19 thoughts on “MCM: Toby Jones

  1. Thanks, Kendra! I can’t believe he’s done so many historical roles. He was also the voice of Dobby in the Harry Potter movies. :)

    1. Okay, I love Toby Jones, starting with Ever After (he was hilarious), but I randomly love him most in the Captain America movies. He plays a delightful villain.

      And I am totally distracted by that promo pic of him with Gillian Anderson.

  2. His best role was in the “The Detectorists”… not a historical role but still his very best work IMHO.

    1. Oooh…The Dectorists was so good, so well executed by all involved, including Toby Jones who was excellent!

  3. Now I realize why I’ve had a lifelong knee-jerk reaction to him, even though he’s a fabulous actor; his character in Ever After (which I watched repeatedly as a wee one) is so slimy, it clearly formed an early impression on me.

  4. That is Jonathan Firth, Colin’s younger brother, in the Henry IV photo not Hugh Dancy. I was lucky enough to study with Toby Jones for 3 weeks in London when I was still acting. He was lovely.

      1. I had no idea Colin Firth had a brother either, until now. When I saw the picture, I thought the guy on the right WAS Colin Firth. Apparently there’s no shortage of handsome in that family.

    1. Never mind Firth junior, would love to hear more about your experience acting with Toby Jones! Whose best work, for me as well, was Detectorists.

  5. When Jones is good, which is usually, he is close to perfect. Such happy memories of T.J. in “Aristocrats,” as Robert Cecil, and others. (Any chance of a deep dive or longish article about “Aristocrats”? It seems tricky to get hold of.)

  6. He is a great actor – underrated as a leading man actually. I know he’s prolific, including period films, but damn I didn’t realize haha.

    As for Les Misérables (1998), Jones plays a guard outside of the courtroom, where a man is mistaken for the escaped convict Valjean. Around 20 seconds in:

    In The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc (1999), Jones plays one of the judges who berates Joan of Arc about whether or not she had killed anyone in battle. Cameo role but memorable for its histrionics. I don’t know of a solo clip online.

  7. Even though Toby Jones is a character actor, he’s one I know by name. Somebody already said that he’s usually always excellent, and I agree. Even though, 90% of the time when he shows up on screen I think, “Oh, he isn’t going to be able to pull this one off.” But he does! I should’ve learned my lesson by now. Also, he’s giving me Paul Giamatti vibes in the Journey’s End picture. Is this the MCM post with the most omitted pictures of the featured man?

  8. I hope you’ll tackle The English. Jones’ role (and Ciarhan Hinds’) is small but vivid. Would love your take on Emily Blunt’s main attire. My favorite FF is Painted Veil but Detectorists is must see TV.

  9. He’s such a fantastic actor. I used to question why he’d be in something, but no more. He somehow seems to both disappear into a role and stand out at the same time. It’s a fascinating trait to have.I’ll now go hunt down some of these based on the suggestions of others.

    I agree with Kathy here, I do hope you look at The English. I don’t like Westerns, but this series felt like it transcended and transformed the genre a bit. All the acting in it was superb — from Emily Blunt (as Lady Cornelia Locke), Chaske Spencer (Sgt Eli Whipp), to the smaller roles like Toby Jones’ (Sebold Cusk). The writing and the cinematography were outstanding.

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