CJ Jones (born 1949 or 1950) is an American actor. He is one of the subjects of '' See What I'm Saying: The Deaf Entertainers Documentary'' (2009). Jones made his feature film debut with

Edgar Wright Edgar Howard Wright (born 18 April 1974) is an English filmmaker. He is known for his fast-paced and kinetic, satirical Film genre, genre films, which feature extensive utilisation of expressive popular music, Steadicam tracking shots, dolly zo ...

's '' Baby Driver'' (2017), in which he portrays Joseph, the deaf foster father of

Ansel Elgort Ansel Elgort (born March 14, 1994) is an American actor and singer. He began his acting career with a supporting role in the horror film '' Carrie'' (2013). He gained wider recognition for starring as a teenage cancer patient in the romantic d ...

's protagonist. He has developed three one-man shows that have toured the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

Ecuador Ecuador, officially the Republic of Ecuador, is a country in northwestern South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and the Pacific Ocean on the west. It also includes the Galápagos Province which contain ...

, and

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

. He co-wrote and directed six classic fairy tales for children's television for the series ''Once Upon a Sign''. CJ produced the International Sign Language Theater Festival, which hosted theater artists from all over the world. He has also appeared in various episodes of American TV series. Jones created a Na'vi sign language for '' Avatar: The Way of Water,'' in which he plays a Na'vi.

Personal life

CJ Jones is the son of deaf parents who communicated in

American Sign Language American Sign Language (ASL) is a natural language that serves as the predominant sign language of Deaf communities in the United States and most of Anglophone Canadians, Anglophone Canada. ASL is a complete and organized visual language that i ...

. One of seven hearing children born to the couple, he lost his hearing at the age of 7 when he fell ill with

spinal meningitis Meningitis is acute or chronic inflammation of the protective membranes covering the brain and spinal cord, collectively called the meninges. The most common symptoms are fever, intense headache, vomiting and neck stiffness and occasionally ...

. He attended

Missouri School for the Deaf Missouri School for the Deaf (MSD) is a school in Fulton, Missouri Fulton is the largest city in and the county seat of Callaway County, Missouri, Callaway County, Missouri, United States. Located about northeast of Jefferson City, Missouri, Je ...

. Active in sports, he was voted class valedictorian. He remains active in deaf awareness causes and charities.

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Jones, CJ 1950 births Living people American male deaf actors American male film actors African-American male actors Male actors from St. Louis Deaf activists American activists with disabilities