He also appeared in a number of films, including Half Nelson (2006), Across the Universe (2007), Glass Chin (2014), The Holiday Calendar (2018), Dog Days (2018), and Dolemite Is My Name (2019).

[2] He then moved around for some years, living in San Francisco, Arizona, and New Orleans, before returning to New York City in 1985.

[2] After returning to New York in 1985, Jones began spending time at the Nuyorican Poets Café in Manhattan's East Village.

[2] His performance caught the attention of a casting director, which led to Jones being offered the lead role in the Tazewell Thompson production of the Cheryl West play Holiday Heart in 1994.

He played Harlem chess master Bobby Fish in season 1 of Marvel's Luke Cage.

Jones appeared on the NBC drama series This Is Us as William Hill, the biological father of Randall Pearson (Sterling K. Brown).