# Ron Cephas Jones

Ron Cephas Jones (/ˈsiːfəs/; January 8, 1957 – August 19, 2023) was an American actor, best known for his role as William Hill in the drama series This Is Us (2016–2022), which earned him a Screen Actors Guild Award; along with four consecutive Primetime Emmy Award nominations, winning twice for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series in 2018 and 2020.
Jones appeared in television series such as Mr. Robot (2015–2016), The Get Down (2016–2017), Luke Cage (2016–2018), and Truth Be Told (2019–2023). He also appeared in a number of films, including Half Nelson (2006), Across the Universe (2007), Glass Chin (2014), The Holiday Calendar (2018), Dog Days (2018), and Dolemite Is My Name (2019).
In 2022, he was nominated for Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Play at the 75th Tony Awards, for his performance in the Broadway play Clyde's.

## Early life and education

Ron Cephas Jones, who was of African American heritage, was born on January 8, 1957.
He grew up in Paterson, New Jersey. He attended John F. Kennedy High School and then Ramapo College. While at Ramapo, Jones had originally intended to study jazz under director Arnold Jones (no relation), but changed majors to theater after getting the lead in a production of Cinderella Ever After his sophomore year. He graduated from Ramapo in 1978.
After graduation he moved to Los Angeles, California and drove a bus for the Southern California Rapid Transit District for the following four years. He then moved around for some years, living in San Francisco, Arizona, and New Orleans, before returning to New York City in 1985.

## Career

After returning to New York in 1985, Jones began spending time at the Nuyorican Poets Café in Manhattan's East Village. During that time, he performed in a play based on the Billie Holiday song "Don't Explain". His performance caught the attention of a casting director, which led to Jones being offered the lead role in the Tazewell Thompson production of the Cheryl West play Holiday Heart in 1994. Jones performed in several theatrical productions with the Steppenwolf Theatre Company in Chicago, Illinois; appeared as the title character of Shakespeare's Richard III with The Public Theater in New York City, New York, as well as other Off Broadway productions. Jones served as an understudy or standby in several Broadway theatre productions. In 2014 Jones starred as Prometheus in Prometheus Bound directed by Travis Preston through the CalArts Center for New Performance. In 2022, he received a Tony Award nomination for his role in the Lynn Nottage play Clyde's.
His film credits include He Got Game (1998), Sweet and Lowdown (1999), Half Nelson (2006), and Across The Universe (2007). In television, he appeared as Reverend Lowdown in the episode "The Goat Rodeo" of the 2013 television series Low Winter Sun and he played Romero, a member of "fsociety" in the 2015 television series Mr. Robot. He also appeared on season 3 of the show Banshee as Philadelphia kingpin Mr. Frazier. He played Harlem chess master Bobby Fish in season 1 of Marvel's Luke Cage. Jones appeared on the NBC drama series This Is Us as William Hill, the biological father of Randall Pearson (Sterling K. Brown). Jones received critical acclaim for his performance on This Is Us and received a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series in 2018 and 2020 for his performance.
Jones appeared in the Hulu teen drama series Looking for Alaska, as well as the Apple TV+ crime drama series Truth Be Told, opposite Octavia Spencer, Lizzy Caplan and Aaron Paul.

## Personal life

Jones and British-born jazz singer Kim Lesley had a daughter, actress Jasmine Cephas Jones (born 1989).

## Death

Jones had chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and underwent a double lung transplant in 2020. He died on August 19, 2023, at the age of 66, from what his agent termed "a long-standing pulmonary issue".

