The Observer profile: Duncan Jones - creating his own space odyssey | Film | The Guardian Share on Messenger Close Many fathers are eager to hand the family business down to their sons and Duncan Jones's dad was no exception. He wanted his son to become a rock star, or a musician of some description, but instead Jones has grown up to be a film director and his highly accomplished - and perfectly timed - debut feature, Moon , went on general release on Friday. David Bowie , for he is the father, can blame his son's career choice on his own love affair with cinema. The glam rock star made his first major appearance as an actor in Nic Roeg's The Man Who Fell to Earth in 1976, when Duncan was five. At home in Kent, where Jones spent his early years, father and son would play around with cameras and make stop-motion animations using Star Wars figurines. Later, Jones witnessed the real thing, hanging out with his father on the sets of films such as Labyrinth and getting a sneak preview of his future profession.

Once you've clocked that his father once sang about Martian spiders and floating around space in tin cans, you can understand a little better why Jones, who is 38, has a deep-rooted passion for science fiction. Moon, based on an original story by Jones, is the result of many hours spent reading the mind-bending works of Philip K Dick and watching contemplative extraterrestrial classics such as 2001: A Space Odyssey and Outland The film is set in a not-so-distant future - the moon can be manned on a permanent basis and Sam Bell is the caretaker of a lonely mining station on its dark side. As his three-year shift draws to an end and he prepares to return to his young family on Earth, Bell begins to have disturbing visions that send his understanding of his job and, ultimately, his own identity into metaphysical meltdown. Bell is played by the excellent Sam Rockwell. His companion, the talking computer system Gerty, a close relative of Hal from 2001, is voiced by Kevin Spacey.

To a genre in thrall to relentless action and thunderous explosions, Jones reintroduces a welcome sense of quiet, or disquiet, and a plot that prompts audiences to think rather than merely to react. The action in Moon is largely psychological, but that's not to say that the film doesn't deliver the visual goods. Considering Jones and his team were working with £2.6m, a minuscule budget for a sci-fi movie, and using old-fashioned models manipulated by catgut instead of expensive, computer-generated effects, their finished product looks startlingly good. It's a smart bit of scheduling that the film has come out on the very weekend of the 40th anniversary of the first manned moon landings, but Moon is also topical in other ways. An updated version of such classic ecological sci-fi pictures as Silent Running, it addresses the need for clean fuel sources at a time when dirty energy is a burning issue. The American corporation that Bell works for is mining Helium-3, a source of clean energy that really does exist on the moon and which Jones believes is "the only financially viable reason to go" there.

(That the corporation turns out to be exploitative only makes the film more relevant.) Trudie Styler, whose production company, Xingu Films, helped raise extra money for Moon, hopes that the film will appeal to people who'd usually give sci-fi a wide berth. And she has nothing but good things to say about its director, whom she has known for seven years. "If I were a betting person, I'd bet heavily that he's going to go all the way to the top," she told the Observer Jones's future didn't always look so bankable. Money, connections and media attention can be a gift for a young scion seeking to outshine his or her famous parent, but they can also be a curse and some, like Jones, go to great lengths to avoid them. "I saw the drawbacks of fame as a kid," he has said. "I think if you're young and you're being compared with a successful family member, it's really hard to maintain any sense of self-worth and credibility." His path to Moon, which he made without any financial support from his father, was anything but straightforward.

Jones was born in 1971 and, until now, he has perhaps been best known for his middle name which, notoriously, rendered him Zowie Bowie, a feast for any playground predator. Wisely, he adapted it to Joey and at 19 he reverted to the more robust name on his passport, which has helped him conceal his celebrity ties for most of his adult life. David Bowie's fame was in the ascendant in 1971 but his marriage to Duncan's mother, Angie, was falling apart and a divorce was officially granted when Jones was nine. He hasn't seen his mother since he was 13. His childhood was spent with his father, which meant living all over the world, and frequently joining his father on tour. At 13, he went to Gordonstoun, the Scottish boarding school, a miserable experience for this shy, bookish young man who now cheerfully refers to himself as a "geek". He was expelled for sleeping through his A-levels - he says he was too stressed to cope with them - and without qualifications he went to London, where he worked for six months at Jim Henson's Creature Shop.

After a stint counselling children with learning difficulties in Switzerland, he moved to the US and returned to academia. He won a scholarship to read philosophy at a college in rural Ohio. An ill-fated romance drew him to Vanderbilt University, where he began a PhD, but he quit after breaking up with his girlfriend. (Romantic complications also permeated the Moon shoot, during which he was trying, like his lead character, to sustain a difficult long-term relationship. "Girls seem to get me in trouble a lot of times," he says.) Finally, he put his love of cinema into practice and enrolled at the London International Film School, but there was still some way to go before this self-confessed "eternal student" took on a major project of his own. He served his apprenticeship under Tony Scott on a TV version of The Hunger and applied what he'd learnt to a short film called Whistle in 2002. At Scott's advice, he went into advertising and worked on commercials for McCain oven chips and Heinz ketchup. A commercial he directed for French Connection was dubbed the "kung-fu lesbian advert". At last he was ready to take the leap and direct a feature.

