Den of Geek spoke with this soft-spoken and charming man of a thousand faces recently in Los Angeles.
Den of Geek: This is your sixth time working with Guillermo?
Doug Jones:My sixth movie with him.
And I was also a recurring guest onThe Strain, so weve been through a lot together.
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Is it safe to say you two are each others muses or something like that?
But the fact that he comes back for me again and again speaks a lot.
A lot came before that.
A lot of thought, a lot of creation, of character.
He finds out how to communicate with you and hell sniff out your strengths and your weaknesses.
So when he offers a role to me often times Ill be like Oh gosh, thats a…
I dont know if I can pull that off.
And hes like Yes you’ve got the option to!
He knows more about it than I do at this point, so I just have to trust.
How has the creative dynamic changed or evolved over time?
I mean, do you communicate by a gesture, a raised eyebrow, that sort of thing?
We have developed a shorthand for sure.
But that happened pretty early on.
Success, fame, critical acclaim, artistic applause hasnt changed him.
And speaks volumes for who he is.
Hes always been a creative, hes always been a genius, hes always been a masterful storyteller.
What struck you most about the story and about the creature?
Were watching underdogs triumph.
In the face of authority that may be getting it wrong.
Is it okay to buck authority?
Guillermo will always say yes it is.
Its okay to buck authority when authority is getting it wrong.
This movie is very much that.
She is the cleaning lady.
Thats the beauty of the story.
I love the underdog-coming-out-on-top thing that Guillermo often plays on.
Empowering all of us, really.
Its gorgeous, monsters are beautiful.
I didnt fit in with the pretty kids, the football players, the whatevers.
So I felt like a monster within.
So playing now monsters on film, I can find the sympathy and the beauty in them.
And Guillermo can too, so he writes them for me that way.
Tell me about wearing the suit, and how much was practical and how much was digital.
This was a combination of both of those things.
With a little bit of CG enhancement in post-production.
Which is an advantage, I think, in filmmaking.
For me, I love the old school.
And so does Guillermo.
Love the old school, practical makeup effects.
She had a fish-man to caress and to hold and to love her.
And that made all the difference.
How do you feel in general about embracing motion capture?
Like when I played the Silver Surfer, for instance, in theFantastic Fourmovie, same thing.
Youve gotten some great reviews inStar Trek: Discoveryfor your portrayal of Saru.
Can you talk his evolution and where you think things are heading in the second half of Season 1?
Youve seen the bulk of his evolution so far in the first half.
Were a fear-based species.
Im born into a prey situation on my planet, where I come from.
We are the bottom of our food chain.
Its a healthy fear that keeps you alive.
So I brought that into Starfleet with me.
In my quiet moments alone Im unsure of myself, I do not have confidence.
Even in episode 5 where I had to take over the captains chair when Captain Lorca was in captivity.
I had to check with the computer to check that that I was doing a good job.
I find this character to be so endearing.
I love Saru with all my heart.
Hes finding ways to tap into his smarts, his intelligence and to trust it, finally.
Hes finding ways to be confident.
This is an overall arc that is unfolding as the show goes on.
The Shape of Wateris in theaters now in limited release.
