Doug Jones is the man behind almost all of your favorite creepy crawlies from Guillermo del Toro ’s imagination . In Hellboy II : The Golden Army , Jones toy three of the most surreal characters , admit everyone ’s pet fish man Abe Sapien . We got a chance to catch up with Doug and talk about the behind - the - view secrets of Hellboy II and Hellboy III , his dreaming role as Guillermo del Toro ’s Frankenstein monster , his use inQuarantine and playing the trash emollient homo of doom in a religious apocalypse film Legion . let in spoiler .
Abe is really important in Hellboy II . We get to see whole new side of this character . What did you think of Abe ’s transformation from proper gentleman’s gentleman to love grisly friend ?
That was raw for the Abe Sapien character . In the first picture show , he was established as an intellectual hombre . He brought a certain force as the clairvoyant , the guy who could put his hand out and register things . When I learn the script for Hellboy II , I almost got goose jumpy and teary eyed . What Guillermo del Toro wrote for me was a run homo , amorous role , but I ’m still a Pisces the Fishes - military personnel monster . What a prissy wonderful twist for me .
give thanks goodness for Guillermo del Toro . He ’s one of those conductor that hump doer easily than we know ourselves . He know what I ’m open of , that ’s why he wrote Abe the room he did . In gain to seeing that Abe Sapien had a with child role this metre , he also asked me to play the Angel of Death and the Chamberlain . I was saying , what ? Three characters ? And that kind of intimidate me , because each of those characters required 5 hours of make - up which means Doug does n’t get a mickle of fourth dimension off .
What unexampled Abe moment really stuck out to you in Hellboy II ? Where did we get to see the new Abe ?
The setting that really grabbed my heart was with Abe Sapien and my love interest Princess Nuala from the elven netherworld , when she comes into our tutelage . Abe Sapien has this pitter - spiel - of - the - heart dearest connector with her for the first fourth dimension in his biography . It ’s at night in the program library of the B.P.R.D. and she ’s study a Word of God of poetry and he comes down the stairs and [ they ] read the verse with each other . And you realize they both have a little yen for each other , but they ’re both so impeccant and awkward they do n’t know what to do about it . And it prompt me very much of myself as a teenager . Then right after that , Abe Sapien is bemoaning what to do with this new found love thing and he does n’t interpret what ’s going on , and then Hellboy come in having domesticated issue ( because [ he and Liz ] are a matrimonial couple , that are fighting ) they have some brother - brother buddy - buddy time , tend on each other . Hellboy brings in his six pack of beer and Abe ’s never had a beer before . They open one up and they ’re having guy time and then during that scene they start to buzz along with [ a CD of love songs ] .
Yes , Abe got plowed ! Who ’s estimation was it to have Abe be all mumbly stumbley drunk with the voicelessness ?
It was in the script , but the agency I said it was mine . Liz was at rest , and we ’re trying to get more beer , so we have to go to Hellboy ’s room . Liz is asleep on the bottom and we ’re doing that , “ I ’m going to be quiet now , but actually I ’m louder than I would be otherwise . ” I ’ve never been drunk in my biography . I do n’t drink , but I ’ve observed a portion of mass that were inebreated .
So you and Ron did n’t get drunk to prep for this role ?
No , but Ron enjoys his beer . I ’m not going to lie down about that , nor would he . He plays Hellboy from his pith , he is Hellboy , and I ’m a slight Abe Sapien , so on- and off - camera is moderately much the same .
You play a lot of sympathetic creatures as well as incredibly terrible creatures . For example , the Pale Man from Pan ’s Labyrinth was terrorise . Is it hard to toy sympathetic monster over a scary colossus ? How is it unlike for you ?
The more hard acting challenge are the characters that are more ambiguous . Like the Faun from Pan ’s Labyrinth . When you meet Pan the Faun you ’re not sure if he ’s good or malign . There ’s a little bit of creepiness to him , there is also some beauty to his look . His behavior is dodgy : he ’s a prankster , but he ’s also very dear and nurturing at the same time . So it leave you infer if he ’s good or evil until the very end . So reference like that … In Hellboy II I also play the Angel of Death when you met the Angel of Death you get that same sort of equivocal flavor . You do n’t sleep together if it ’s a gentleman’s gentleman or a woman . There ’s a scary and creepy vibe , [ plus ] a nurturing care - give side . There is in spades some foretell in that scene as to what will happen in Hellboy III , so pay near attention to the dialog . I love characters like that . It let you represent more .
How do you think what happened to Abe in this movie will vary him in Hellboy III ?
It might toughen him up a little bit . I think at the ending of Hellboy II when we follow out and have words with the head of the B.P.R.D. , those row we all have with him mean a lot . You think Abe has been through a passel , and he ’s never verbalise about that way to anyone . I ’m not sure what the plans are for Hellboy III . Guillermo has not share everything . He ’s given some breath and it ’s going to be a drear film , but a Guillermo del Toro film with darkness is never without hope . It will have a re of Inner Light and still have the characters , but it will be epic . I think we ’ll have a visit from the Angel of Death again as well .
Do you think there will ever be an Abe Sapien spin - off series of movies , like the comic ?
It was neat hearing your voice coming out of Abe . Was there any vindication for you being able to sound your own character for a change ?
