Jeffrey Jones is most useful when he takes a pompous man seriously enough to make him funny. We value his deadpan reactions and his place in an ensemble; casting him simply to look sinister makes less use of him.
Fi1m perspective
Jeffrey Jones keeps a straight face when the situation has become absurd. His imposing appearance gives pompous men a useful head start, and his deadpan reactions make their self-importance funny without much visible effort. The breakthrough as Emperor Joseph II in Amadeus (1984) put him in a period ensemble; Ed Rooney, the obsessive principal in Ferris Bueller's Day Off (1986), made comic authority the more conspicuous speciality. We favour that use of him over casting which asks his features to do little beyond suggesting a villain.
His Skip Tyler in John McTiernan's The Hunt for Red October (1990) belongs to a film that takes professional competence seriously. The pleasure is in watching people try to understand one another under pressure, with a supporting cast that makes difficult work seem like something people actually do for a living. Remembering Jones only as a comic obstacle would leave out this kind of ensemble work. The screenplay's attempts to give its men private lives can feel dutiful, though, and some of the sentiment has too little preparation.
Tim Burton offers another setting for that deadpan manner, beginning with Charles Deetz in Beetlejuice (1988) and continuing with Criswell in Ed Wood (1994). In the latter, artistic failure is funny without making the people involved contemptible. Jones belongs to a company that Burton treats with unusual kindness, rather than inviting us to enjoy its inadequacies from a safe distance. We were moved by Ed Wood, because Martin Landau's vulnerability gives weight to the optimism around him. It runs long, and its affection sometimes leaves Johnny Depp with too little to play, but those faults do not spoil the pleasure of spending time with these people.
The later recurring role of A.W. Merrick in Deadwood (2004–2006), reprised in its 2019 film, extends the work beyond those conspicuous comic parts. The recurring risk is typecasting: looking forbidding can become the whole assignment, when the deadpan offers more interesting possibilities. Start with Ed Wood, with a little patience for its length.
Biography
Jeffrey Jones, also credited as Jeffrey Duncan Jones, is an American actor. He was born on 28 September 1946 in Buffalo, New York, and studied at the Putney School, the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art, and Lawrence University.
Jones began his career in theatre, including work at the Guthrie Theater, and later appeared on Broadway. His film roles include Emperor Joseph II in Amadeus (1984), Edward R. Rooney in Ferris Bueller's Day Off (1986), Charles Deetz in Beetlejuice (1988), Skip Tyler in The Hunt for Red October (1990), and Criswell in Ed Wood (1994). He also portrayed A. W. Merrick in the series Deadwood (2004–2006) and the 2019 film continuation.
On stage, Jones received Tony Award nominations for Best Featured Actor in a Play for The Crucible (1988) and Best Featured Actor in a Musical for The Secret Garden (1991).
