Jones was born in Indianapolis, Indiana. After attending Bishop Chatard High School, he headed off to Ball State University, where he graduated in 1982 with a Bachelor's degree in Telecommunications, and a minor in Theatre. He learned mime at school, joining a troupe called "Mime Over Matter". Also during his stay at BSU, he portrayed the school mascot "Charlie Cardinal". Jones has also worked as a contortionist. "You’d be surprised how many times that comes into play in commercials. They’ll want somebody to hold a box of Tide funny or something. I once squished into a box for a commercial for relaxed fit jeans".

After a hitch in theatre in Indiana, he moved to Los Angeles in 1985, and has not been out of work since - he's acted in over 25 films, many television series (including the award-winning Buffy the Vampire Slayer, his episode 'Hush' garnering two Emmy nominations), over 90 commercials, and music videos with artists such as Madonna, Red Hot Chili Peppers, and Marilyn Manson.

Although known mostly for his work under prosthetic makeup, such as the floppy zombie 'Billy' in the Halloween film Hocus Pocus, or the lead Spy Morlock in the 2002 remake of The Time Machine, he has also performed without prosthetics in such acclaimed films as Adaptation, Mystery Men and Batman Returns , and indie projects such as Stefan Haves' Stalled, Phil Donlon's A Series of Small Things, and as 'Cesare' in David Fisher's 2005 remake of the 1919 silent classic The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari. His performance as Abe Sapien in Hellboy, which stormed to the top of the U.S. box office in the spring of 2004, brought him an even higher profile and much praise from audiences and critics alike. Working in rubber suits and prosthetics is always a challenge but a part of the job description as he notes "I have to make that a part of my being and my physicality and again, acting is a full body experience and that's a part of it when you're doing a costumed character."

In 2005, he renewed his association with Mexican director Guillermo del Toro when he starred in the title role of the Faun in del Toro's multi-Oscar-winning Spanish language fantasy/horror project El Laberinto del Fauno (Pan's Labyrinth). He also has a secondary role in the film as 'The Pale Man', a gruesome creature with a penchant for eating children. Working once more under heavy prosthetics in both roles, he was also required to learn huge chunks of dialogue in Spanish (though ultimately Jones' voice was redubbed).

The year also brought success for The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, the film reaping three awards at the Screamfest Horror Festival in Los Angeles, including the coveted Audience Choice Award. 2006 was also a hectic year for the actor, with roles in The Benchwarmers and Lady in the Water. Jones has continued his collaboration with del Toro into 2006, as he reprised his role as Abe Sapien by voicing the character in the new Hellboy Animated television project, recording two 75-minute animated films.

On December 18, 2006, he finished filming his role as the Silver Surfer in the Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, which was released to cinemas in June 2007. He is also reprising his role as Abe Sapien in the sequel to Hellboy, Hellboy 2: The Golden Army, currently filming in Budapest and once more under the direction of Guillermo del Toro. He will also be playing two other roles in the film: the Angel of Death and The Chamberlain, both under heavy prosthetics.

Recently, his likeness was used for an Nvidia tech demo.

Jones has an abiding interest in independent film production and is also a singer-songwriter. He is married and lives in California. He is also a Christian, speaking at many youth gatherings and festivals concerning spirituality and creativity.

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