Why is Tommy Lee Jones so popular in Japan?
International superstardom is something usually reserved for A-listers with a level of fame and visibility that stretches to the furthest corners of the globe. Tommy Lee Jones may not fit those criteria in the conventional sense, but he’s huge in Japan.
In his native United States, Jones is a hugely respected and endlessly reliable veteran character actor with an impressive back catalogue of credits stretching over 50 years. He’s also a talented filmmaker, an Academy Award winner, and a co-lead of the multi-billion Men in Black franchise.
He’s been in plenty of hit movies ranging from the aforementioned Will Smith capers to The Fugitive and No Country for Old Men via his brief dalliance with Marvel in Captain America: The First Avenger, legacy sequel Jason Bourne, and playing the straight man to Jim Carrey in Batman Forever.
All of them are very successful movies, but nobody would gaze upon Jones’ craggy and curmudgeonly features and state with any great degree of certainty that he’s a global sensation. One of his generation’s best? Absolutely. Recognisable? Definitely, but not to the same extent as the genuine megastars.
However, thanks largely to his gruff demeanour and a long-running series of batshit insane commercials stretching back nearly 20 years, Japan can’t get enough of him. Since 2006, Jones has been a spokesman and star for Suntory’s coffee brand Boss, leading countless adverts where he plays an extraterrestrial called ‘Alien Jones’ who finds himself bemused by humanity.
He wasn’t the first American actor to appear in a Japanese ad, but he developed a stronger bond with the country than most. He even sang a song in a public service announcement to remember and raise funds for those affected by the 2011 earthquake and tsunami that affected the nation’s Tōhoku region.
When the Heisei era drew to an official close on May 30th, 2019, and Emperor Akihito passed the role over to his son Naruhito, Jones appeared in a Boss commercial created specifically for the passing of the torch moment, using the ‘Alien Jones’ character as a conduit to reflect on the changes Japan had undergone during the previous three decades.
He’s a familiar face to multiple generations, with his face emblazoned on everything from vending machines and billboards to posters and merchandise, and that love has been reciprocated by Jones holding Japan just as close. He visits the country in his spare time even when he’s not promoting his latest film or shooting a new advert, ingratiating him even deeper into hearts and minds.
The ads themselves are suitably bonkers, with Jones firing laser beams out of his eyes, sporting ridiculous costumes, and even busting out a few dance moves with his signature stony expression at various points, which only serves to enhance the charm.
