A man
of characters
BY STEVE FISHER
TOBY JONES MAY not be a household
name in the United States, but he’s de;-
nitely a household face. His appearances
as Truman Capote in Infamous (;;;;),
Alfred Hitchcock in The Girl (;;;;)
and Dr. Arnim Zola in two of the Captain
America ;lms, as well as turns in count-
less other ;lm and television shows, have
made him almost as well known to Ameri-
can audiences as he is in his native
England. But when faced with the ques-
tion “Who is Toby Jones?” he responds,
“The reason I became an actor was to try
and ;nd out the answer to that question.”
In an interview with The Connection
from his home in London, Jones was
both introspective and forthcoming.
“Part of the reason people become
actors is to explore areas of themselves
that aren’t immediately obvious,” he says.
“And one of the interesting things is to dis-
cover aspects of your personality you didn’t
know existed. As I get older, just to the
point where people imagine that you
should know who you are, I’ve decided I
know less and less about who I am.”
One is Detectorists, which chronicles the
lives of people living relatively mundane
existences who take up metal detecting
expeditions as a hobby. The series was cre-
ated and written by actor Mackenzie
Crook, who actually shares the hobby with
his character. Jones first paired with
Crook in Muppets Most Wanted (;;;;).
Crook told Jones he had written a part in
Detectorists for him and asked him to
read the script.
“I started reading the sample dialogue
he sent to me,” recalls Jones. “It’s a very
dry, you might say very British, comedy,
but it’s also a comedy that isn’t needy.
And I loved that about it. It’s not needing
you to love it all the time.
“Primarily there’s a strong enough
story to draw you into the world of these
characters, and they exist as three-dimensional people. A lot of people talk
about ;nding it a very reassuring, peaceful watch as well as being hilarious. It’s
beautifully photographed, and it portrays
an aspect of England that people in
America won’t have seen before.”
Actor Toby Jones explores
himself through his roles
ARTS&ENTERTAINMENT
THECOSTCOCONNECTION
All three titles are available in warehouses
on DVD. Each sold separately. Item #1120719
e
a
;lms, as well as turns in count-
can audiences as he is in his native
l
that aren’t immediately obvious,” he says.
know existed. As I get older, just to the
Three British television titles show
, which chronicles the
lives of people living relatively mundane
ated and written by actor Mackenzie
(;;;;).
Crook told Jones he had written a part in
“I started reading the sample dialogue
Capital, a satire about out-of-control
property values, is “exactly the opposite,”
Jones says. “It’s about a speci;c street, a
microcosm of what’s going on in the city,
in which you have old residents who’ve
been there when the area was unfashion-
able and you have bankers who’ve moved
in—and I play a banker in it who is from a
completely di;erent side of London,” he
explains. “It’s about how that street
interacts as it becomes a major source of
capital. The people who haven’t had
much money before suddenly find
themselves multimillionaires because
of where they live.”
The third show is The Secret Agent,
a three-part adaptation of Joseph
And while all three shows are com-
pelling, Jones is not likely to watch
them himself.
“It’s endlessly disappointing to
watch yourself on screen,” he claims. “You
never look like you thought you were going
to look when you played the part. There’s
always an area of discrepancy because you
always look at what you haven’t done. So
it’s often very disappointing to watch
yourself, and as a result it’s not something, you know, you run to do. I’m only
relieved that other people are prepared to
put up with it.” C
OUR DIGITAL EDITIONS
Click here to watch three short
trailers. (See page 14 for details.)
PHOTOS COURTESY © ACORN TV
Toby Jones (right)
in The Secret Agent;
and (far right) in
Detectorists.
completely di;erent side of London,” he
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to generate chaos in London through