"I'm glad I've waited until now, to be honest," says Jones. "I was a bit of a delicate flower growing up and I think it could have damaged me if I tried to do it any younger." He devised the story for Moon with Sam Rockwell in mind and Nathan Parker, son of film director Alan, wrote the screenplay. It was shot at Shepperton Studios in just 33 days. When Moon had its premiere at the Sundance Film Festival, David Bowie flew in unannounced to see the fruit of his son's labours. "It was quite emotional for both of us," Jones said afterwards, "because he's been waiting for me to get off my arse and do what it is that I'm going to do with my life. At the Q&A afterwards, I thanked him and said that I really appreciated that he gave me the time to work out what I wanted to do, because it's taken me a while." Moon was warmly received at Sundance, hailed as "one of the most original sci-fi films in years". At the Edinburgh International Film Festival last month, it won the Michael Powell award for best British debut.

"I'm real proud of it," Sam Rockwell told the Observer recently, adding: "I just think Duncan was born to do this. I'd really like to work with him again." He describes Jones as "affable, a little shy, and kind of childlike, but really sharp. There are a lot of assholes in this business so it's nice to meet somebody who is courteous and thoughtful and sensitive. You don't get that a lot." Jones sometimes gives the impression that he profoundly regrets having to relinquish his hard-won anonymity, but Styler insists he can be quite an extrovert. "I actually think that he's really blossoming and taking the stage himself now. In a way, it's been wonderful for him." "He's having some fun," Rockwell agrees. "I think it's good for him because I don't think he has been comfortable in the limelight, probably because of his father. Now it's about him. The success of this film has nothing to do with his dad. It's all him. It's his baby." "I hope, by the second or the third film, who my father is won't be a story anyone's interested in," Jones has said.

He won't have to wait long to find out. Another sci-fi film, Mute, which he describes as "my love letter to Blade Runner", is already in development and will be filmed in Berlin. His third film is expected to be Escape From the Deep, a Second World War submarine thriller based on a true story. "Eventually I'm going to be judged purely on my own merits," Jones says. If the impact he has already made with his debut feature is anything to go by, it looks as though Duncan Jones can stop worrying about his father's legacy right now. The Jones lowdown Born: Beckenham, Kent, on 30 May 1971 to David Bowie and his first wife, Angie, who Bowie divorced in 1980. He attended Gordonstoun and university in the US and graduated from the London International Film School in 2001. Best of times: Right now: his directorial debut, Moon, has won many plaudits, and the Michael Powell award for the best new British feature at the Edinburgh International Film Festival last month.

Worst of times: Getting kicked out of Gordonstoun without A-levels and drifting aimlessly through his twenties, strained by the pressure to emulate his father's success: "I was angry and frustrated when I was younger and didn't know my place in the world." What he says: "I was massively geeky. I was never the kid who would have been invited to that [celebrity] stuff - I was painfully shy and not comfortable around that crowd. You would never have seen me on any party scene, which is probably what made me able to disappear, in a way, because the tabloids had nothing to follow. I didn't do anything." What they say: "It's nice to work with directors who have a good bedside manner. I think he was born to do this. I think he's really got a future. And he's smart. He took an interest in what I was interested in. For a young director, he has a great curiosity and that's key if you're a beginner." Actor Sam Rockwell. Duncan Jones (Director) - Bio, Facts, Family | Famous Birthdays Gemini Director#2 About Director of the acclaimed science fiction films Moon and Source Code.

He is the son of rock icon David Bowie and Bowie's first wife Mary Angela Barnett . Before Fame His birth inspired his father to write the song "Kooks," which is included on the 1971 album Hunky Dory. Trivia In 2013, it was announced that he would direct the 2016 film Warcraft, based on the popular video game franchise. Family Life He spontaneously married photographer Rodene Ronquillo in 2012 on the day she was diagnosed with breast cancer. Who is Duncan Jones? All you need to know about David Bowie's film director son Who is Duncan Jones?

