Baron Afanas has always been a fan favorite on What We Do in the Shadows — and actor Doug Jones has had just as much fun bringing him to life over the years.
“I love the Baron so much. I’ve played so many characters over my career so far, and the Baron is a standout for me because I get to be so goofy and go as big as I want,” Jones, 64, exclusively told Us Weekly ahead of the Monday, December 2, episode. “And that’s a rare gift for an actor. They usually pull us back, as opposed to encouraging us to go bigger.”
On the latest episode of the FX comedy, all the vampires in the New York City area come together to honor the Baron as he receives an Eternal Lifetime Achievement Award. When Laszlo’s monster accidentally kills someone, however, the gang has to fight off various vampire crews from the five boroughs.
The Baron gets to sit out most of the drama, but Jones still describes “Come Out and Play” — inspired by 1979 cult classic The Warriors — as one of his favorite WWDITS episodes.
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“We get to see all of these vampires from all the burgs around New York. You realize, ‘Oh, the world is bigger than we thought it was,’” Jones explained. “That opened a door to like, ‘Oh, there’s more. There’s so much more.’ And the Baron, of course, being the narcissistic leader of all of them. … This is a great episode. It’s a standout for me.”
That newly expanded world includes a cameo by Alexander Skarsgård, who played vampire Eric Northman on True Blood from 2008 to 2014. The actor, 48, stars as one of the vampires in attendance at the Baron’s meeting to discuss finally conquering the New World.
“I’m afraid I have no recollection of shooting this episode as Dr. Laszlo Cravensworth apparently hypnotized me at the wrap party,” Skarsgård joked in a statement. “But I did wake up with an intense physical attraction to Dr. Cravensworth and found his extraordinary wit, charm and intelligence absolutely disarming. I have since started a YouTube fan page for him. It’s called ‘Because You’re Cravens-worth It.’ Please like, follow and subscribe.”
Jones, for his part, is happy that his own character seems to be going out on a high note — or at least finishing the series with his own face. When the Baron made his first appearance in season 1, he was a decrepit, gray creature buried under layers of prosthetics. He also spent some time as a burned husk, but now he gets to be his somewhat youthful self. It’s been a welcome break for Jones, whose résumé is full of horror monster roles where his entire body was hidden.
“This is a gift the writers gave me that I did not see coming,” he told Us of the Baron’s transition to relative normalcy. “It’s so funny because it does kind of parallel where I’m at as an actor myself. I’m 64 years old. The older I get, the older the process gets with the prosthetics and special effects makeup. … [The normal Baron] is really where my career has been heading. I’ve been playing way more humans and using my own face way more now than I have with the rubber bits. So what a lovely transition this show has been to let the public and let other productions know, ‘Doug’s using his own face more now.’”
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His thick vampire accent, of course, is far less natural — in real life Jones is from Indianapolis — but it will live on among WWDITS fans, who love to try out their Baron impressions when they meet the actor.
“When I’ve been on the convention circuit, meeting people one at a time, the Baron has risen to be one of the most talked-about characters that people have seen over my 38 years now,” Jones said. “And they all quote me. They say, ‘Oh, hello, wampire.’ That’s so lovely to hear them quoting me and trying to affect the Baron voice. So as goofy and as mispronounced as he can be, the better.”
What We Do in the Shadows airs on FX Mondays at 10 p.m. ET. New episodes stream the next day on Hulu.
