Toby Jones

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For other people named Toby Jones, see Toby Jones (disambiguation).
Toby Jones
OBE
Toby Jones.jpg
Jones in October 2003
Born Tobias Edward Heslewood Jones
7 September 1966 (age 54)
Hammersmith, London, England
Education Abingdon School
Alma mater University of Manchester
(1986–1989)
L'École Internationale de Théâtre Jacques Lecoq
(1989–1991)
Occupation Actor
Years active 1992–present
Spouse(s) Karen Jones (m. 2015)
Children 2
Parent(s) Freddie Jones
Jennifer Heslewood
Tobias Edward Heslewood Jones[1] OBE (born 7 September 1966[1]) is an English film
and television actor.

After appearing in supporting roles in films between 1992 and 2005, Jones made his
breakthrough as Truman Capote in the biopic Infamous (2006). Since then, his films
have included The Mist (2007), W. (2008), Frost/Nixon (2008), Tinker Tailor Soldier
Spy (2011), Berberian Sound Studio (2012), The Hunger Games (2012), Tale of Tales
(2015), Dad's Army (2016), and Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom (2018). He also
provided the voice of Dobby in the Harry Potter films, Aristides Silk in The
Adventures of Tintin (2011) and Owl in Disney's Christopher Robin (2018), and
portrayed Arnim Zola in the Marvel Cinematic Universe films Captain America: The
First Avenger (2011) and Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014).

Jones's television credits include the 2012 Titanic miniseries, Agent Carter,
Wayward Pines and Doctor Who. He was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best
Actor – Miniseries or Television Film for his role as Alfred Hitchcock in The Girl
(2012) and won a Best Male Comedy BAFTA for his role in Detectorists (2018). In
2017, he portrayed Culverton Smith in "The Lying Detective", an episode of the BBC
crime drama Sherlock.

Contents
1 Early life
2 Career
2.1 Film and television
2.2 Radio
2.3 Stage
3 Personal life
4 Filmography
4.1 Film
4.2 Television
4.3 Theatre
4.4 Theme park attractions
5 Awards and nominations
5.1 Film
5.2 Television
5.3 Theatre
6 See also
7 References
8 External links
Early life
Jones was born in Hammersmith, London,[1] to actors Jennifer Jones (née Heslewood)
and Freddie Jones. He has two brothers: Rupert, a director, and Casper, also an
actor.[2] He attended Christ Church Cathedral School and Abingdon School in
Oxfordshire in the 1980s. He studied drama at the University of Manchester from
1986 to 1989, and at L'École Internationale de Théâtre Jacques Lecoq in Paris from
1989 to 1991.

Career
Film and television
Jones has appeared in more than 20 films since his first acting role in the 1992
film Orlando. He voiced Dobby in two Harry Potter films: Chamber of Secrets (2002)
and The Deathly Hallows – Part 1 (2010). He played Robert Cecil, 1st Earl of
Salisbury in the HBO/Channel 4 production Elizabeth I. In 2006, he portrayed Truman
Capote in the biopic Infamous. He appeared in the film adaptation of Stephen King's
The Mist in 2007. In 2008, he portrayed Karl Rove in Oliver Stone's W and Hollywood
agent Swifty Lazar in Frost/Nixon. He appeared alongside his father in the 2004
film Ladies in Lavender.[3]

Jones appeared in the 2010 episode "Amy's Choice", of Doctor Who, as the Dream
Lord, and in the Big Finish Productions series' Dark Eyes (audio drama) as Kotris.
He also played the role of Samuel Ratchett in Agatha Christie's Poirot TV Series 12
episode "Murder on the Orient Express". In 2011, he played the role of the British
spy master Percy Alleline in the adaptation of John Le Carré's Tinker Tailor
Soldier Spy and Arnim Zola in Captain America: The First Avenger, a role which he
reprised in the sequel Captain America: The Winter Soldier three years later as
well as in a cameo in the TV series Agent Carter the following year. In 2012, he
had a leading role in the ITV mini-series Titanic, starred as one of the seven
dwarves in Snow White and the Huntsman, played Dr. Paul Shackleton in Red Lights,
and Max in Virginia. He also portrayed film director Alfred Hitchcock in the HBO
television film The Girl, a role that earned him his first Golden Globe Award
nomination, as well as his first Primetime Emmy Award nomination.

