Doug Jones has had quite the career of transforming himself into characters ranging from fantastical creatures, horrifying monsters, superheroes, and more. For the upcoming Blu-ray/DVD release of the supernatural thriller, THE BYE BYE MAN, in which Doug Jones stars as the title character, Shannon took a look back at some of her favorite Doug Jones metamorphosis’s throughout his career.

PAN’S LABYRINTH

Doug Jones has done a lot of iconic roles, but to me, his role as The Pale Man, in PAN’S LABYRINTH, will forever be lodged in my brain. It’s my favorite of his characters and one that both terrifies me and fascinates me all at once. For his role as The Pale Man, Jones had to undergo five hours of makeup, and once finished had to look out through the nose holes. He also had to learn his and his co-stars lines in Spanish so that he would know when it was time to speak his lines. Along with The Pale Man, Jones also played Fauno in the film, which required him to wear horns that weighed 10 pounds as well as puppeteer the faun’s fake legs as director Guillermo Del Toro did not want to have them computer generated. He later then had Jones’ legs digitally removed.

BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER – “Hush” 

One of the most terrifying creatures in the Buffy universe came from Doug Jones’ portrayal of the Gentleman in the episode titled “Hush.” With his pale skin, menacing eyes, and deadly grin, the Gentleman struck a horrifying and long-lasting nerve in many of those who viewed the episode. Doug Jones has said that he was able to maintain that fearsome grin throughout the episode without the use of an aid. The Gentleman was such a success that it ended up being an unofficial monster featured in one of the mazes at Halloween Horror Nights Orlando – and as someone who went through that maze, I can tell you, the multiple Gentleman throughout that haunt were terrifying.

HOCUS POCUS

If you don’t like HOCUS POCUS then I don’t know if we can be friends as this is one of the best Halloween films of all time, and one of Doug Jones’ earliest works. As with almost all his roles, Jones looks almost unrecognizable as William [Billy] Butcherson, the un-dead ex-lover of Winifred Sanderson. An interesting bit of trivia that I never knew about his role was during the end of the film, the moths that escape from Jones’ mouth were actual moths and were not CGI. Since the film came out in 1993, it has gone on to obtain a cult status with many people recreating the beloved characters, especially that of Billy Butcherson.

HELLBOY

Another one of Guillermo Del Toro’s creations in which he used Doug Jones, was in his live action adaptation of the insanely popular HELLBOY comics. Jones played the character of Abe Sapien and was completely unrecognizable in all of his makeup and prosthetics. For his character, Jones had to sit through five to seven hours of makeup with another three hours to reverse the process. Since the film was such a huge success, the character of Abe Sapien has become iconic in both its story arc and also in the transformation that Jones went through.

THE STRAIN

I’m sure you have now come to realize that there is a common thread through most of these choices, that being the involvement of Guillermo Del Toro. Del Toro was half the brains behind the creation of “The Strain” novels, and subsequently the TV show, in which Doug Jones played the vampiric roles of The Ancient and a previous incarnation of The Master. This is probably one of the more spine-chilling transformations that Jones has gone through as these vampire creatures are quite terrifying to look at.

These five films are only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the transformations that Doug Jones has accomplished. With his latest being The Bye Bye Man, we are always excited to see how he will push the envelope of what his body is capable of. Let us know what some of your favorite Doug Jones Transformations are and make sure to pick up THE BYE BYE MAN which is now available to own on Blu-ray, DVD, and Digital HD.

• Author
• Recent Posts

Follow Me

Shannon McGrew

Founder/Co-Owner at Nightmarish Conjurings

Shannon is the Founder of Nightmarish Conjurings and a lover of all things horror and haunt related. When she's not obsessively collecting all things "Trick 'R Treat" related, or trying to convince everyone that "Hereditary" is one of the greatest horror films ever made, you can find her designing interiors for commercial restaurants. An avid haunt fan, Shannon spends the entire year visiting haunts and immersive experiences throughout the Southern California area and hopes to one day design her own haunted attraction.

Follow Me

Latest posts by Shannon McGrew (see all)

• [Interview] Sean Konrad for MONARCH: LEGACY OF MONSTERS - November 29, 2023
• [Interview] Matt Shakman for MONARCH: LEGACY OF MONSTERS - November 28, 2023
• [Interview] Eli Roth for THANKSGIVING (2023) - November 16, 2023