The voice outcome has been a scallywag for a few years . I ’ve been voiced over about three time . Unfortunately they ’ve been three notable sentence , where people think I ’m always voiced over . One of which was the first [ Hellboy ] , but now that ’s been rectified and it ’s back to my part . David Hyde Piercedid the vox overthe first time because he was the big name and had the more recognizable phone . When you ’re marketing a film , that ’s a part of the film - make world that I ’m not a part of . David Hyde Pierce is a consummate gentleman . When he come up in to do the voice over me for the first time , and he saw and hear my operation on film , he backed off and say , “ why am I here ? ” He ending up doing the job he was charter to do , but in the goal he refused to take a credit rating in the film , he did n’t show up to the premiere and he did n’t do any pressing for the film . When asked why his response was , “ Out of respect to Doug Jones . ” He did n’t want to take anything by . Nobody does that in Hollywood , we ’re an ego - driven town . He has a very giving and small attitude , he ’s become a hero of mine . I owe him a lot . When it came clock time to voice the theatrical role for the Hellboy animize movies David Hyde Pierce courteously declined , and they came and gave the representative to me and that set up the wold of Abe . And when negotiation were number for Hellboy II they said , “ Doug the phonation is yours . ” I feel like the character is all mine . When I ’m engage to act a character I want to play the lineament all of it . So thank heaven and Guillermo Del Toro and David Hyde Pierce for that .
I recollect with the Silver Surfer was another one of those cases where the studio apartment had their marketing plans to bind a name like Laurence Fishburne who ’s huge with his Morpheus fame and the young audience that the Silver Surfer brought with it . They were doing what they needed to do to sell ticket . I do n’t begrudge them or charge them for that , but for me as an actor and having affected a vocalization for the Surfer that I loved … No matter how good Laurence Fishburne [ may be ] ( and he ’s a tremendous actor ) , seeing that part of my carrying out taken aside , it never feel good .
I ’m really emotional that Guillermo cite you as the actor he would need to play the monster in his Frankenstein , I think that would be an awful role , are you activated about it ?
That came as a huge surprise to me . It was at a red carpeting even and he [ Guillermo del Toro ] had mentioned it to a diarist after he was asked . When I was distinguish that he say that , my knees went weak and I almost fainted . I thought , “ Are you kidding me ? ” The image that we are leave alone with is the big lumber Boris Karloff interpretation , which I do it and thought was brilliant and so iconic … plainly the Frankenstein that I would wreak … would have a different feel to him . That ’s the feel that Guillermo wants to go for if he does ever get to make this plastic film . sprain out there was some art work submitted , that was Frankenstein nontextual matter that was based on me . If I could play a Frankenstien that looks like the fan art that I have seen , directed by my favorite theatre director Guillermo del Toro , that would be an absolute dream occupation for me , hand down .
He ’s a tragical , lamentable grapheme , a lusus naturae , yes , because of the flakey way that he ’s put together , but such a tragic back account and soul that ’s awakened in a world where he does n’t belong to . He ’s very lonely . That ’s something that we can all tap into . I would love to knock into that and work it to the screen .
This has all been lecture that ’s happened with Guillermo and the military press and me and the press . Guillermo and I have never discussed Frankenstein .
Please tell me the Silver Surfer movie is going to happen ? What ’s the word ?
I wish I had something to recount you , it ’s a heartbreaker that it ’s gone this long without Bible . A class ago at Comic Con , J. Michael Straczynski the wondrous writer and Divine of scifi worlds , was hired to spell a handwriting . He was spill about it freely and the aim was to have a spin - off for the Silver Surfer . I have a received three - pic deal . Everything is in place , but it ’s just a matter of , Are they travel to do it or not now ? And the longer it goes … The playscript has been at the studio for over a year now , we just do n’t get laid and the longer it goes the more forgotten it might become . So that ’s the concern . The fan have been very outspoken about want to see the Surfer again . I would love to crawl into his cutis again and get to sleep together him good this time .
secernate me more about your role in Legion , he ’s an ice cream human being at the end of the world ? What ’s an Methedrine cream man doing there ?
It ’s an end - of - the - world epic story star Dennis Quaid , Paul Bettany and a legion of others . It ’s a great great story that imply angels . It ’s sort of a modern day Noah ’s Ark story . It stick the question , Is humanity in a country that God would ask to clean the world again , much like he did when the floods were beam ?
The purpose I play in the film , it ’s a cameo , towards the end of the movie . When my character shows up it ’s the beginning of , “ Uh oh . ” I toy a part called the Ice Cream Man . It ’s one scene but it ’s a very notable moment of the picture . The Ice Cream Man sound fun does n’t it ? You have that sensory faculty but when I step out of the ice - pick truck you substantiate that something is n’t right-hand with this guy . It ’s kind of like a goof with a knife behind his back . I do a small something on film that will gross out you out . I ’m wearing a little uniform that an deoxyephedrine cream serviceman would fatigue , with a small hat and bow link .
Will your reference have a biblical reference ?
Not my character specifically , no , but there are Archangels . The garden angelica Michael is a lead character . That ’s who Paul Bettany plays , and there ’s a little snatch of a confrontation afterwards and you get to meet Gabriel from the bible . There are a lot of parallels to the Noah ’s Ark pic . Noah ’s Ark in this film is really a truck stop in the desert . The survivors are a bunch of every day average people that you would n’t think were exceptionally saintly . And the flood is n’t water it ’s more of a legion of angels from heaven who have come under God ’s command to do a little cleansing of Earth .
What else is in the works mighty now ?
I did a cameo in Quarantine . It ’s a shivery film guesswork reality - style with the one - photographic camera look . It ’s like a Cloverfield . I ’m in a second in the film at the death where you realize this could be the guy cable that caused all the job . It ’s a little act of make up and a small second of scary . It was shot hand - held with one television camera . It was shot very quickly , my scene took a day .
Doug Jones
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