBC/Amazon Western Series". Deadline Hollywood. from the original on 13 May 2021. Retrieved 11 May 2021.
- ^ "Olivier Winners 2002". Olivier Awards. from the original on 19 March 2018. Retrieved 6 February 2021.
- ^ "Olivier Awards 2020 with Mastercard – Theatre's Biggest Night". Olivier Awards. from the original on 3 March 2020. Retrieved 6 February 2021.
External links
- Toby Jones at IMDb