CJ Jones (born September 29, 1950) is an American actor and advocate for disability representation in Hollywood. CJ is well known throughout the Deaf, Hard of Hearing and Hearing Signer communities for his contributions to Deaf representation in film and TV. In October 2020, Jon Landau shared that Jones had been commissioned to create Na'vi Sign Language (NSL) for the Avatar sequels, and was cast as an unknown supporting character in Avatar: The Way of Water.[1]
Early life[]
CJ was born in St. Louis, Missouri, to two d/Deaf parents, the sibling of 6 other hearing children. At age 7, he fell ill with spinal meningitis and subsequently lost his hearing. Because he was raised by deaf parents, CJ grew up using American Sign Language (ASL), and after he became deaf, he began attending the Missouri School for the Deaf. He was active in sports and continued advocating for Deaf and other disability representation.
Career[]
Jones's acting career began in the television industry, when he starred as character CJ in an episode of American sitcom A Different World. From there, he continued to star in several minor TV roles, such as in Cold Case and Frasier. He starred as himself in the 2009 documentary See What I'm Saying: The Deaf Entertainers Documentary, which would put him into the wider media spotlight. He became well known for his role as Joe in 2017 film Baby Driver, for which he received the SAG-AFTRA Harold Russell award.[2] He is set to reprise his role in the upcoming Baby Driver 2.
Jones has also served as a producer, director, and screenwriter, well known for directing several episodes of the fairy-tales series Once Upon a Sign, a show that retells classic fairy-tales entirely in American Sign Language.
Role in the films[]
Jones's acting role in the Avatar sequels is unknown. His primary role was creating Na'vi Sign Language (NSL) to be used throughout the movie, likely by the Metkayina Clan, a clan that lives on the Pandoran reefs. As the clan has a close relationship with water, they would benefit from having a sign language to communicate to one another whilst submerged. Further details of the language are unknown, though CJ Jones can be seen demonstrating one of the signs to director James Cameron in a behind-the-scenes photo. The involvement of Paul Frommer, creator of the oral Na'vi language, with the sign language is unknown.
Filmography[]
- A Different World (1991)
- Cold Case (2003)
- Frasier (2003)
- Lincoln Heights (2007)
- See What I'm Saying: The Deaf Entertainers Documentary (2009)
- Baby Driver (2017)
- Castle Rock (2018)
- Door in the Woods (2019)
- This Close (2019)
- Indomitable (2022)
- Avatar: The Way of Water (2022)
Gallery[]
