Nick Jones Jr.ACTOR | DIRECTOR

Nick Jones Jr. served in the United States Marine Corps for 12 years before leaving to pursue a career in the film industry.

Although initially an actor, Jones quickly began itching to create the worlds he helped bring to life on screen. He attended NYFA Los Angeles, graduating with his BFA in Filmmaking in 2012. During his time at NYFA, Jones wrote and directed the award-winning short film Cold: Choices, starring Neil Brown Jr.

Jones interned on the ABC comedy series The Middle as a director. He learned the craft from the show’s lead director Lee Shallat-Chamel. Meanwhile, Jones was a military consultant on his mentor Dito Montiel’s film Man Down. Released in 2015, the film stars Shia LaBeouf and Gary Oldman. In 2017, Jones served as a writing consultant for ten episodes of the Emmy-winning Starz action-drama Black Sails. The series, starring Toby Stephens as Captain Flint, is a prequel to Robert Louis Stevenson’s classic novel Treasure Island.

Following his work on Man Down and Black Sails, Nick collaborated on the half-hour comedy Jonesin’ with Mel Jones. The show focuses on two newly single parents balancing their budding relationship with the trials and tribulations of everyday life in Los Angeles. Jonesin’ quickly caught the eye of Sundance Institute, who selected the half-hour pilot for their 2018 Episodic Lab Fellows. Also in 2018, Jones wrote for Season 4 of the critically acclaimed Hulu original series Casual, contributing his talents for eight episodes.

More recently, Jones served as head writer for Netflix’s 2021 anime adaptation of Yasuke, the true story of Japan’s first Black samurai. He is currently authoring a five-part live-action TV series based on the real-life legend, also for Netflix. Jones is also collaborating with David Broyles and Bruce McKenna to write and produce the Moving Pictures Company historical miniseries Buffalo Rangers. The series focuses on the all-Black 2nd Ranger Company, the only special operations combat unit of their kind in U.S. history.

Snapshot:
Program Studied at NYFA: Filmmaking
Program Type: BFA Filmmaking
Year Attended/Graduated: 2012
Location: Los Angeles

Benefits for Veterans and Military Dependent Students at NYFA
If you are a veteran like Nick Jones, Jr. or a military dependent student with an interest in film, media, and/or entertainment, we at NYFA are proud to have a Veteran Services Office staffed by veterans actively working in these fields. Since 2009, we have been privileged to enroll approximately 3,000 veteran and military-dependent students at our New York City, Los Angeles, and South Beach campuses. All three of our domestic campuses participate in the Yellow Ribbon program. This program allows eligible veterans and their dependents the opportunity to attend our school.