All you need to know about David Bowie's film director son By Toyin Owoseje January 12, 2016 13:24 GMT Director Duncan Jones and father David Bowie attend the premiere of 'Moon' during the 2009 Tribeca Film Festival at BMCC Tribeca Performing Arts Center on April 30, 2009 in New York CityGetty Hours after reports of David Bowie's death began circulating online, his son, Duncan Jones took to social media to confirm the heart-breaking news of the rock legend's passing following a secret 18-month battle with cancer. The 44-year-old film director, who once went by the name Zowie Bowie, led tributes to the icon whom he called 'dad' by sharing a vintage snap of the two from his childhood. The poignant black-and-white photo showed Jones on his father's shoulder as the pair enjoyed some father and son time. Although the years have passed since that image was captured, it is safe to say that Jones remained close to his superstar father right up to his death. Bowie was awarded custody of his nine-year-old son following his divorce from his first wife Angie Bowie back in 1980.

Having grown up in England, at age 14, Jones attended the Scottish boarding school Gordonstoun. In 1992, he served as the best man at his father's wedding to supermodel Iman. According to the New York Times, he reverted back to his original name when he turned 18. It has been suggested that he did so hoping to be taken more seriously as a film director. Estranged from mother According to his estranged mother Angie Bowie, who is currently competing in the latest series of Celebrity Big Brother, she has not spoken to her son for years after his late father allegedly turned him against her following their bitter divorce during his childhood. "I don't see him at all, he doesn't like me. But my daughter [from former boyfriend, Andrew Lipka] likes me," she said in a candid conversation about the lack of relationship with her son. "I guess David told him not to [talk to me]. It does seem odd." Angie BowieTwitter Acclaimed director Jones is highly-regarded in the film world and has the awards and nominations to prove it.

In 2009 he was named best director at the London Film Critics Circle Awards and the following year he received the BAFTA for outstanding debut by a British writer, director or producer. Duncan Jones poses for photographers with his 2010 BAFTA for Outstanding Debut by a British Writer, Director or ProducerGetty Husband In June 2012, Jones announced his engagement to photographer Rodene Ronquillo and they tied the knot just five months later on 6 November. However, their celebrations were soon cut short after his wife was diagnosed with breast cancer on their big day. Luckily, doctors caught the cancer early and were able to treat it. Since the health scare the couple have been campaigning to raise awareness about the disease and for early diagnosis. Duncan Jones and wife Rodene RonquilloGetty Forthcoming projects Jones is currently directing the upcoming 2016 film adaptation of World of Warcraft, which is set for release in June 2016. The epic fantasy will star Paula Patton, Travis Fimmel and Daniel Wu. His film credits also include Moon (2009) and Source code (2011).

More about David Bowie Duncan Jones - Biography - IMDb Duncan Jones Jump to: Overview (3) | Mini Bio (1) | Spouse (1) | Trivia (12) | Personal Quotes (1) Overview (3) 5' 10" (1.78 m) Mini Bio (1) Duncan Jones was born on May 30, 1971 in Bromley, Kent, England as Duncan Zowie Haywood Jones. He is a director and writer, known for Moon (2009), Warcraft: The Beginning (2016) and Source Code (2011). He has been married to Rodene Ronquillo since November 6, 2012. They have one child. Spouse (1) ( 6 November 2012 - present) (1 child) Trivia (12) Half-brother of his father and Iman 's daughter, Alexandria Zahra Jones (born August 15th 2000). Went by the name "Joe" in his teens. Shares his middle name "Haywood" with his father and his grandfather (whose first name was "Haywod").

Is an avid gamer. Favourite movie is Blade Runner (1982). His birth prompted his father, David Bowie, to write the song "Kooks" for his 1971 album "Hunky Dory". Dreamt of becoming a professional wrestler, and his father; David Bowie, frequently praises what he called Duncan' "natural strength.". Became a father for the 1st time at age 45 when his wife Rodene Ronquillo gave birth to their son Stenton David Jones on July 10, 2016. Personal Quotes (1) [on making a movie based on a video game franchise] So the gauntlet was thrown down ages ago: Can you make a proper movie of a video game. I've always said it's possible. Got to do it now! See also Duncan Jones Biography (Filmmaker) Best known as: The director of the films Moon and Source Code Name at birth: Duncan Zowie Hayward Jones Filmmaker Duncan Jones studied philosophy and worked in advertising before making a name for himself as a novice film director at age 38, with the science fiction movie Moon.

Duncan Jones grew up being known publicly as Zowie Bowie -- Zowie being a middle name given to him by his father, rock star David Bowie . (Privately, Jones went by the name Joey.) After boarding school in Scotland, Jones went to Ohio's College of Wooster and earned a degree in philosophy in 1995. He entered a doctoral program in philosophy that same year at Tennessee's Vanderbilt University, but left in 1997 to study filmmaking at the London International Film School (now London Film School). Duncan Jones cut his teeth behind the camera working for filmmaker Tony Scott, then worked doing promotional and advertising videos, including a controversial 2006 campaign (known as "women kissing women") for the fashion company French Connection U.K. Duncan Jones made his feature film debut in 2009 with Moon, a lonesome-man-in-space drama starring Sam Rockwell (and the voice of Kevin Spacey ). Critics loved it and Jones won a BAFTA award for outstanding debut by a filmmaker.

