Editor's note: In honor of the university's centennial year, The Daily News is counting down 100 days to the university's celebration Sept. 6 with 100 of Ball State's most famous traditions and figures. Check back each day to read about Cardinal history.
Doug Jones, who is used to wearing intense make up and portraying a variety of creatures, graduated from Ball State in 1982 with a bachelor’s degree in telecommunications and a minor in theatre.
While at Ball State, Jones joined the university mime troupe and pumped up crowds at athletic events as Charlie Cardinal.
After graduation, Jones moved to Los Angeles with his wife Laurie, who is also a Ball State graduate. Once there, he scored his first big role as crescent moon man in a McDonald’s ad campaign and appeared in TV shows like “Falling Skies” and “Buffy the Vampire Slayer.”
Since then, has acted in a variety of TV shows, commercials and more than 25 films including “Hocus Pocus,” “Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer” and “Hellboy.” His most recent role was Amphibian Man in Guillermo del Toro’s “The Shape of Water,” which won the 2018 Oscar for Best Picture.
“[Del Toro] said, ‘Dougie, you are going to be the romantic leading man of this movie,’ which is a daunting prospect when you’re wearing a fish suit,” Jones told The Daily News in January.
Amphibian Man wasn’t Jones’ first gig with Del Toro, however. In his career, Jones has played twelve different creatures for the director, some of his most popular being Faun and Pale Man in “Pan’s Labyrinth.”
And while the actor has a 30-year career, most fans wouldn’t recognize his face because most of his work is done under heavy makeup and prosthetics, though he has performed without them in movies like “Batman Returns” and “Mystery Men.”
Now, Jones is gaining recognition for his role as Lieutenant Saru on the “Star Trek: Discovery” series. He also will play Count Orlok in a remake of the German film “Nosferatu,” which will debut later this year.
Read more centennial content here.
Contact Brynn Mechem with comments at bamechem@bsu.edu or on Twitter @BrynnMechem.
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