![]() So I can't hear as well, can't see as well. I often have layers of latex foam rubber or silicone over my ears that's a part of the creature's head. I'm often looking through pinholes, so I have no peripheral vision. JONES: I often - especially for del Toro creatures that I've played - cannot see well. As for what it's like to be in one of those costumes. YU: And it all comes together when he's on set and in front of the camera surrounded by cast and crew. JONES: Something I might have worked out in my T-shirt and shorts in the dance studio now has big ram horns on it that make my head really, really wide, so a tilt of the head is extremely dramatic and more pronounced. When he begins testing with makeup and costume though, things often change. YU: Jones then builds off that home stance to figure out how the character moves - how it might run, crawl, lunge, anything the script calls for it to do. Where does he come back to? What's his posture? And your posture can be informed by so many - you know, you can start at the neck the shoulders, the middle of the back, the hips, the knees. JONES: And I will walk back and forth and find his walk - find his home stance. YU: With those notes in hand, Doug Jones goes to a dance studio by himself. And he was talking about that kind of language. If you think about a matador or if you watch them, they're very choreographed and very fluid and very graceful and sexy because they lead with their pelvis. JONES: He also said, I want you to sprinkle in a little bit of matador. Del Toro wanted him to be animalistic but royal and regal. YU: For "The Shape Of Water's" Amphibian Man, he needed to find what he calls the silent voice of his character. JONES: How do I make this one different from everything else I've ever played? YU: To create each character, Doug Jones starts with one big question. And the Pale Man, a terrifying monster with eyes in its hands. YU: And in "Pan's Labyrinth," he was both the Faun. JONES: (As Abe Sapien) Turn the pages please. YU: He was Abe Sapien, another humanoid fish creature, in 2004's "Hellboy". JONES: (As Edith's Mother) Beware of Crimson Peak. In 2015's "Crimson Peak," he played a couple of super creepy ghosts. ![]() YU: Eventually Jones became one of del Toro's go-to creature actors. I'd never met anyone like him in my life, and I loved him immediately. He was really, really like a fanboy mixed with a brilliant artist. He wanted to hear about all the monsters I'd played. JONES: He sat across the table from me and said, so tell me everything you've been in before. YU: They began to build that trust over lunch one day on the set of del Toro's 1997 horror film "Mimic." In it, Doug Jones played a giant insect-like creature known as Mother Bug. JONES: I just always say yes when he offers me something because I just trust him that much. YU: But he was intrigued because it was Guillermo del Toro. Like, are you kidding me? You know, if I look at myself in the mirror, that doesn't work. (Laughter) I was - ah, I have not felt that kind of fear ever when being offered a movie. ![]() But when director Guillermo del Toro told him he'd be playing a monster who's also the romantic lead, Jones's reaction was.ĭOUG JONES: Utter terror. MALLORY YU, BYLINE: Doug Jones is comfortable talking about his role in "The Shape Of Water" now. NPR's Mallory Yu talked to the man behind the mask. SHAPIRO: Creature actor Doug Jones plays the so-called amphibian man in the film - an acting challenge to be sure. RICHARD JENKINS: (As Giles) A tale of love and loss and the monster who tried to destroy it all. ![]() (SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "THE SHAPE OF WATER") The movie "The Shape Of Water" is up for 13 Oscars, the most of any film this year. ![]()
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