His next movie was the 2011 sci-fi train thriller Source Code, starring Jake Gyllenhaal and Vera Farmiga , and he also directed the fantasy epic Warcraft (for release in 2016). Extra credit: Duncan Jones gets his last name from his father: David Bowie’s real name is David Robert Jones. Duncan Jones is the only child of Bowie and his first wife, the model Angela Barnett; they were married from 1970-80. Duncan has a half-sister, Alexandra (b. 2000), who is David Bowie’s daughter with his second wife, Iman … The Las Vegas band Zowie Bowie, fronted by singer Chris Phillips, is no relation to Duncan Jones or to David Bowie. Copyright © 1998-2017 by Who2?, LLC. All rights reserved.

Advertisement Advertisement Director Duncan Jones chats about his latest film, ‘Warcraft,’ and his father, David Bowie – The Mercury News June 13, 2016 at 8:09 am | UPDATED: September 21, 2016 at 11:57 pm When asked about his father, the late David Bowie, Duncan Jones politely parries the question. “He’s not in the movie,” says the director of “Warcraft,” the big-budget fantasy spectacle based on the longtime video game. Jones welcomes a visitor into a darkened room lit by spotlights on a soundstage at the Universal Studios lot. “Welcome to our moody cave,” says the bearded Jones, 45. Though his name may not immediately spark recognition, he directed two smart, well-received independent sci-fi pictures before “Warcraft” — 2009’s “Moon” and 2011’s “Source Code.” Born Duncan Zowie Haywood Jones, he is the son of the late rock star and his first wife, Angela. As a boy, he was known as Zowie Bowie, and he spent a lot of time traveling with his parents during his father’s concert tours.

Sons and daughters of the famous often find it difficult to stake out their own careers, but Jones is willing to talk a bit about the impact his father, who passed away in January, had on his career. “He gave me a lot of advice and a lot of inspiration as I was growing up,” says Jones. “One of the things that he definitely taught me was that element of fearlessness and bravery to just try the things you want to try, even if they’re unpredictable or don’t seem to follow the script.” Because of the potential costs, expectations and story issues, the challenge of diving into the adaptation of a video game undoubtedly required an element of fearlessness, but Jones has been a fan of Blizzard Entertainment’s “Warcraft” ever since it was released in 1994. “I don’t think that there are many opportunities to create a world on this scale,” says the director.

“So the chance to take this on and hopefully to imbue the characters with some sense of humanity felt like it was something that I wanted to try.” The film “Warcraft” tells of a fight for survival on the mythical world Azeroth, as the mostly humanlike peoples of the planet defend themselves against a horde of invading orcs, fearsome gargantuan creatures with tusks. The project took some 3﻿ 1/2 years for Jones to complete, but the idea for film spinoff of the game had been in development considerably longer than that. (Director Sam Raimi was attached at one point.) While the orcs might seem the obvious bad guys, the director — a longtime video gamer — saw it differently. To develop the story, Jones went back to the original “Warcraft” and then pitched an idea that did not simply make humans good and orcs bad. “I said, ‘Let’s try and allow the audience to empathize with both sides and really get to the humanity of all these creatures,’ ” says Jones.

“I (was) trying to make a film about a conflict where we can care about both sides and understand the perspective of both sides.” Even though Jones was bringing more intimate and emotional aspects to the fantasy film, he still had to oversee a giant production that required use of motion-capture technology from Industrial Light & Magic. To help bring the orcs to life, actors performed in sensor-dotted suits. “I was often battling a lot of guys with dots all over them,” says Travis Fimmel, who plays one of the film’s human heroes, Anduin Lothar. Not everything was CGI, though. The Australian actor, who stars in “Vikings,” on the History Channel, had to wear “big bulky armor” and “hair,” after arriving on the set with his head shaved from the TV series.

There were also a number of “tremendously crafted sets” on the huge soundstages where “Warcraft” was filmed in Vancouver, says Fimmel, who also appears in the recent movie comedy “Maggie’s Plan.” For “Warcraft,” Fimmel remembers doing a scene where he was supposed to be walking and talking with a character, even though that actor wasn’t present, and someone off-camera was shouting the character’s lines. “It’s weird to talk yourself,” says Fimmel, who praises Jones for staying calm during the shoot. “Duncan was so prepared. Every question you asked, he had the answer for,” says the actor. Jones says he’d noticed Fimmel’s keen sense of humor on “Vikings,” and that was one of the reasons he chose the actor for the Lothar role. “He is surprisingly adept with his comic timing.” Others in the cast include Paula Patton, who plays a half human and half orc, and Toby Kebbell as an orc leader who wants to fight honorably in the conflict. Kebbell had experience acting in a dotted suit for the role of Koba in “Dawn of the Planet of the Apes.” Jones developed his love for science fiction during childhood.