In 1998, he appeared as a City businessman in the music video for Gomez's song
"Whippin' Picadilly", from their album Bring It On.[4]

He played Neil Baldwin in the BBC drama Marvellous in 2014.[5][6][7][8][9][10] Sam

Wollaston, in The Guardian, praised Jones's "lovely, very human, performance",[11]
one that earned him his second British Academy Television Award nomination. From
2014, he appeared in the BBC Four television series Detectorists,[12] for which he
received a nomination for the British Academy Television Award for Best Male Comedy
Performance in 2016 before winning the award in 2018.

In 2015, Jones played the part of Roger Yount, a banker, in the three-part BBC
series Capital based on John Lanchester's novel of the same name.[13] Discussing
working with Jones on Capital, writer Peter Bowker said, "I think Toby is a genius
and thought that long before I worked with him. He always wants to know a
character's needs, and what's beneath those needs. Then he takes all that material
and somehow embeds it into the character and physically inhabits the character, so
that you never think he's playing the character. It's fascinating to watch him
close up. He carries the emotional complexities in every tiny gesture that his
character makes so that you immediately can see what his character is like. A
character like Roger is full of contradictions, a city banker with an air of
entitlement but also a little insecurity picking away at him. Toby can portray that
in his walk alone. That's what's great about him, he can portray cold he can
portray warm and he can portray both of those things at once."[14]
He plays Captain Mainwaring in the film Dad's Army, released in February 2016. In
July the same year he starred as the eponymous agent Verloc in the BBC's The Secret
Agent, a 3-part television adaptation of Joseph Conrad's 1907 novel.[15]

In 2017, he portrayed Culverton Smith in "The Lying Detective", an episode of the

BBC crime drama Sherlock. In 2018, he played the dinosaur auctioneer Mr. Eversoll
in Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, the fifth instalment of the Jurassic Park
series.[16] In the same year, Jones voiced Owl in Disney's live-action Christopher
Robin.

In 2018, he was awarded an honorary doctorate by Oxford Brookes University.[17]

Radio
In 2003 Jones played the part of Lord Brideshead in a BBC Radio adaptation of
Brideshead Revisited. Jones voiced the title character of the 2005 BBC Radio 4
adaptation of Oblomov. He also read the 2009 Radio 4 adaptation of John Irving's A
Prayer for Owen Meany. He played Inspector Goole in 2010 BBC Radio adaptation of An
Inspector Calls. Since 2013 Jones has been the voice of the lead character, Joey
Oldman in the BBC Radio 4 series The Corrupted, an adaptation of the G. F. Newman
novel Crime and Punishment. On 2 December 2012 he played Napoleon Bonaparte in
Anthony Burgess's Napoleon Rising on Radio 3. In 2013 he played Kotris in the
award-winning Doctor Who audio play, Dark Eyes, and read an abridged version of
"The Manual of Detection" by Jedediah Berry for the BBC.[18] In 2020 he portrayed
Falstaff in BBC Radio 3's Henry IV, Part 1.[19]

Stage
In 2001, he starred in the London West End comedy The Play What I Wrote, directed
by Kenneth Branagh. His comic turn as Arthur earned him the Olivier Award for Best
Actor in a Supporting Role, and the play moved to Broadway in 2003.

