Orlando Jones, with almost a dozen movie credits in the last three years, as well as a new nightly late-night talk show which premiered this June, is easily one of the industry's busiest talents. The South Carolina native, who made his feature film acting debut in
Barry Levinson's acclaimed drama
Liberty Heights, most recently starred opposite
Laurence Fishburne Biker Boyz, directed by
Reggie Rock Bythewood. Keeping busy before
Biker Boyz hit the big screen, Jones captured the screen in Charles Stone's
Drumline as the stern and disciplined band director at a Southern university who pushes a cocky, young street drummer from Harlem (
Nick Cannon) to realize his potential; opposite
Guy Pearce in
The Time Machine; and as geology professor Harry Block in
Ivan Reitman's
Evolution with
David Duchovny, and
Julianne Moore. Additionally, Jones has starred in such films as the football comedy
The Replacements with
Gene Hackman and
Keanu Reeves, the
Harold Ramis-directed
Bedazzled,
Say It Isn't So with
Heather Graham,
Chris Klein, and
Sally Field, and the caper comedy
Double Take opposite
Eddie Griffin. His scene-stealing performances in the sleeper hit
Office Space woke up national audiences to the comedic talent that he brings to the screen, but it would soon become clear that the laughter this young talent evokes is only scratching the surface of his repertoire.
Jones got his start in the entertainment business as a writer on NBC's A Different World. From there, he went on to produce and write for Fox Broadcasting Company's Roc Live and Sinbad; and not long after, Jones made the inevitable jump to the other side of the camera as part of the original cast on the Fox sketch comedy series, Mad TV in which he spent two seasons.
Now Jones is poised to draw from his experiences in front of and behind the camera with the creation of his own nightly late night talk/variety series. The Orlando Jones Show premiered on the F/X Network this June. Not the traditional guy behind the desk, but rather a focus on Jones's strengths as a performer and writer, the show also features a blend of live interviews, sketch comedy, animation and the best in live music. Dallas Austin, who has produced hit albums for Madonna, TLC, Boyz II Men and Michael Jackson, is the musical producer for The Orlando Jones Show, and the show feature a wide array of musical artists.