“I was a fan of Philip K. Dick growing up,” he says. “Because we traveled so much — whether it was literature or film or games — these were things that were portable, and I could take with me wherever we went.” His next film, “Mute,” will be smaller-scale, says Jones. He describes it as a sci-fi detective story with a “Blade Runner” vibe. Alexander Skarsgard and Paul Rudd have signed on. If “Warcraft” succeeds, Jones would relish the opportunity to keep telling more chapters of the story. He admires the career of Christopher Nolan, who began doing smaller films before taking on the Batman franchise, though Jones says he started his directing career later than most. “Three-and-a-half years is a lot of time to invest in any one project, but I’m glad I did it. I think we’ve created something pretty unique,” says Jones. “You asked me earlier why I would come off two independent science fiction films and do the big studio fantasy. It’s because it is it felt right,” he says. “Now I’m going to go back to do another independent science fiction film and try something very different on it that I’ve never done before.

“What I always loved about my dad was the fact that he was … brave in that way. Hopefully, that’s something that I’ve learned from him.” Tags: Film: Duncan Jones | Vanderbilt Magazine | Vanderbilt University Film: Duncan Jones Duncan Jones (left) and actor Sam Rockwell on the set of Moon Speaking by phone from Liberty Studios in London, 38-year-old former Vanderbilt student Duncan Jones seems unaffected by the flurry of media attention he’s receiving for his directorial debut, the science-fiction film Moon. Produced for $5 million (a mere pittance in the film industry), the thought-provoking thriller opened in American theaters in July to critical acclaim. It was named a best film at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival and earned “Best British Film” honors at the Edinburgh Film Festival. The son of glam-rock legend David Bowie, Jones didn’t find his current success by riding his famous father’s coattails. Once a shy, awkward teenager, he stayed clear of red carpets and nightclubs, instead occupying himself with books (science fiction among them) and with making stop-motion animated films.

Wishing to avoid comparison, he chose not to pursue his father’s line of work, instead earning a bachelor’s degree in philosophy from the College of Wooster in Ohio. To the surprise of friends and family, in the fall of 1995 he entered Vanderbilt’s philosophy Ph.D. program rather than return to England. He settled into campus life quickly, joining the rugby team and spending time with friends at local hangouts like San Antonio Taco Co. “I remember when I first came to Vanderbilt and thinking how huge it all seemed,” he says. “I took some fascinating courses through the philosophy department. In particular, I remember one on medical ethics that gave me some truly disturbing dilemmas to chew on. … I had an outstanding experience at Vanderbilt, but it was tough in that I was starting to see that I was being drawn toward film.” A trip to a film set to visit his father prompted a life-altering realization for Jones. “I had this kind of epiphany, that this was what I was supposed to be doing. This hobby of filmmaking from my childhood—this was what I should pursue.” I believe you are the sum of your experiences, so you need to experience as many things as you can.

Because of that, I think education is a gift that no one should pass up. ~Duncan Jones Jones left Vanderbilt in 1997 to study at The London Film School. In the years that followed, he worked as a cameraman and commercial director and took part in other aspects of the industry. Moon, partially funded by Trudie Styler, wife of rocker Sting, is his first feature, and critics are already predicting a successful future for the director. Jones’ interest in philosophy played a significant role in the writing and producing of Moon, he says. The movie focuses on a solitary astronaut (played by Sam Rockwell) serving out a three-year stint on a lunar space station, where he oversees the mining of helium-3, a vital source of energy back on Earth. “Moon is an unusual film in a lot of ways, and I’m quite sure that the philosophical underpinnings of the story were informed by many of the things I was studying during my time at Vanderbilt,” says Jones.

“I guess that’s part of the beauty of higher education—you never know when you are going to be able to draw from it.” Now the darling of the film-festival circuit with offers coming in to direct more features, Jones seems to have found his calling. But he hasn’t forgotten his passion for learning and the education that helped form who he is today. “It may have taken more than a decade to make my philosophy study pay for itself, but pay for itself it finally has,” he says. “It was an exceedingly circuitous route, but … I believe you are the sum of your experiences, so you need to experience as many things as you can. Because of that, I think education is a gift that no one should pass up.” David Bowie's son Duncan Jones: 'I've never needed to use my father's name' | Daily Mail Online He is a blockbuster movie director in his own right – which is why he’s never given a full account about growing up with his father. Until now... 'In many ways it was an incredible childhood. We travelled all over the world,' said Duncan Jones When Bafta-winning film director Duncan Jones was a little boy, his dad tried, tried and tried again to get him excited about music.

