Cinema knight Sir Roger Deakins is nominated for his cinematography.
Twenty seconds might take two weeks to film!
I thought Id be bored out of my mind, but I found the whole thing so fascinating.
Toby JonesBaz Bamigboye/Deadline
And in the end, I was so relieved that I had done it.
And days would sort of arrive and theyd go, Toby, do you want to come on set?
He was on his own, And I thought, Oh,no!
(Lucasfilm/Disney)
But I loved it, he adds, his eyes brightening as he spoke.
Working with Harrison was great, was all that hed allow.
Im not allowed to say anything, he shrugs.
Baz, itll be good.
Jones plays Basil, a close pal of the whip-cracking, Nazi-hunting archaeologist.
The Lucasfilm-Disney production is out wide on June 30.
It had been developed by a Russian designer working for a government department behind the Iron Curtain.
Jones portrays Hungarian games negotiator Robert Stein, a cunning operator who wants the prize for himself.
I get deals, then I get screwed on it.
Its a classic story, he explains.
Its not giving too much away to say that the actors performance packs a mighty punch.
Thats what you get from working not just with Micheal but with all younger actors, he adds.
They keep you honest in the game really, because of their spontaneity, just their enthusiasm.
Its not that Im not enthusiastic, its just that Im going through it.
There was a closeness with Mendes as well, and with Pippa Harris the films producer.
So in a weird way we were dancing to the same music in this film.
I remember dancing to the Specials in these village halls outside Oxford where we grew up.
And Mendes had rhythm, Jones attests.
Bopping around on dance floors is still a big thing for Jones and Karen Jones, his barrister wife.
But theres never enough time to catch up.
Hes thrilled that the film was shown on the big screen as willIndiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny.
All I pray for is the survival of films, he says.
I loved films and films in cinemas.
Its the romance of that.
Its felt like such a bonus in my life.
And Jones is full of admiration for the directors he has worked with.
He notes the meticulous attention to detail of directors like Mendes.
The greatest directors are just interested in every single aspect of filmmaking, every little detail, he says.
Smiling, he recalls working on French filmmaker Michael Hanekes 2017 filmHappy End.
We were weeks away on the filming, but he already knew what the color dynamics were.
Thats how much he could control every aspect.
Its astonishing, he says.
Conversations on the set ofHappy Endwere in French.
Jones studied acting in Paris and appeared in some plays there.
The film was bookmarked with scenes of the ensemble arriving and leaving the stage door.
The place had been empty for months because of Covid.
Revisiting was poignant, the actor says.
The resulting film was shown in cinemas then later on the BBC and BBC iPlayer.
Jones doesnt much like taking time off work as an actor.
If ones lucky enough to work as an actor, that is time off, he shares.
You get to process what youre experiencing in the rest of your life.
One idea hes been exploring is a film that hes working on with writing partner Tim Crouch.
They co-created and co-wrote dark comedy dramaDont Forget the Driverfor Sister Pictures and BBC Two back in 2019.
Jones is a huge fan of the Sarah Gavron filmRocksand its lead actress, the BAFTA winner Bukky Bakray.
Jones wont direct it, though he might act in it.
But we dont know yet, he says.
Its such early stages, but thats been really fun working on that already.
You watch the two of us [Jones and Bakray] together in the room.
