Perhaps in part because of his alma mater (where he roomed with future Vice-President and Presidential candidate Al Gore), Jones began his film career with a small part as Ryan O'Neal's Harvard roommate in LOVE STORY (1970). After a stint on the TV soap opera "One Life to Live," he played an escaped convict hunted down by the police in his first starring role in a US film, JACKSON COUNTY JAIL (1976). Whenever a time came that it seemed Jones, an eighth-generation Texan, was about to become typecast in country-boy roles, or his taciturn demeanor shunted him into villainous parts, his sensitivity managed to add depth to the most routine roles. Not that dull parts came along all that often: Subsequent characters included eccentric billionaire Howard Hughes in the TV biopic, THE AMAZING HOWARD HUGHES (1977); convicted murderer Gary Gilmore (an especially exciting performance that won him an Emmy) in the TV adaption of Norman Mailer's THE EXECUTIONER'S SONG (1982); a psychotic detective who terrorizes Faye Dunaway in the 1978 thriller THE EYES OF LAURA MARS; and country singer Loretta Lynn's husband in COAL MINER'S DAUGHTER (1980).
Some less-than-successful features (THE BETSY, 1978, BACK ROADS, 1981) slowed down his feature film career in the early 80s, and for a time he appeared primarily in such little-seen features as the total misfire, BLACK MOON RISING (1986). TV helped pick up some of the slack, where Jones returned to his theatrical roots with TV productions of THE RAINMAKER (1982) and CAT ON A HOT TIN ROOF (1984). One of his most important TV portrayals came with his work as Woodrow Call, the repressed Texas Ranger who dragged the corpse of his partner (Robert Duvall) back to Texas in the acclaimed miniseries "Lonesome Dove" (1988).
Since his unnerving portrayal of Cosmo, the unflinching mobster in Mike Figgis' noir, STORMY MONDAY (1988), Jones reasserted himself as one of Hollywood's leading heavies, bringing to his roles a sense of tormented moral ambiguity. He teamed with director Andrew Davis on the uneven thriller THE PACKAGE (1989). Jones left audiences chilled with his eerie portrayal of suspected Kennedy assassination conspirator Clay Shaw in Oliver Stone's JFK (1991), a role that garnered him an Oscar® nomination. Jones reteamed with Davis for the thrillers UNDER SIEGE (1992), as a rock'n'rollin' psychopath who takes over a naval carrier; and THE FUGITIVE (1993), a film remake of the 60s hit TV series, playing a hardened lawman unwilling to relinquish his hunt for Harrison Ford's Dr. Richard Kimble. More than a few reviewers felt that Jones caught -- and surpassed -- his leading man.
The Oscar Jones won as Best Supporting Actor for THE FUGITIVE extended the renewed prominence in Hollywood he had enjoyed since the success of JFK, reflected in such standardized but high-profile genre fare as BLOWN AWAY and THE CLIENT (both 1994). He also kept extremely busy in the occasional prominent character lead (NATURAL BORN KILLERS, 1994) and slammed his way through an uncompromising portrait of baseball great Ty Cobb (COBB, 1994).
Other notable credits include BLUE SKY (1994), BATMAN FOREVER (1995), VOLCANO and MEN IN BLACK (both 1997), U.S. MARSHALS (1998), DOUBLE JEOPARDY (1999), RULES OF ENGAGEMENT and SPACE COWBOYS (both 2000), MEN IN BLACK II (2002), THE HUNTED and THE MISSING (both 2003), MAN OF THE HOUSE and THE THREE BURIALS OF MELQUIADES ESTRADA (both 2005), A PRAIRIE HOME COMPANION (2006), NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN and IN THE VALLEY OF ELAH (both 2007), and IN THE ELECTRIC MIST (scheduled for 2008).
Nominated for Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role 1991: JFK
Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role 1993: THE FUGITIVE
Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role 2007: IN THE VALLEY OF ELAH
3 nominations, 1 Award