London-born actor Toby Jones has had roles in over 70 films. His work encompasses years of experience and showcases his talents well. Jones began acting in 1992, with a small part as a valet in the film Orlando. He went on to star in a few TV series and direct-to-TV movies like Numbertime and Death of a Salesman. Jones then had roles in films like Simon Magus, The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc, and In Love and War, before earning a role in the Harry Potter franchise’s second film Chamber of Secrets as the strange and beloved house-elf Dobby.
Jones even guest starred in an episode of the acclaimed BBC’s Doctor Who in 2010. Since then, he has gone on to act and star in many more films and television shows like Sherlock, The Mist, and Atomic Blonde. Jones has received 18 award nominations, including one for a Primetime Emmy, and 10 awards wins. In 2022, he is set to star in the television series The English, a movie called The Pale Blue Eye, and the film Tetris. Notably, per Variety, his latest performance in Sam Mendes' Empire of Light is garnering Oscar buzz. 2023 has Jones playing an unnamed part in the Indiana Jones 5 film. With such a vast resume of successful work, here is a list of Toby Jones’ best movies, ranked.
6 Finding Neverland
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Based on Allan Knee's 1998 play The Man Who Was Peter Pan, Marc Forster and David Magee's biographical tale Finding Neverland was released in 2004. J. M. Barrie and his friendship with a family who inspired him to write Peter Pan are the subjects of the movie. At the 77th Academy Awards, the movie received seven nominations, including Best Picture, Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Actor for Johnny Depp. It also took home the Best Original Score trophy. The 2012 stage musical of the same name was based on the movie. Smee, played by Jones, is Captain Hook's deckhand for the duration of the movie.
5 Infamous
Infamous, which Douglas McGrath wrote and directed, was released in 2006. It is based on George Plimpton's 1997 book, Truman Capote: In Which Various Friends, Enemies, Acquaintances, and Detractors Recall His Turbulent Career, and it covers the time between the late 1950s and the mid-1960s when Truman Capote conducted the research for and wrote the best-selling novel In Cold Blood. Jones does an excellent job of portraying Capote in the movie. Other famous faces like Sandra Bullock, Daniel Craig, Lee Pace, Jeff Daniels, Sigourney Weaver, and Hope Davis all contribute their acting talents to the picture.
4 Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
Tomas Alfredson's Cold War spy thriller Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy was released in 2011. The movie, which stars Gary Oldman, Colin Firth, Tom Hardy, John Hurt, Mark Strong, and Benedict Cumberbatch, is based on John le Carré's 1974 novel of the same name. The story centers on the pursuit of a Soviet double agent at the head of the British Secret Service and is set in London in the early-70s. Percy "Tinker" Alleline, a member of The Circus, a Secret Service unit, is portrayed by Jones. The movie was nominated for three Oscars — Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Original Score, and Best Actor for Gary Oldman — and won the BAFTA Award for Best British Film. The New York Times praised the film, saying it “is suffused with longing and love — for a country, a cause, a lover, a father.”
3 The Hunger Games
The Hunger Games, the first film in the series, based on Suzanne Collins' 2008 novel of the same name, is a dystopian action movie released in 2012. The movie takes place in the futuristic post-apocalyptic nation of Panem, where a boy and a girl are yearly chosen as "tributes" and made to participate in the grandiose televised combat to the death known as the Hunger Games. Jennifer Lawrence's character, Katniss Everdeen, offers to take the place of her younger sister when she was first chosen as a tribute. In order to prepare for the Hunger Games, Katniss flies to the Capitol with Peeta Mellark, the male tribute from her district, played by Josh Hutcherson. Claudius Templesmith, the Games announcer, is portrayed by Jones. Jones later returned to the role in the following movie, The Hunger Games: Catching Fire.
2 Captain America: The First Avenger
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The 2011 superhero movie Captain America: The First Avenger is based on the Captain America comic book character. Steve Rogers (Chris Evans), a weak man who is turned into the superhero Captain America during World War II, has to stop the Red Skull (Hugo Weaving) from utilizing the Tesseract as a source of energy to take over the world. Arnim Zola, a scientist for the Nazi party, is portrayed by Jones. Before being arrested and joining SHIELD, Zola serves Hydra and the Red Skull. Jones later returned to the character of Zola in Captain America: The Winter Soldier, in an episode of Agent Carter, and by voice for the What If...? animated series.
1 Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
In two of the Harry Potter movies, Chamber of Secrets and Deathly Hallows, Part 1, Jones provided the voice of Dobby, a house-elf, a magical entity that is fiercely loyal to the person recognized as their master. When we first meet him, Dobby is a servant to the Malfoy family, but he ends up becoming a crucial ally in Harry Potter's (Daniel Radcliffe) struggle against Voldemort (Ralph Fiennes) and his Death Eaters. Numerous house elves are said to have been tortured and abused in Harry Potter, but Dobby protests against this treatment in order to do what is right.