Claim: Doug Jones has worked with Joss Whedon.

Doug Jones -LRB- born May 24 , 1960 -RRB- is an American actor and former contortionist known for roles in the science fiction , fantasy , and horror genres , often wearing heavy makeup to play nonhuman characters . He is perhaps best known for his collaborations with filmmaker Guillermo del Toro , starring in Mimic , as Abe Sapien in Hellboy and Hellboy II : The Golden Army , the Faun and the Pale Man in Pan 's Labyrinth , Crimson Peak and The Shape of Water . He has appeared in films such as Tank Girl , Hocus Pocus and The Bye Bye Man . He also portrayed the titular Silver Surfer in the superhero film Fantastic Four : Rise of the Silver Surfer , as well as appearing in the TV series Falling Skies , Buffy the Vampire Slayer and del Toro 's The Strain . He is currently a series regular in Star Trek : Discovery , as Lt. Saru .