A strange thing has been happening to Indianapolis native Doug Jones: Strangers are starting to recognize him. "I was in a diner in Fort Wayne the other day with my wife," the actor said, "and this guy stops as he walks by and goes, 'You're Doug Jones! What are you doing here?'"

Jones credits much of his newfound fame to an ongoing partnership with Mexican director Guillermo del Toro, who cast Jones in high-profile roles such as the Faun in the Oscar-nominated "Pan's Labyrinth," as well as "Hellboy" and "Hellboy 2." In each of the films, the tall, wiry actor plays bizarre characters enveloped in makeup, latex and other face-obscuring materials.

Now the Bishop Chatard and Ball State graduate is finally getting the chance to do what he always wanted to do -- play a regular acting role. In "My Name Is Jerry," which just wrapped filming in Muncie, he plays Jerry, a down-on-his-luck, fortysomething salesman befriended by a kindly gang of young punk rockers.

Jones has worked in Hollywood for more than two decades, but frequently returns home to visit family. He'll be in town this weekend to sign autographs and pose for pictures during the HorrorHound convention at the Marriott East Hotel. Here, Jones explains how he prepares for roles, his original dream to become a sitcom sidekick and what's it like to face fans.

Question: Let's start by talking about the film you just finished shooting in Muncie, "My Name Is Jerry." What's it about?

I play Jerry, a salesman in a very boring, mundane life. He's a sad sack, zero kind of guy. His wife and daughter left him; he's been alone for a while. Somewhere near the beginning he is going to a friend's Fourth of July party and ends up at the wrong house, which has a party with twenty-something punk rocker kids. And he is at that phase in your 40s where you need something to jolt you awake again, where you're asking yourself, "Has my life amounted to anything?"

Were you recognized much while you were in Muncie?

Surprisingly, yes. Ball State (which financed the film) arranged a signing at the Muncie Mall, and hundreds of people showed up. I have been very blessed and thankful to directors like Guillermo del Toro. He's really writing juicy roles for these creatures that speak to the human condition and complications. And that has helped bring a golden age of film back. Bela Lugosi, Lon Chaney and Boris Karloff -- people had a certain respect for them. But for many years, actors in costumes and heavy makeup didn't have heavy respect. I believe that is coming back again, and that is something I never expected.

You played the child-eating Pale Man, who didn't speak, but was one of the freakier characters in recent cinematic history. Do you do anything special to prepare to play extremely scary characters like that?

Guillermo told me to think of an old zombie movie, where there's this creepiness in the way they move -- how even though they're moving slowly, they will still catch you. And the reason he wanted me to play both characters was because in his sick mind, the Pale Man was really just an extension of the Faun.

How do you study for a part like that? Its not like you read someone's biography and say, "I totally understand that." The Pale Man, though, I loved him. He was as evil as the day is long, but he doesn't know that. He's just hungry, basically. He's just waking up after however long he has been sitting there without eating. I wake up and I'm stiff and I'm hungry - that's basically what I went with.

How is that different from playing a main character like Abe Sapien in the "Hellboy" films?

Abe Sapien is someone I know very well now. Once you invite a character like that in -- and that's what I do, I invite him into my heart and soul -- he uses you to play himself and tell a story. You have to have a fearless willingness to let your character live through you.

You were the Ball State mascot, Charlie Cardinal, while in college, and you've done mime work. How much does physical movement figure into your performances?

I view communication as a full body experience. Body language, posture, facial expressions -- that adds up to 50 percent of the whole deal. When I am taking on a character that comes from this fantastical world, whether it is half-human, half-fish or half-human, half-alien, that has to come into play.

That's something that Guillermo has said -- that I create an ecosystem for every character I play, so that by the time the camera rolls, I know how he moves and walks and runs and sits down and whatever. So when the camera rolls, hopefully I look like I woke up that way that day, and not a guy in a suit.

How did you end up in this kind of work?

Maybe some people do set out to do it. I certainly didn't. I wanted to be an actor. I thought I was going to go to Hollywood and be a sitcom star, something like Kramer from "Seinfeld." I knew from looking at myself in an honest way that I'm not built to be a leading man. I am destined to be funny or scary for the rest of my career.

But it was the world of prosthetic makeup and creature characters that stumbled upon me by accident. My first job was for McDonald's, and it was a character called Mac Tonight who had a crescent moon head with sunglasses. I sat at a piano and sang a theme song, and it turned into a three-year campaign.

What do you think makes you suited for this kind of work?

I'm a tall, skinny guy who moves well and doesn't complain -- which is a huge one, by the way.

Over the years you've worked with a lot of big names, from Bette Midler in "Hocus Pocus" to Ben Stiller in "Mystery Men." Are big stars usually pretty respectful of what you do?

I find the nicest actors are the bigger names. They don't have to prove as much anymore. It's a lot of the midrange ones where you'll find more attitude and more fear. When you find an actor who has a hoity-toity attitude, it's because they are terrified they won't make it.

What advice would you give someone wanting to get in your line of work?

I would say to them exactly what I told myself. When I would turn my TV on or go to a movie theater and see actors doing it, it means it can be done. Therefore, why can't I be the one doing it?

- By Matt Gonzales / Indy.com correspondent

HorrorHound Weekend

Where: Marriott Indianapolis East, 7202 E. 21st St.

When: 5 to 10 p.m. Aug. 29, 11.a.m. to 7 p.m. Aug. 30, 11 a.m. to 5.p.m. Aug. 31.

Cost: $50 for a weekend pass, or $20 per day ($15 on Sunday).

Info: www.horrorhoundweekend.com

HorrorHound highlights

Celebrities: Jason Mewes, Jake Busey, Joe Dante, Dick Miller, Doug Jones, Belinda Balaski, Zack Galligan and others.

Stuff: Shop at dozens of vendor tables for horror DVDs, T-shirts, posters and more.

Screenings: Films include "It's My Party and I'll Die If I Want To," "Murder Loves Killers, Too," "Let The Right One In," "Pulse 2" and "Feast 2," "Shiver" and "Dance of the Dead," the last of which Bloody-disgusting.com recently awarded a rare 10-out-of-10 review.