Toby Edward Heslewood Jones OBE (born 7 September 1966) is an English actor. Jones is known for his extensive character actor roles on stage and screen. From 1989 to 1991 he trained at L'École Internationale de Théâtre Jacques Lecoq. He made his stage debut in 2001 in the comedy play The Play What I Wrote, which played in the West End and on Broadway, earning him a Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role. In 2020, he was nominated for his second Olivier Award, for Best Actor for his performance in a revival of Anton Chekov's Uncle Vanya.
Jones made his film debut in Sally Potter's period drama Orlando in 1992. He appeared in minor roles in films such as Naked (1993), Les Misérables (1998), Ever After (1998), Finding Neverland (2005), and Mrs Henderson Presents (2005). He won critical acclaim for his leading role as Truman Capote in the biopic Infamous (2006). He has since acted in Amazing Grace (2006), The Painted Veil (2006), W. (2008), Frost/Nixon (2008), Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (2011), My Week with Marilyn (2011), Berberian Sound Studio (2012), Dad's Army (2016), and Empire of Light (2022).
He is also known for his voice roles as Dobby in the Harry Potter films (2002–2011), Aristides Silk in The Adventures of Tintin (2011) and Owl in Disney's Christopher Robin (2018). He is also known for his blockbuster roles as Claudius Templesmith in The Hunger Games franchise (2012-2013), Arnim Zola in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) films Captain America: The First Avenger (2011) and Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014), and the Disney television series What If...? (2021), and as Mr. Eversoll in Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom (2018).
Jones's television credits include Doctor Who (2010), Julian Fellowes's Titanic miniseries (2012), MCU's Agent Carter (2015), and Wayward Pines (2015–2016). He was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Miniseries or Television Film for his role as Alfred Hitchcock in the HBO television film 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.
Early life
Jones was born in Hammersmith, London to actors Jennifer Jones (née Heslewood) and Freddie Jones. He has two brothers: Rupert, a director, and Casper, also an actor. 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.
