Ron Cephas Jones, the Emmy-winning actor best known for playing William Hill on This Is Us, has passed away. He was 66. If you weren’t familiar with his name, you probably knew his face. Jones had groundbreaking roles on USA’s Mr. Robot (R.I.P. Romero), Netflix’s Luke Cage and NBC’s breakout hit show This Is Us.
A representative for the actor confirmed Jones’ death on Saturday: “Beloved and award-winning actor Ron Cephas Jones has passed away at the age of 66 due to a long-standing pulmonary issue.” “Throughout the course of his career, his warmth, beauty, generosity, kindness and heart were felt by anyone who had the good fortune of knowing him,” the statement continued. “He began his career at the Nuyorican Poets Cafe and his love for the stage was present throughout his entire career, including his recent Tony nominated and Drama Desk Award winning performance for his role in Clyde’s on Broadway.”
Both This Is Us and Jones are receiving critical-acclaim for the realness of his character and how he comes across on screen. But this was nothing new for the veteran veteran actor. He was a theater veteran and has had supporting roles in literally hundreds of your favorite shows.
In a 2017 interview, Jones explained how he was able to thrive in the business for so many years: “I start with what’s on the page and try not to get ahead of myself with what he should be feeling or what he should be doing and really staying in the present and focusing on what’s on the page,” confesses Jones. “And then of course, the dialogue among myself, the writer, and the director, trying to figure out where we want him to go, and his emotional arc and what-have-you.
From just my own experiences with friends and family members, I try to draw on what different people are going through with difficult health problems and in my own life, and all the family connections that could be exploring that and drawing on that. But mostly, waiting to see what the script offers, what the words tell you, that inevitably gets you to where you need to be.” His daughter, Jasmine Cephas Jones, is also an accomplished actor as she is currently on the ensemble cast for the record-breaking Broadway play, Hamilton.
