My name, Dean Jones, belongs to a famous actor and not just me. If you Google Dean Jones, you won't get me but the great Disney actor who starred in "Herbie the Love Bug" and "Beethoven" to name a few. And that is a bit of relief to me as Googling people's names tends to be a trend these days. I also share a birthday with several famous comedians and actors: the late Marlon Brando, Doris Day and Eddie Murphy to name a few.Is it a surprise that I am also an actor? I may not be famous (yet) but I share the same love and passion for the craft. Okay, maybe not as much as I sometimes prefer Xbox over memorizing lines. I've been acting since I was 6. I had a wild imagination as a kid. I exercised it in such manners as writing, drawing, reading and, yes, pretending to be in movies...usually war movies.
My earliest memory of wanting to be on stage is when I was picked out to portray a Roman soldier one Sunday morning at church (I was like 6 or 7 maybe). I was given this sweet plastic costume and told to walk down the isle with one line to say. I freaked and didn't say the line but I did the "catwalk" and was immediately interested in doing more. More and more I had opportunities to be on stage through Christmas plays or other productions such as "Down By The Creekbank". I have a video of me playing a father-type figure in another play and I forget my line. I am literally SQUIRMING trying to remember it!
However, my acting "career" was sent into hibernation as I began concentrating on writing and becoming an author. I wrote and wrote. Even wrote a few measly little scripts for small films I aspired to direct. I didn't act in high school because I wanted to concentrate on school and getting into UNC. I felt that memorizing lines would interfere with memorizing the Pathagoreum theorem. Same in college. I was accepted to UNC and it took all I had to stay around a B average.
After college I attended King's Park International Church in Durham. They were casting for "A KPIC Christmas Carol". I coveted the role of Jacob Marley and almost didn't go out for it! I did and got the part. I played it two years in a row and loved it. Shortly after I met David Dollar a local acting mage who became my mentor. I joined the theatre group he started called Plumb Line Players when it was conceived in 2001 and have been with them ever since.
I've also hired a talent agent and have appeared in small independent films. Some of my more memorable roles have been:
Mr. Beaver - "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe"
The Fireman - "The Bald Soprano"
Sherlock Holmes - "The Case of the Cracked World"
Father - "The Best Christmas Pageant Ever!"
I am also a part of a local improv troupe named "The Un-Intentionals." We perform on Friday and Saturday once a month at a church in North Raleigh.