His father is David Bowie, so Jones’s musical genes must be first-rate. ‘He really, really wanted me to learn an instrument,’ says Bowie’s son. ‘He tried to get me to learn the drums but I didn’t want to. The saxophone? No. Piano? No. Guitar – no thanks! Bless him. He kept on trying and nothing was happening. Nothing would take. I don’t know if subconsciously there was some reaction going on; if there was something in me that didn’t want to learn an instrument – because I couldn’t have been that incompetent! He’d say, “You have to practise…” and I was like, “But I don’t want to practise…” It didn’t interest me so it wasn’t going to happen.’ Stubborn resistance to his legendary father’s vocation didn’t stop there. Aged 11, Duncan Zowie Haywood Jones (Bowie’s real surname) changed his name to his nickname ‘Joe’ before, aged 18, settling on his resolutely ordinary first name, Duncan. It doesn’t require a therapist to observe that Jones has determinedly avoided trading on his heritage.

‘I’ve certainly never used my father’s name as a way of getting a meeting,’ says Jones. ‘And fortunately, I’ve never needed to…’ That said, Jones clearly adores his dad and throughout our interview he talks of him with genuine affection, sharing anecdotes of a unique childhood spent loitering in the wings of vast stadia, while his father defined the musical tastes of a generation. But Jones is not, and never wanted to be, Bowie Mark II. Music wasn’t his passion – film-making is. And it is testimony to Bowie that he nurtured and supported his son, helping him find his own creative path through life. 'Often I'd sit around being bored backstage at a concert': Duncan on life with dad David Bowie It paid off. At 40, Jones is the hottest director in Hollywood, thanks to two sci-fi films. The first is his award-winning debut, Moon, a tiny £3 million-budget, exquisitely shot, nightmarish tale of an astronaut on the last days of his mining mission. The Bafta Jones received for Moon provided the perfect calling card to major Hollywood studios, swiftly resulting in the critically acclaimed Source Code.

Starring Jake Gyllenhaal, to date the £19m film has grossed more than £75m worldwide. At first glance, you wouldn’t mark Jones as a player. He slips through the reception area of the plush, discreet and trendy London hotel where we meet without attracting a second glance. His ensemble – brown stubble, dishevelled light blond hair, scruffy jeans, a T-shirt emblazoned with the iconic anti-hero Sid Vicious – shouts ‘geek’ rather than Hollywood power broker, and there isn’t any immediate physical similarity with his father. Indeed, there are times when I have to remind myself how easily Jones could have been a selfish, spoilt rock brat rather than the down-to-earth, affable man who settles back into his chair and politely orders a coffee. ‘Well, thank you. I think...’ he laughs when I compliment him on his seemingly well-adjusted outlook. ‘I don’t know why but for whatever reason that side of life – the celebrity and the spectacle – has never interested me. I love my work but I don’t like being in the spotlight.

I was never going to be an actor, that’s for sure.’ Performing centre-stage to anthems like Diamond Dogs and Starman was always the proclivity of his father, while Jones prefers to observe: either behind the lens directing (today) or watching from the wings (back then). 'I love my work but I don't like being in the spotlight. I was never going to be an actor' ‘That’s where I feel completely at home,’ he says. ‘You know, it was work. Dad was working. And it was like any kid going to watch his dad at work, no matter what they do. We were just waiting for the concert to be over so we could go home. I could hear the noise up front but I’d spend most of my time hanging out with the roadies and playing with them. You know those big crash cases that they put the equipment in? Big, thick metal boxes with foam padding – well, I’d stand inside one of them and get the roadies to push me around like I was in a go-kart. ‘In many ways it was an incredible childhood. We travelled all over the world and we got to do some amazing things.

'I remember one time going to see a sumo wrestling show in Japan when I was a little kid and being amazed. There were a lot of unique things that I got to do and not a lot of people get to experience things like that. And I treasure those memories. But often I’d sit around being bored backstage at a concert.’ The one negative from accompanying Bowie on tour, Jones confesses, is his discomfort being photographed. ‘That dislike of being photographed stems from my childhood. There were always photographers everywhere and a big reaction that came when anyone tried to take a picture of me. It was like: “Hide him!” I was really uncomfortable with it. ‘Every night when we’d leave a concert I can remember the big hullabaloo – security guards and me being whisked into the car before my dad came out separately so that they couldn’t get a picture of us together. The woman who was looking after me would have her arms wrapped around my head so that they couldn’t get my picture. It was a big event just to get in the car and go home at the end of the day. It obviously affected me. ‘I’m much better now but it took me a while to get used to it.

