Toby Jones' ever-shifting life

You know, the one that came out after Philip Seymour Hoffman won the best actor Oscar for his performance as the "In Cold Blood" writer.

"No one ever believes me, but there was nothing disappointing about it at all," says Jones, who played Truman Capote in 2006's underrated "Infamous." "I'd been doing a lot of really good theater in London, and the idea of leading a film in England, let alone America, was not on my radar. So going over and acting in such a remarkable script with such an incredible cast -- at the risk of over-incrediblizing all of this -- there's no way I could be disappointed about it."

Given the spate of roles Jones has landed since, his optimism is quite apropos. Between now and the end of the year, Jones will appear in three highly anticipated films: "City of Ember" on Friday, "W." on Oct. 17 and "Frost/Nixon" on Dec. 5.

Previously, the London-born, Oxford-raised son of two actors lent his talents to films including 2002's "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets," 2004's "Finding Neverland," 2006's "The Painted Veil" and 2007's "The Mist." "I get mail about ['Harry Potter'] every other week," says Jones. "Because the character I voiced, Dobby, bangs his head against walls and punishes himself for various sins, I've had a couple [of letters] from S&M enthusiasts as well. It's neat to have that broad a church enjoying my voice work."

"City of Ember," based on the middle-reader book by Jeanne DuPrau, should appeal to a much tamer demographic. In the post-apocalyptic drama set in a crumbling underground metropolis, Jones adds mild menace as the chief henchman of the gluttonous mayor, played by Bill Murray. In the face of these bureaucratic foes, two youngsters (Harry Treadaway and Saoirse Ronan) attempt to escape the city's walls before the power generator fails and humanity perishes.

The elaborate steampunk set was built inside of the Harland and Wolff shipyard in Belfast, Northern Ireland. "The entire world of Ember was created in the hangar that they built the Titanic in," says Jones. "It was amazing."

Other true-life figures

JONES played a henchman of a different sort, Karl Rove, in Oliver Stone's biopic "W." "It's rare to get the opportunity to play someone who, even as you act it, is being loathed so much," says Jones.