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IMDbPro

Toby Jones(I)

  • Actor
  • Writer
  • Producer
IMDbProStarmeterTop 5,000576
Toby Jones at an event for The Painted Veil (2006)
An American and Russian computer geek form an unlikely friendship as they try to evade the KGB and smuggle the world's most famous video game out of the Soviet Union.
Play trailer2:45
Tetris (2023)
99+ Videos
99+ Photos
Widely regarded as the one of greatest stage and screen actors both in his native Great Britain and internationally, Toby Edward Heslewood Jones was born on September 7, 1966 in Hammersmith, London. His parents, Freddie Jones and Jennie Heslewood, are actors as well. Toby has two brothers: Rupert, a director, and Casper, a fellow actor. He studied Drama at the University of Manchester from 1986 to 1989, and at L'École Internationale de Théâtre in Paris under Jacques Lecoq in Paris from 1989 to 1991. Naturally, his career began on the stage (and continues there), but film and television roles came soon after his studies.

Toby made his film debut with a small role in Sally Potter's experimental take on Virginia Woolf's novel, Orlando (1992), starring Tilda Swinton. Other small film roles included the doorkeeper in Les Misérables (1998) and a memorable turn as the Royal Page in Ever After: A Cinderella Story (1998) with Drew Barrymore.

Roles in the acclaimed Victoria & Albert (2001) and the Helen Mirren-starring Elizabeth I (2005) were balanced with film work, from his voice role as Dobby the House Elf in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002) to supporting appearances in Ladies in Lavender (2004) (co-starring his father, Freddie), Finding Neverland (2004) and Mrs. Henderson Presents (2005).

He continued stage work during this period, appearing on Broadway in The Play What I Wrote in 2003, a year after winning the Laurence Olivier Theatre Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role for his performance in the London production.

Infamous (2006), directed by Douglas McGrath and released in 2006, was Toby's first starring role. His acclaimed portrayal of Truman Capote remained mostly in the shadow of Philip Seymour Hoffman's Oscar-winning performance of the author in 2005's Capote (2005).

A steady stream of film roles followed with appearances in Amazing Grace (2006), The Painted Veil (2006), Nightwatching (2007), The Mist (2007), and St. Trinian's (2007). Toby then appeared in three successive films that could have been commercial breakthroughs: kid-lit flop City of Ember (2008), the Oscar-nominated Frost/Nixon (2008), and Oliver Stone's W. (2008).

He reprised the voice-role of Dobby in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 (2010), appeared in the St. Trinian's sequel, as well as the Charles Darwin biopic Creation (2009) and Dustin Lance Black's post-Milk (2008) directorial outing, Virginia (2010). More Hollywood roles followed with appearances in The Rite (2011), Your Highness (2011), and his first big live-action breakthrough as Red Skull's biochemist Dr. Arnim Zola in Captain America: The First Avenger (2011).

Even before Toby was announced as Claudius Templesmith in the adaptation of the novel The Hunger Games (2012), his star was on the rise after Captain America, with roles in three Oscar-nominated films: Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (2011), My Week with Marilyn (2011), and The Adventures of Tintin (2011). Though chances are he will forever be known by many as Claudius, the announcer for The Hunger Games with the booming voice and penchant for ending his statements with the phrase, "And may the odds be ever in your favor!"

Toby followed up this massive success with his mesmerizing tour-de-force interpretations as a sensational multifarious "chameleon" of substantial acting mastery in films such as Red Lights (2012) for Buried (2010) director Rodrigo Cortés, Snow White and the Huntsman (2012), The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (2013) reprising his role as Claudius Templesmith, Peter Strickland's Berberian Sound Studio (2012), Susanne Bier's Serena (2014) and Journey's End (2017). Among others, The Girl (2012), a BBC/HBO co-production in which he starred as Alfred Hitchcock, Titanic (2012), The Secret Agent (2016), Wayward Pines (2015), The Witness for the Prosecution (2016) and Sherlock (2010) are also included in the brilliant performances of his exquisite TV work.

Toby lives in London with his family.
BornSeptember 7, 1966
  • More at IMDbPro
    • Contact info
    • Agent info
    • Resume
BornSeptember 7, 1966
IMDbProStarmeterTop 5,000576
  • View contact info at IMDbPro
  • Nominated for 1 Primetime Emmy
    • 10 wins & 19 nominations total

The Greatest Character Actors of All Time

The Greatest Character Actors of All Time

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Photos

Photos149

Toby Jones in The English (2022)
Toby Jones in The English (2022)
Ciarán Hinds and Toby Jones in The English (2022)
Toby Jones and Olivia Colman in Empire of Light (2022)
Harrison Ford, Toby Jones, and Mads Mikkelsen in Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny (2023)
Toby Jones and Micheal Ward in Empire of Light (2022)
Gillian Anderson and Toby Jones in The Pale Blue Eye (2022)
Ciarán Hinds, Dermot Crowley, and Toby Jones in The Wonder (2022)
Toby Jones, Josie Walker, Kíla Lord Cassidy, Niamh Algar, and Florence Pugh in The Wonder (2022)
Isabelle Huppert, Jean-Louis Trintignant, Toby Jones, Mathieu Kassovitz, Aurélia Petit, Laura Verlinden, and Fantine Harduin in Happy End (2017)
Toby Jones in Happy End (2017)
Toby Jones in Atomic Blonde (2017)

