Shaw Jones Talks Career and New Off-Broadway Play "Wounded"
Shaw Jones doesn’t just act—he transforms. From the sci-fi drama of Proximity to the award-winning Blue, his performances pulse with the truer-than-life sheen of theater. His television career spans Star Trek: Picard, Your Honor, NCIS, and more, showcasing his versatility. Now, he takes the Off-Broadway stage in Wounded, adding to a theater resume that includes Assassins and No Place to Be Somebody.
With upcoming projects inspired by his boxing past and family’s struggles, Shaw’s storytelling remains deeply personal. Off-screen, he’s a devoted father and husband, proving that perseverance and truth create a lasting impact. Here, he opens up about the craft, the hustle, and the stories that fuel his journey.
When did you first realize acting was your calling at Southern Methodist University?
I feel like I always had the dream or an impulse to act in me, but I lacked the courage to do it. But while in college, I was studying psychology, and I decided to take an acting elective. I think I must’ve gotten some fairly good feedback, or I would never have done it again. I enjoyed it, so the next semester I took another acting class. That's the extent of my acting career in college. It showed me that I had a desire, and it was grounded in a real place inside me. I was also interested in human behavior, which is why I majored in psychology. I think that helped me a lot in my acting career. I enjoyed how I could relate to a character, how my personality could mesh with the character, and create an honest person.
Tell us a bit about “Wounded.” What drew you to this project?
A friend of mine came to me with it. After he’d read the play and looked at the other character, he immediately thought of me. Now I say this because I preach a lot about how the work that you do on other projects can lead to more work. If you work hard, if you show up prepared, if you give it everything you can, if you take direction well, it can create future opportunities. Because I had worked with this guy on another project and because I had done those things, he then thought of me for this. I trusted him, and I knew what kind of actor he was because he worked hard, too. So, I agreed to it without even reading it. I also liked broken, multifaceted characters, and this was a very broken character. This guy started on a positive path in life and then, because of the decisions he made, went downhill. He went down the path of addiction, and now he's coming out the other side of it. I feel like in my life I've had those ups and downs, like anybody does, and I love drawing on those emotions and those experiences. I had a teacher who once told me that you have to paint with all the colors of your palette, not just the bright ones. You've got to paint with the dark as well. So, I enjoyed it because that character had a lot of that.
How would you describe your character, and what aspects of their personality or journey resonated with you the most? How did you approach connecting with them on a deeper level?
Before every show, as uncomfortable as it is, I would look at the darkest times of my life. I’d just really focus on those times. I’d look at a memory in my mind down to very specific details. What was the other person wearing? Whether it was raining that night. When someone broke up with me. The deaths of my loved ones. Things like that. Because this guy has experienced all that, and it's very fresh and on in his journey. I wanted to have that “pot” of discomfort really boiling in me before going on stage—embarrassment, shame, regret, whatever.
How do you approach preparing for such diverse roles, like portraying Lee Harvey Oswald in "Assassins" or your character in "Wounded"? What helps you immerse yourself in each performance?
I studied Lee Harvey Oswald's life in a lot of detail. Not just his life around the time of the shooting, but also when he was a child, to see how he grew up and what kind of influences he had in his life. I did the same for Wounded. I found the town where the story is based in. I checked the population, what the weather is like, and how many people go to the schools. I looked up restaurants around there that he might have visited. All of it just to get an idea of where they’re actually coming from. That’s helpful to me to do before I start making up things.
Winning two Best Actor awards for "Blue" is a significant achievement. How did this recognition impact your career, and how did it influence your career as an actor?
I think the important thing is that it lets me see that if I approach a role and do the best job I can, then sometimes I get awards for it. It’s like that sort of acclaim can tell you that you’re doing something right, that I should be acting, that I'm on the right path. And then I take the energy from those awards or the experience, and I use it as fuel for the next project.
So far, which role has been your favorite and why?
I’m not sure about a role, but I can tell you one of my favorite experiences. I had a good time on It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia because they’re such a tight-knit group. Usually, on a show, they'll just have one or two guest stars, and I always got to be one of them. But in this case, I got to spend a lot of time with the core cast off set. I was kind of permitted into that amazing comical group for a day. We rode over in the same van together, sat in the tent together, and chatted for hours—things like that. Being around people who are so naturally funny was really fun. They were very inviting and welcomed me into the family, which felt really great.
Does being a husband and father affect your acting choices?
I don’t think it affects what I choose. If it's interesting to you, and it's going to be creative and further you as an artist, then go for it. Don't worry about what other people are going to think. That said, it does affect my overall life. I can connect to emotions in an honest way that I wasn’t able to do before being a husband or a father.
How does your approach differ between theater and film?
I’m not sure if it does. I think the only thing that differs is how I portray it to the audience. On the stage, I have to make sure that I'm in the light or that I'm facing the audience. They have to see me and feel the emotion coming from me in a bigger sense than when filming television. For the screen, I can bring it down a little bit. It's in the eyes, you know? It can be much smaller and more powerful. So, the preparation is the same, but the delivery is what’s different.
What has been your most memorable moment in a project?
I did a scene with Brian Cranston, and I was getting positive feedback on my performance from him while we were shooting it. That felt great and emboldened my confidence. He’s one of my heroes. So, to stand toe-to-toe with him and have him praise me and tell me that what I'm doing is great, and for me to keep going, that was a big win for me.
What key advice would you offer to young actors starting their journey?
I was watching an actor the other day—Walton Goggins. He said something, which was basically what I've been saying for years. And I don't know why it took me so long to get it, but it had taken him long, too. He said he always went into auditions, trying to please the people. And I used to do the same thing. Like, how do I think I should say the line? Or if I do this, will they think it’s overacting? If the script has an exclamation point, do I scream it? And since you don't know what they want, it leaves you in this state of confusion. You’re not making solid choices. But when I decided to do it the way Shaw would do it—the way I would approach the role—with the attitude that, if you hire me, this is what you're going to get, this is how I interpret it, this is how I'm going to portray it—that’s when I started working more. Yes, I can, of course, take direction and will. But upon first surmise of the character and what you've given me in the script, this is what you're going to get from me. And if I do that, I know that I've been honest. I know that I've given them my take on it. If they like it, great. If they don't, it's okay. Once I started just doing it in an honest way for myself, I started booking more jobs. I also started walking away from auditions and was able to move on.
What upcoming projects are you working on, and is there anything exciting on the horizon that your fans can look forward to?
I'm super excited about a short film that I've written based on a moment from my life. It deals with a young boy overcoming hardships, like bullying and not fitting in. It's a story about when I was boxing and my coach got me a fight at a maximum-security prison. And it’s also about a father and son, a 14-year-old who is trying to make sense of the world, who learns about it through boxing and learns about it most significantly on a certain night at a maximum-security prison.