Award-winning actor Doug Jones made an appearance on Monday at the San Luis Obispo International Film Festival.
His red carpet moment came just before a screening of his new film “The Strawberry,” which was shot entirely in Cambria and stars Mike Farrell.
Jones is best known for portraying non-human characters under heavy prosthetics. Some of his most iconic roles include the Amphibian Man in the Oscar-winning film “The Shape of Water” and Saru in “Star Trek: Discovery.”
His role as Dr. Johnson in “The Strawberry” is a deviation from his usual performances in horror, fantasy, and sci-fi films.
Jones described his new movie as a quiet family drama and told KSBY that’s actually the type of film he prefers to watch himself.
“Being in a movie like ‘The Strawberry’ for me is quite special,” Jones said, “In a story that has quite a heavy subject matter to it, that’s a great conversation starter… I’m happy to be a part of that.”
“The Strawberry” is a true-to-life story based on screenwriter Steve Brody’s last months with his father, who chose to end his life after a terminal diagnosis.
Brody is a clinical psychologist and writer living in Cambria.
“His [Brody’s] connection to the material was so incredibly personal and so thorough,” said Jones, “Every layer of every feeling and emotion that surrounds this issue was tackled and handled with such great care.”
“The Strawberry” was directed by Cambria natives Kyle and Carlos Plummer, marking their debut feature film.
The brothers run the Central Coast Film Society, which is a nonprofit connecting local filmmakers with networking opportunities, resources, and potential funding.
The Plummers say the film was produced by a local crew. The team consisted of 15 to 20 people at any given time, and all were from San Luis Obispo or Santa Barbara Counties.
“We take a lot of pride in the fact that this is sort of a calling card for the kind of productions we can do here in the future,” said Kyle Plummer.
Eric Plummer told KSBY that the production brought a sense of unity, describing it as a “hometown experience.”
“Even bringing actors like Mike Farrell and Doug Jones on board, they got to experience that kind of small-town hospitality that really brought the whole team alive.”
Jones said when he heard the film was being shot in Cambria, he told the producers, “I don’t care if you put me in the movie as a mailman, I want to be in it because my wife and I like to vacation in Cambria.”
He said that any time they get enough days off, they pay a visit to the coastal community.