Known for

Gary Oldman in Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (2011)
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
7.0
  • Percy Alleline
  • 2011
Jennifer Lawrence in The Hunger Games (2012)
The Hunger Games
7.2
  • Claudius Templesmith
  • 2012
Edward Norton and Naomi Watts in The Painted Veil (2006)
The Painted Veil
7.4
  • Waddington
  • 2006
Chris Evans in Captain America: The First Avenger (2011)
Captain America: The First Avenger
6.9
  • Dr. Arnim Zola
  • 2011

Credits

Edit
IMDbPro

Actor

  • Flavia De Luce
    • Pre-production
  • The Actor
    • Post-production
  • Mercy Road
    • Completed
  • The Canterville Ghost
    • The Reverend Chasuble
    • Post-production
  • Antonio Banderas, Harrison Ford, Toby Jones, Mads Mikkelsen, John Rhys-Davies, Boyd Holbrook, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Olivier Richters, and Shaunette Renée Wilson in Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny (2023)
    Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny
    • Basil Shaw
    • 2023
  • Taron Egerton in Tetris (2023)
    Tetris
    • Robert Stein
    • 2023
  • Mackenzie Crook, Gerard Horan, Toby Jones, Pearce Quigley, Laura Checkley, Divian Ladwa, Aimee-Ffion Edwards, and Orion Ben in Detectorists (2014)
    Detectorists
    • Lance
    • Lance Stater
    • Lance Slater
    • TV Series
    • 2014–2022
  • Christian Bale in The Pale Blue Eye (2022)
    The Pale Blue Eye
    • Dr. Daniel Marquis
    • 2022
  • The English (2022)
    The English
    • Sebold Cusk
    • TV Mini Series
    • 2022
  • Olivia Colman and Micheal Ward in Empire of Light (2022)
    Empire of Light
    • Norman
    • 2022
  • Kíla Lord Cassidy and Florence Pugh in The Wonder (2022)
    The Wonder
    • Dr McBrearty
    • 2022
  • A Moral Man (2022)
    A Moral Man
    • Philip
    • Short
    • 2022
  • The Battersea Poltergeist (2021)
    The Battersea Poltergeist
    • Harold Chibbett
    • Podcast Series
    • 2021
  • Jim Broadbent, Maggie Smith, Michiel Huisman, Toby Jones, Philip Lenkowsky, Rishi Kuppa, Sally Hawkins, Kristen Wiig, Joel Fry, Zoe Margaret Colletti, and Henry Lawfull in A Boy Called Christmas (2021)
    A Boy Called Christmas
    • Father Topo
    • 2021
  • Mackenzie Crook, Thierry Wickens, and India Brown in Worzel Gummidge (2019)
    Worzel Gummidge
    • The Village Committee
    • TV Series
    • 2021
  • Josh Keaton, Jeffrey Wright, Lake Bell, Chadwick Boseman, Cynthia Kaye McWilliams, Hudson Thames, Hayley Atwell, and Ross Marquand in What If...? (2021)
    What If...?
    • Arnim Zola (voice)
    • TV Series
    • 2021
  • A Few Miles South (2021)
    A Few Miles South
    • Ted
    • Short
    • 2021
  • Benedict Cumberbatch and Claire Foy in The Electrical Life of Louis Wain (2021)
    The Electrical Life of Louis Wain
    • Sir William Ingram
    • 2021
  • Mark Wahlberg and Chiwetel Ejiofor in Infinite (2021)
    Infinite
    • Porter
    • 2021

Writer

  • Don't Forget the Driver (2019)
    Don't Forget the Driver
    • Writer
    • TV Mini Series
    • 2019
  • Numbertime (1993)
    Numbertime
    • written by
    • TV Series
    • 1998

Producer

  • Mackenzie Crook, Gerard Horan, Toby Jones, Pearce Quigley, Laura Checkley, Divian Ladwa, Aimee-Ffion Edwards, and Orion Ben in Detectorists (2014)
    Detectorists
    • programme associate
    • TV Series
    • 2022

Videos125

Extended Look
Clip 5:02
Extended Look
"Drop Your Wands"
Clip 1:22
"Drop Your Wands"
"Cafe Attack"
Clip 1:07
"Cafe Attack"
Anthropoid
Clip 1:19
Anthropoid
Anthropoid
Clip 1:16
Anthropoid
Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll
Clip 0:42
Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll
Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll
Clip 0:40
Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll
Creation
Clip 0:54
Creation
Creation
Clip 1:07
Creation
Creation
Clip 0:54
Creation
Creation
Clip 1:06
Creation
Creation
Clip 1:26
Creation

Personal details

Edit
  • Height
    • 5′ 5″ (1.65 m)
  • Born
    • September 7, 1966
    • Hammersmith, London, England, UK
  • Spouse
    • Karen Jones2014 - present (2 children)
  • Children
      Madeleine Jones
  • Parents
      Freddie Jones
  • Relatives
      Casper Jones(Sibling)
  • Other works
    Appeared in Gomez music video, "Whippin' Piccadilly" (1998).
  • Publicity listings
    • 1 Article

Did you know

Edit
  • Trivia
    His wife Karen Jones is a criminal barrister.
  • Quotes
    It's Toby Jones playing Alfred Hitchcock, not Alfred Hitchcock. We all felt that his silhouette was crucial, so his nose and lips were crucial as well. We had to build it out a bit to get the silhouette. But, with my nose being so small within the proportion of my face, the first nose was too big. I felt like a nose on parade.

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