Richard T. Jones

An astonishingly prolific character actor and occasional lead in features and television, Richard T. Jones essayed countless men of authority, as well as a few conflicted figures, in projects ranging from "Judging Amy" (CBS, 1999-2005) and "The Wood" (1999) to "Hawaii 5-0" (CBS, 2010-), "American Horror Story: Hotel" (FX, 2015-16) and "CHiPs" (2017). Born Richard Timothy Jones, he was the youngest of two sons by Clarence Jones, a former right fielder and first basemen for the Cleveland Indians. Richard was born in Kobe, Japan, while his father was playing there for the Kintetsu Buffaloes, but returned to the United States after the senior Jones rejoined the Indians as a batting instructor. Richard's initial career interest was in the legal field, but after appearing in a production of "A Raisin in the Sun" while attending Tuskegee University, he decided to become an actor. His feature film career began in 1993, when he played Ike Turner, Jr. in the biopic "What's Love Got To Do With It," which he followed with steady work in character and supporting turns in features and on television. Though he appeared in numerous films, including "Event Horizon" (1997) and "Kiss the Girls" (1998), television soon became his most consistent showcase: Jones enjoyed a season-long run as a jealous traffic cop on Steven Bochco's short-lived but critically praised police drama "Brooklyn South" (CBS, 1997-1998) before playing court services Bruce van Exel, who offered counsel and later, romantic interest to Amy Brenneman's family court judge in "Judging Amy." The exposure afforded by the popular series led to more substantive feature roles, including a slew of turns as reluctant Romeos in such urban-minded features as "The Wood" (1999), "Book of Love" (2002) and a rare lead in "G"(2002), a drama based on The Great Gatsby set in the hip-hop industry. Jones was also a regular presence in mainstream features, playing supporting roles in "Moonlight Mile" (2003) and Michael Mann's "Collateral" (2004). When "Judging Amy" ran its course, Jones segued to "Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles" (Fox, 2008-09), playing an FBI agent on the trail of Lena Headey's reluctant science fiction heroine. He also continued his prolific run of appearances in features and other television series, including such hits as Tyler Perry's "Why Did I Get Married?" as the shallow husband of Jill Scott, the Steven Spielberg-produced "Super 8" (2011) and "Godzilla" (2014). Jones also began a lengthy run in the recurring role of Hawaii governor Sam Denning on "Hawaii 5-0" while also appearing regularly as an ill-fated cop on "American Horror Story: Hotel," a DEA agent on "Narcos" (Netflix, 2015-), Timothy Olyphant's best friend on "The Santa Clarita Diet" (Netflix, 2017-) and yet another police officer on "Criminal Minds" (CBS, 2005-). Despite this schedule, Jones also found time to play a helicopter patrol officer in Dax Shepard's big-screen spoof of "CHiPs," as well as several additional independent features and TV pilots.