Jones, Tommy Lee (1946-…), is an American actor known for his intense portrayals of both heroes and villains. He became one of the biggest box-office attractions of the 1990’s with a series of striking performances. Jones won the Academy Award for best supporting actor for his role as a relentless federal investigator in The Fugitive (1993). He also starred in Men in Black (1997), one of the biggest box-office hits in movie history; and in the sequels Men in Black II (2002) and Men in Black III (2012).
Jones was born in San Saba, Texas, on Sept. 15, 1946. He began acting while attending Harvard University. Jones graduated with honors in 1969 as an English major. That year, he made his Broadway stage debut. His motion-picture debut came in Love Story (1970). He returned to Broadway, appearing in several plays before concentrating on his film career starting in 1976. Jones starred in several television movies, winning an Emmy for his performance as a convicted murderer in The Executioner’s Song (1982). He also starred in the popular TV miniseries Lonesome Dove (1989).
Jones’s other notable films include Rolling Thunder (1977); Coal Miner’s Daughter (1980); Heaven and Earth (1993); The Client, Natural Born Killers, and Cobb (all 1994); Batman Forever (1995); U.S. Marshals (1998); JFK (1991); Double Jeopardy (1999); Rules of Engagement and Space Cowboys (both 2000); The Hunted and The Missing (both 2003); A Prairie Home Companion (2006); In the Valley of Elah and No Country for Old Men (both 2007); The Company Men (2010); Captain America: The First Avenger (2011); Emperor, in which he portrayed the American General Douglas MacArthur, Hope Springs, and Lincoln, in which he portrayed the American congressman and abolitionist Thaddeus Stevens (all 2012); and The Family (2013). Jones directed and starred in the Western The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada (2005). He directed, co-wrote, and starred in the Western The Homesman (2014).