Fortunately my girlfriend Rodene Ronquillo is a photographer so she is slowly desensitising me.’ The critically acclaimed Source Code, starring Jake Gyllenhaal, was made for £19m and has grossed more than £75m worldwide It also seems a neat dose of self-help that Jones, in becoming a director, took control of the camera. Bowie’s love for acting and films sparked a much more interactive relationship between father and son. ‘It was the opposite for me on a film set,’ says Jones, suddenly animated. ‘That was like going to Disneyland. I’d see the amazing sets being built, how the make-up worked. In The Hunger (the vampire classic co-starring Susan Sarandon and Catherine Deneuve), Dad had to age at one point to become an old man and I remember him scaring the **** out of me. 'I hung out with Dad when he was doing Labyrinth. And I remember the amazing Fifties Soho set on Absolute Beginners. All that made a huge impression on me.’ Jones says some of his fondest memories are of watching movies with his dad when they were living high above Lake Geneva in Switzerland, where Bowie was a tax exile in the late Seventies.

Source Code is a striking sci-fi thriller with Gyllenhaal as Colter Stevens, a U.S. soldier who wakes up in the body of an unknown man travelling in a train that's about to be targeted by a terrorist ‘Dad really enjoyed introducing me to new things in literature, music and films. ‘I was about seven and we’d watch these big adventure movies like The Sea Hawk, a pirate movie with Errol Flynn, or James Cagney movies on video. I absolutely loved those films. Dad introduced me to Fritz Lang’s Metropolis and the original Baron Munchausen. He’d say, “You’ll love this! It’s amazing – you haven’t seen anything like this before.” I was eight when he showed me A Clockwork Orange. I remember he was sitting with me on the sofa with his arm around me, explaining everything.’ A Clockwork Orange, Stanley Kubrick’s hugely controversial film about a futuristic thug with a passion for rape and ‘ultra-violence’, is not the kind of film that most parents would screen for their young children. ‘I know!’ laughs Jones. ‘But Dad talked me through it. He was very responsible about it and he knew what he was doing.

At 40, Duncan is the hottest director in Hollywood, thanks to Source Code (above) and his award-winning debut, Moon, a nightmarish tale of an astronaut on the last days of his mining mission ‘Around that time my dad showed me how to use an 8mm camera. It had the little Kodak cartridges that you stick in, and I remember it had the ability to shoot one-stop animation. I loved it and I’d take it with me when I went off on tour with him. I’d use my Star Wars figures, Smurfs toys, whatever I had, and make these little animated films. Dad would help. ‘He taught me, in a lovely way, the basics of making a movie, like how to do storyboards, write a script, do the lighting. He also taught me how to use a splicer – cutting the film and sticking it back together in the projector. I had this big blue box that was full of my storyboards and scripts. I’d make these little sets and I’d set up backstage with my Star Wars and Smurfs toys.

While Dad would go on stage I’d be making my little movies.’ Michelle Monaghan stars in Source Code Jones’s mother, former American model and actress Angie Bowie (born Mary Angela Barnett), is notably absent from all of his anecdotes. Her drug-taking, bisexual exploits at the time have been well documented. She and Bowie divorced in 1980 and Jones hasn’t seen his mother, who now lives in Arizona, for years. ‘We stopped communicating when I was 13 and it was the right choice then and I’m convinced it’s still the right choice now,’ he tells me firmly. ‘She’s a woman who didn’t have a very positive effect on my upbringing so I think it was the right move.’ It’s clearly a painful area and he won’t go into any more detail. At 14, Bowie sent Jones to Scottish public school Gordonstoun – nicknamed ‘Colditz in kilts’ by one former inmate, Prince Charles. ‘I was there for five years before I was asked to leave one week before we were meant to after I had slept through most of my A-levels. I was so stressed out.

I’ve never really gone into it with Dad as to why he decided Gordonstoun was the right place for me to go. If I’m honest, it wasn’t a great fit for me. It was fairly austere and they still maintained that disciplined regime – the morning runs and the cold showers. I didn’t feel comfortable. I was just trying to survive.’ Ultimately, Jones took American SATS examinations and studied philosophy at Wooster College, Ohio. A procession of celebrities – and accompanying newspaper headlines detailing lurid stories about Bowie’s own bisexuality and drug abuse – trooped through their lives, but true to Jones’s nonchalant attitude to fame, they made little or no impression. ‘I do remember Suggs from Madness,’ he proffers when I insist he recall some A-list names. Duncan won a Bafta for Outstanding Debut for a Writer, Director or Producer for Moon 'He was a lovely guy. I remember him coming out to Switzerland to see Dad and I was a huge Madness fan – I wanted the black-and-white clothes they used to wear.

