Doug Jones talks creating a “sexy” monster in Shape of Water

Last Updated on August 2, 2021

THE SHAPE OF WATER is already earning rave reviews, with critics citing the beauty of the romance between a woman who cannot speak – played by Sally Hawkins – and an aquatic fishman – played by Guillermo del Toro mainstay Doug Jones. The man has been in numerous del Toro films, including as Fauno in PAN’S LABYRINTH and Abe Sapien in HELLBOY. He gets to play a vastly different role this time around, and Jones recently spoke about how del Toro was pushing hard for a “sexy” fishman.

While speaking with THR, Jones brought up how the director kept pushing him to make the aquatic, Amazonian being (known as The Asset) “sexy” to the point where it would be believable for someone to want to undress and get between the covers with the creature.  Even though anyone would be mad to turn down the sultry, cool allure of an amphibious mutant, the process of making him look attractive was years in the making:

A note Guillermo gave me, as far as [the Asset’s] physicality goes, he kept pushing the sexy. This character has to be sexy. When watching the film you have to believe that someone could actually fall in love with him and find him sexy and want to take their clothes off in his presence. So how do you create a monster who does that? The sculpting process, the developing this character’s look was years in the making. Guillermo enlisted the help of a fine artist who hadn’t done much in the movie world named Mike Hill who Guillermo had discovered at the trade show Monsterpalooza and a lot of Mike Hill’s pieces are now a part of Guillermo’s collection at Bleak House. Mike Hill was actually on set with us doing the finishing touches on my makeup everyday. He develop my colors and my shapes and my silhouette that became this sexy and beautiful creature.

Jones points out that classic monster movies always had a certain sensual allure, with creatures like Dracula and The Creature From the Black Lagoon being drawn to attractive damsels. Only in SHAPE OF WATER, del Toro made sure to let Jones known that, this time, the monster was going to actually get to seal the deal:

When I asked him why this time does it need to involved full-frontal nudity, I mean we’re going for it, and he harkened back to the Creature from the Black Lagoon and Frankenstein and any of the classic monster movies that helped develop his love of monsters. There was always a romantic side to these characters and relationships on film that never got actualized all the way. Guillermo said this time, the monster’s going to actually fuck the girl. [Laughs] A gentler way to say it is that this is the creature from the wet, black lagoon who actually gets the girl this time.

THE SHAPE OF WATER is – ahem – shaping up to be a unique love story, and an R-rated one at that. I’m sure plenty of people watching the trailers are left wondering, “So, uh, is she going to f@ck that thing or not?” Clearly the answer is yes, so if you weren’t enticed with seeing the movie already then perhaps the idea of seeing a woman and a sexy fish thing get down will earn your money. I’m not saying I would have do it with a fish creature, but if this movie makes that a popular thing then…I mean…I…I have an open mind, is what I'm trying to say.

THE SHAPE OF WATER gets busy December 8.