Academy Award winner Tommy Lee Jones is one of Texas' finest out in Hollywood. The San Saba native went from growing up on a Texas ranch to attending Harvard to becoming one of the most unique actors we've ever seen. His gruff demeanor and southern drawl have made him memorable over the years and always incredibly interesting to watch.
Videos by Wide Open Country
Jones has starred in films of all genres from playing comic book villain Two-Face in the campy Batman Forever, to appearing in Marvel's Captain America: The First Avenger and playing a CIA director in Jason Bourne. He even lent his voice in Small Soldiers and starred in a romantic dramedy opposite Meryl Streep in Hope Springs. Though he's always unapologetically himself, the man has proven he can appear in just about anything.
We've rounded up 12 of his best performances, ranked in order.
The Fugitive
Warner Bros
We can easily say that Jones' best film is The Fugitive. Starring opposite Harrison Ford, it's hard not to be blown away by Jones' performance as U.S. Marshal Samuel Gerard. There's a reason he won a Golden Globe and Best Supporting Actor Oscar.
Coal Miner's Daughter
Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images
Jones really impressed opposite Sissy Spacek in the film about Loretta Lynn's career. Jones played her husband, Doolittle, and allowed us an inside look at their relationship and the family the couple raised together while Lynn traveled around pursuing a country music career.
Men In Black
Archive Photos/Getty Images
Who doesn't love Agent K in the Men In Black films? He's the perfect opposite of Will Smith's character in these action-packed blockbusters. Josh Brolin also plays a particularly fantastic younger version of Kay in the third installment (essentially just a solid Tommy Lee Jones impression). He's a character you wouldn't particularly envision as an agent protecting the planet from aliens, but it also makes complete sense when you see him in action. While the first is, without a doubt, the best, it's worth watching him in all three films in the franchise.
No Country For Old Men
Paramount Vantage/Miramax
Joel and Ethan Coen's film starred Jones, Javier Bardem and Josh Brolin in the Oscar-winning story about a Texas Sheriff pursuing a serial killer. Jones plays Sheriff Ed Tom Bell, who's on the hunt for Bardem's Oscar-winning performance of Anton Chigurh. The film is widely regarded as one of the best of 2007.
Lonesome Dove
Screengrab via YouTube
Sure, it's a miniseries, but Jones is just so good as Texas Ranger Woodrow F. Call opposite Robert Duvall in this Emmy-winning adaptation of the popular western novel.
Double Jeopardy
Paramount Pictures
There's a reason Hollywood likes to put Jones in law enforcement roles...he's really good at it. In this thriller, he plays parole officer Travis Lehman, appointed to Ashley Judd's character Libby after she is released from prison after serving time for killing her husband. Travis and Libby end up working together to absolve her conviction, and you'll be on the edge of your seat the entire time.
Lincoln
Film Frame/Dreamworks
In this Steven Spielberg masterpiece, Jones plays Thaddeus Stevens, leader of the Radical Republicans. Stevens is fighting for racial equality during the presidency of Abraham Lincoln.
In the Valley of Elah
Warner Independent Pictures
Jones plays Hank Deerfield, a man looking for his son, who is missing during the Iraq war. He ends up searching for his son's killers after his body is found. The story is actually based on true events, though all names have been changed for the film.
A Prairie Home Companion
Picturehouse
What do you get when you put Meryl Streep and Tommy Lee Jones together in a musical film about a radio variety show? It's honestly a Jones film you didn't know you needed to see. There's an all-star cast including Kevin Kline, Lily Tomlin, Woody Harrelson and John C. Reilly. Jones plays the Axeman who shows up to cancel the popular radio program.
The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada
EuropaCorp
This western film stars Jones as rancher Pete Perkins, who transports his friend's dead body back to Mexico after he is accidentally shot by a United States Border Patrol officer. Not only did Jones direct the film, but he also won the Best Actor Award at Cannes.
JFK
Warner Bros
In this political thriller opposite Kevin Costner, Jones plays businessman Clay Shaw, following his alleged involvement in the assassination of President JFK.
Natural Born Killers
Warner Bros
This Oliver Stone film follows the interesting love story of Mickey and Mallory Knox (Woody Harrelson and Juliette Lewis), who become mass murderers who end up getting crazy media coverage. In the final act of the film, Jones shows up as Warden Dwight McClusky, who's ordered to murder the couple during their transfer to a psychiatric hospital.