In 2009, he returned to the stage in Every Good Boy Deserves Favour at the National
Theatre,[20] Parlour Song at the Almeida Theatre,[21] and The First Domino at
Brighton Festival Fringe.[22] In 2011, he played JMW Turner in The Painter at the
Arcola Theatre. Jones starred as Stanley in the 2018 revival of The Birthday Party
at The Harold Pinter Theatre.[23] In 2020, he starred as the title role in the
Conor McPherson adaptation of Uncle Vanya by Anton Chekhov, at the Harold Pinter
Theatre.

Personal life
On The Graham Norton Show, Jones revealed that he and his wife Karen had been
together for 25 years before marrying in 2015. They have two daughters, Madeleine
and Holly.[24]

Jones was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2021
New Year Honours for services to drama.[25]

Filmography
Film
Year Title Role Notes
1992 Orlando Valet
1993 Naked Man at tea bar
Dropping the Baby Babyman Short film
1994 Triphony Man at Fire
1997 Numbertime Time Tim
1998 Cousin Bette Man in Café des Artistes
Les Misérables Door keeper
Ever After Royal page
1999 Simon Magus Buchholz
The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc English judge
2000 Hotel Splendide Kitchen boy
The Nine Lives of Tomas Katz Civil servant
2002 Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets Dobby the house elf Voice
2004 Ladies in Lavender Hedley
Finding Neverland Smee
2005 Mrs Henderson Presents Gordon
2006 Infamous Truman Capote
The Sickie Douglas Knott
The Painted Veil Waddington
2007 Amazing Grace Duke of Clarence
Nightwatching Gerard Dou
The Mist Ollie Weeks
St Trinian's Bursar
2008 City of Ember Bardon Snode
W. Karl Rove
Frost/Nixon Swifty Lazar
2009 Creation Thomas Huxley
St Trinian's 2: The Legend of Fritton's Gold Bursar
2010 Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll Hargreaves
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1 Dobby the house elf Voice
Virginia Max
2011 The Rite Father Matthew
Your Highness Julie
Captain America: The First Avenger Arnim Zola[26]
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy Percy Alleline
My Week with Marilyn Arthur P. Jacobs
The Adventures of Tintin:
The Secret of the Unicorn Aristides Silk[27] Motion Capture
2012 The Hunger Games Claudius Templesmith[28]
Red Lights Paul Shackleton
Snow White and the Huntsman Coll
Berberian Sound Studio Gilderoy
2013 The Hunger Games: Catching Fire Claudius Templesmith
Leave to Remain Mr Nigel
Hardwire Max Short film
2014 Captain America: The Winter Soldier Arnim Zola
Muppets Most Wanted Museo del Prado Guard No. 2 Cameo
Serena Sheriff McDowell
By the Gun Jerry
2015 Tale of Tales King of Highhills
By Our Selves John Clare
The Man Who Knew Infinity John Littlewood
2016 Dad's Army Captain Mainwaring
Anthropoid Jan Zelenka-Hajský
Morgan Simon Ziegler
Kaleidoscope Carl
2017 Atomic Blonde Eric Gray
Happy End Lawrence Bradshaw
The Entertainer Paul Limp Short film
Journey's End Private Mason
The Snowman Investigator Svenson
Zoo Security Guard Charlie
2018 Normandie nue Newman
Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom Mr Eversoll
Christopher Robin Owl Voice
Out of Blue Professor Ian Strammi
2019 First Cow Chief Factor
2020 The Last Thing He Wanted Paul Schuster
Archive Vincent Sinclair
2021 Infinite Kent Post-production
A Boy Called Christmas Father Topo Post-production
Louis Wain Post-production
Television
Year Title Role Notes
1993 Lovejoy Sgt. Protheroe Episode: "Pig in a Poke"
1994 Cadfael Griffin Episode: "The Sanctuary Sparrow"
1995 Performance Wart Episode: "Henry IV"
1996 Death of a Salesman Waiter Television film
