After making his mark on “MADtv” and in films like “Drumline” Jones began to ponder his next move and what kind of legacy he was leaving behind.
“My daughter was 2 1/2 years old and I was like it’s time for me to grow up,” says Jones. “Time for people to have a clearer sense of me and what I’m about. So I told my managers to pump the breaks for a minute. Where am I going? That was about four years ago.”
The result was “Tainted Love,” a visually sharp, cutting edge story of Black Barry, an underpaid bag man and new father who is trying to survive this spinning ball of dirt with his lady love Jezebel Jackson (Deanna Russo).
“I’m a nerd. We may not look like you expect us to look. Might not look the way you expect us talk but there are lot of Black dudes that are nerds into graphic novels and comic books but we still checkin out dat ass,” Jones explains. ” So ‘Tainted Love’ came into my mind. I wanted to tell this story about people who other people have given up on. Like people in my family. They’ve done some crazy stuff but I love them. So I created the first digital graphic novel.”
In addition to an action film with Jean Claude Van Dam in the can, Jones will be flexing his dramatic chops as Detective Irving in the upcoming FOX series, “Sleepy Hollow.”
“It’s massive. I like to think I’ve had a decent career. But I’ve never been involved with nothing like this before,” he says. “It’s game changing. Nicole Beharie, who is in “42,” is in it. When is the last time you saw two African-American leads in a network show, let alone a show of this size?”
Action movies, graphic novels and headless horsemen? Where are the jokes? That’s kind of the point.
“It’s not what people are accustomed to seeing from me,” Orlando Jones says with a knowing glance. “But neither is ‘Tainted Love.’ I’ve been super blessed but it’s time for me to reintroduce myself.”
Follow Orlando Jones on Twitter @TheOrlandoJones
Orlando Jones On Tyler Perry Prank And Art Of Reinvention [EXCLUSIVE VIDEO] was originally published on theurbandaily.com