## Filmography
### Film

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1994 | Murder Magic | Buddy Dixon | |
| 1996 | Naked Acts | Joel | |
| 1998 | He Got Game | Prison Guard Bowell | |
| 1999 | A Day in Black and White | Mustafa | |
| 1999 | Sweet and Lowdown | Alvin | |
| 2001 | Little Senegal | Westley | |
| 2002 | Paid in Full | Ice | |
| 2004 | Anonymous | Frank | Short film |
| 2004 | The Ballad of Pinto Red | Earl House | Short film |
| 2005 | Preaching to the Choir | Pug | |
| 2006 | Half Nelson | Lloyd Dickson | |
| 2007 | Across the Universe | Black Panther | |
| 2010 | Ashes | Floyd | |
| 2012 | Watching TV with the Red Chinese | Little | |
| 2013 | Titus | Titus | |
| 2014 | Glass Chin | Ray Ellington | |
| 2014 | National Theatre Live: Of Mice and Men | Crooks | |
| 2018 | Dog Days | Walter | |
| 2018 | Venom | Jack | Uncredited |
| 2018 | The Holiday Calendar | Gramps | |
| 2019 | Dolemite Is My Name | Ricco | |

### Television

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1996 | Law & Order | Frank Doyle | Episode: "Slave" |
| 1996 | New York Undercover | James Farris | Episode: "Blue Boy" |
| 1997 | NYPD Blue | Jess | Episode: "All‘s Well That Ends Well" |
| 1997 | Law & Order | Roland Books | Episode: "Entrapment" |
| 1999 | Double Platinum | Jean Claude | Television film |
| 2003 | Word of Honor | Ramon Detonq | Television film |
| 2006 | Law & Order: Criminal Intent | Reggie Banks | Episode: "Dramma Giocoso" |
| 2008 | A Raisin in the Sun | Willy Harris | Television film |
| 2012 | NYC 22 | Arthur Anson | Episode: "Schooled" |
| 2013 | Low Winter Sun | Reverend Lowdown | 3 episodes |
| 2014 | The Blacklist | Dr. James Covington | Episode: "Dr. James Covington (No. 89)" |
| 2015 | Banshee | Frazier | 2 episodes |
| 2015–2016 | Mr. Robot | Romero | 8 episodes |
| 2016–2017 | The Get Down | Winston Kipling | 5 episodes |
| 2016–2018 | Luke Cage | Bobby Fish | 13 episodes |
| 2016–2022 | This Is Us | William "Shakespeare" Hill | Main (season 1), recurring (seasons 2–6); 31 episodes |
| 2019 | Looking for Alaska | Dr. Hyde | 8 episodes |
| 2019–2023 | Truth Be Told | Leander "Shreve" Scoville | 28 episodes |
| 2021 | Amphibia | Captain Aldo (voice) | Episode: "Barrel's Warhammer" |
| 2021 | Lisey's Story | Professor Dashmiel | Miniseries |
| 2021–2022 | Law & Order: Organized Crime | Congressman Leon Kilbride | Recurring (season 2); 8 episodes |
| 2022 | Better Things | Ron | Recurring (season 5); 3 episodes |
| 2024 | Genius: MLK/X | Elijah Muhammad | Main role; posthumous release |

### Video games

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 2018 | Madden NFL 19 | Earl Coates | Story mode, "Longshot Homecoming" |

## Awards and nominations

| Year | Award | Category | Project | Result |
| 2017 | Gold Derby Awards | Best Drama Supporting Actor | This Is Us | Nominated |
| 2017 | Black Reel Awards for Television | Outstanding Supporting Actor, Drama Series | This Is Us | Won |
| 2017 | Primetime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series | This Is Us | Nominated |
| 2017 | OFTA Television Awards | Best Supporting Actor in a Drama Series | This Is Us | Nominated |
| 2018 | Screen Actors Guild Award | Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series | This Is Us | Won |
| 2018 | Gold Derby Awards | Best Drama Guest Actor | This Is Us | Nominated |
| 2018 | Black Reel Awards for Television | Outstanding Guest Actor, Drama Series | This Is Us | Won |
| 2018 | Primetime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series | This Is Us | Won |
| 2019 | Primetime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series | This Is Us | Nominated |
| 2020 | Primetime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series | This Is Us | Won |
| 2022 | Tony Awards | Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Play | Clyde's | Nominated |
| 2022 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Featured Actor in a Play | Clyde's | Won |
| 2024 | Critics' Choice Awards | Best Supporting Actor in a Drama Series | Truth Be Told | Nominated |