1998 Out of Hours Martin Styles 6 episodes
1999 Underground Beast Television film
Aristocrats Ste Fox 4 episodes
1999–2000 Midsomer Murders Dan Peterson 4 episodes
2001 The Way We Live Now Squercum Episode #1.4
Victoria & Albert Edward Oxford 2 episodes
In Love and War Bolo Television film
Love or Money Phil Television film
2002 15 Storeys High Obsessive-compulsive man Episode: "Ice Queen"
2005 Coming Up Simon Episode: "Loving Ludmilla"
2005 Elizabeth Robert Cecil 2 episodes
2006 A Harlot's Progress William Hogarth Television film
2007 The Old Curiosity Shop Daniel Quilp Television film
The Last Detective Bennett Episode: "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to
Willesden"
2010 Mo Dr Mark Glaser Television film
Doctor Who The Dream Lord Episode: "Amy's Choice"
Agatha Christie's Poirot Samuel Ratchett
Lanfranco Cassetti Episode: "Murder on the Orient Express"
2011 Christopher and His Kind Gerald Hamilton Television film
2012 Titanic John Batley 4 episodes
The Girl Alfred Hitchcock Television film
2013 Murder on the Victorian Railway Narrator Voice
Television film
Words of Everest Jan Morris Television documentary
2014 Marvellous Neil Baldwin Television film
2014–17 Detectorists Lance Stater 19 episodes
2015–16 Wayward Pines David Pilcher/Dr. Jenkins 15 episodes
2015 Agent Carter Arnim Zola Episode: "Valediction"
Capital Roger Yount 3 episodes
The Last Days Of... Narrator Voice
4 episodes
2016 The Secret Agent Anton Verloc 3 episodes
The Witness for the Prosecution John Mayhew 2 episodes
Civil Otis O'Dell Pilot
2017 Sherlock Culverton Smith[29] Episode: "The Lying Detective"
2019 Don't Forget the Driver Pete Green 6 episodes; also co-creator and writer
The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance The Librarian Voice
6 episodes
2021 What If...? Arnim Zola Guest voice role
In voice recording process
Theatre
Year Title Role Venue
2003 The Play What I Wrote Arthur Lyceum Theatre, Broadway
2009 Every Good Boy Deserves a Favor Performer Royal National Theatre,
London
2013 Circle Mirror Transformation Schultz Rose Lipman Building, London
2014 Parlor Song Ned Almeida Theatre, London
2018 The Birthday Party Stanley Webber Harold Pinter Theatre, West End
2019 Glass. Kill. Bluebeard. Imp. N/A Royal Court Theatre, London
2020 Uncle Vanya Uncle Vanya Harold Pinter Theatre, West End
Theme park attractions
Year Title Role Venue
2019 Ant-Man and The Wasp: Nano Battle! Arnim Zola Hong Kong Disneyland
Awards and nominations
Film
Year Award Category Work Result
2007 London Film Critics' Circle Award British Actor of the Year Infamous
Won
2008 London Film Critics' Circle Award British Supporting Actor of the Year
The Painted Veil Nominated
2009 Screen Actors Guild Award Outstanding Cast in a Motion Picture
Frost/Nixon Nominated
London Film Critics' Circle Award British Supporting Actor of the Year
Frost/Nixon and W. Nominated
2013 London Film Critics' Circle Award British Actor of the Year Berberian
Sound Studio Won
Television
Year Award Category Work Result
2013 Golden Globe Award Best Actor – Miniseries or TV Movie The Girl
Nominated
Primetime Emmy Award Lead Actor in a Miniseries or Movie Nominated
British Academy Television Award Best Actor Nominated
2015 Best Actor Marvellous Nominated
2016 Best Male Performance in a Comedy Programme Detectorists Nominated
2018 Won
Theatre
Year Award Category Nominated work Result
2002 Laurence Olivier Award[30] Best Actor in a Supporting Role The Play
What I Wrote Won
2020 Laurence Olivier Award[31] Best Actor Uncle Vanya Nominated