Baron Afanas has always been a fan favorite What we do in the shadows – and an actor Doug Jones has had just as much fun bringing it to life over the years.
“I love the baron so much. I’ve played so many characters in my career so far and the Baron is a standout for me because I get to be as goofy and as big as I want to be,” Jones, 64, exclusively said Us Weekly before the Monday, December 2 episode. “And that’s a rare gift for an actor. They tend to hold us back instead of encouraging us to grow.”
In the latest episode of the FX comedy, all the vampires in the New York area come together to honor the baron as he receives an award for eternal achievement. However, when Laszlo’s monster accidentally kills someone, the gang must fight off various vampire crews from the five boroughs.
The Baron may sit through most of the drama, but Jones still describes “Come Out and Play” — a 1979-inspired. a cult classic The warriors — as one of his favorites WWDITS episodes.
“We’re seeing all these vampires from all the towns around New York. You realize, ‘Oh, the world is bigger than we thought it was,'” Jones explained. “It opened the door to like, ‘Oh, there’s more.’ There is much more. And the Baron, of course, is the narcissistic leader of them all. … This is a great episode. That’s distinctive to me.”
Alexander Skarsgård in What We Do in the Shadows.
Russ Martin/FXThis newly expanded world features a cameo from Alexander Skarsgårdwho played a vampire Eric Northman on True blood from 2008 to 2014 The 48-year-old actor plays one of the vampires attending the baron’s meeting to finally discuss conquering the New World.
“I’m afraid I have no recollection of filming this episode, as Dr. Laszlo Cravensworth apparently hypnotized me at the finale party,” Skarsgård joked in a statement. “But I woke up with a strong physical attraction to Dr. Cravensworth and found his extraordinary wit, charm and intelligence absolutely disarming. I have since started his YouTube fan page. It’s called “Because you’re a coward – it’s worth it.” Please like, follow and subscribe.”
Jones, for his part, is happy that his own character seems to be going out on a high note — or at least ending the series with his own face. When the Baron first appeared in Season 1, he was a scrawny, gray creature buried under layers of prosthetics. He also spent some time as a burnt husk, but is now becoming somewhat of his young self. It was a welcome break for Jones, whose resume is full of horror monster roles where his entire body is hidden.
The Baron in his early days.
Youtube“It’s a gift the writers gave me, but I didn’t expect it,” he said us of the Baron’s transition to relative normality. “It’s so funny because it kind of parallels what I’m in as an actor. I am 64 years old. The older I get, the older the process gets with prosthetics and special effects makeup. … (The Normal Baron) is really where my career is going. I play a lot more people and I used my own face a lot more now than with the rubber bits. So what a wonderful transition this show was to let the audience and the other productions know that “Doug is using his own face more now.”
His thick vamp accent is, of course, far less natural—in real life, Jones is from Indianapolis—but he will continue to live among WWDITS fans who like to try out their impressions of Baron when they meet the actor.
“When I was on the convention circuit meeting people one by one, the Baron rose to become one of the most talked about characters that people have seen in my 38 years now,” Jones said. “And they all quote me. They say, “Oh, hello, vampire.” It’s so nice to hear them quoting me and trying to do the Baron’s voice. So the wackier and mispronounced he is, the better.”
What we do in the shadows airs on FX Mondays at 10pm ET. New episodes air the next day on Hulu.