There were a lot of people about but it didn’t interest me and to be honest I didn’t pay much attention.’ He says he was protected from the wilder side of his father’s life – not finding out about it until he was an adult. ‘I was massively kept away from that kind of thing.’ Film school in London followed, then several industry jobs working in production houses, at a special-effects company, and finally in advertising (making commercials for Heinz Ketchup, French Connection and McCain Oven Chips), before Jones felt he was ready to make his first feature film. Too many rejections to mention – ‘I don’t want to embarrass them by putting their names out there, but I did start to wonder, God, is this ever going to happen?’ – led to him raising the money for Moon, starring Sam Rockwell. The rest, as they say, is history. ‘I remember the night that Sam said he would do the film. I was sharing a flat with three guys in London and had a conference call with my producer and Sam’s agent in New York, working out the final details, and then it was like, “OK, Sam’s in.” I was calling everyone, including my dad.

He was thrilled for me, but a little nervous too.’ Released to universal acclaim in 2009, Moon went on to earn Jones a Bafta for Outstanding Debut for a Writer, Director or Producer. In his acceptance speech, Jones was clearly overwhelmed and close to tears. 'She's a woman who didn't have a very positive effect on my upbringing so I think it was the right move,' said Duncan of his mother Angie Bowie who he hasn't had any communication with since he was 13 ‘It meant everything to me,’ he says. ‘And it couldn’t have come at a better time. I’d just got involved in Source Code and I was trying to find my way in dealing with a host of producers, many of whom had contradictory opinions about what the film should be and all of whom wanted to let me know about it. Winning the Bafta was a huge help because all of a sudden I was “Bafta-winning director” and my opinions became a lot more valid.’ Source Code is a striking sci-fi thriller with Gyllenhaal as Colter Stevens, a U.S. soldier who wakes up in the body of an unknown man travelling in a train that’s about to be targeted by a terrorist.

After the bomb explodes Stevens is sent back again and again to re-live the last eight minutes before the attack until he can stop the bomber. The film consolidated Jones’s meteoric Hollywood rise. ‘I do have a long-term goal,’ he admits. ‘That is to get to the point where I can work in the same way that guys like the Coen Brothers and Tarantino do – people who write their own material and are able to get the budget to be able to do it justice. That’s where I want to get.’ Most of the industry thinks he’s already arrived. The day after we meet Jones is due to fly to Hollywood where a series of meetings await him and he will decide on his next project. We agree to catch up just before our interview is published to let me know the latest news. Some very big doors have opened up,’ he tells me on the phone. Angie (in yellow dress), Zowie Bowie (Duncan) and David at a press conference in 1974 after receiving an Edison Award for the album Ziggy Stardust And The Spiders From Mars ‘I went to some meetings for Wolverine and if there were any comic book movies that could lure me in, it was that one.

But there’s already been a Wolverine movie and a number of X-Men movies. There are a lot of comic-book fims coming out right now.’ Jones has, he says, just committed to his next project. ‘I can’t give you specifics but I can say that I now know what I’m doing next. It’s an original script that I’m writing myself, set in a big sprawling, urban environment here on Earth in a sort of Blade Runner-inspired future. I would love to have it run parallel to Moon so that even though they are completely separate stories they happen within the same universe.’ Duncan and David at the New York premiere of Moon in April 2009 At the moment Jones lives, works and breathes Los Angeles. ‘I like hanging out with my girlfriend and my friends in LA where we live, watching movies and going out to eat fish and chips on the beach in Malibu. And I am a bit of a geek; I still like playing computer games – Assassin’s Creed. Amazing!’ But he’s adamant that he feels like a Brit abroad, not an American in the making. ‘I’m definitely a Brit. I was born in Britain and I’ve lived here for most of my life.

I think in some ways the more you travel the more you want everyone to know where you are from. When you go abroad, you’re more British than you are at home. A lot of my friends are Brits – in fact it’s like Little Britain out here! But I wouldn’t want to bring up kids here. If I have a family I’d want to be in the UK or New York, where my father is.’ He sees Bowie as much as possible. ‘We Skype every weekend and whenever I get the chance to go to New York we meet up. He doesn’t get to see an early cut of my films. He sees it when it’s finished. But he’s very supportive and always has been. 'He’s just a wonderful guy and father and I think he understands that I’m a creative person in my own right. He gave me the time and the support to find my feet and the confidence to do what I do.’ The one regret Jones has from his childhood is, ironically, that he never did learn to play an instrument. ‘Of course, I greatly regret it now,’ he sighs ruefully.

‘I’d love to be able to play the guitar or something else but I just don’t have the time to learn…’ ‘Source Code’ is out on DVD and Blu-ray tomorrow

Question: Who is the famous father of the film director Duncan Jones?
Answer: David Bowie