If you attend some student theatre productions in Oxford, you may very well come across the next Hollywood star. Violet Henderson, a Contributing Editor at British Vogue, vividly recalls how at the beginning of the twenty-first century, Felicity Jones was the “prodigiously talented girl” in the Oxford drama scene who was set to take Hollywood by storm. While Henderson was a contemporary of Jones in university, she recalls how the Rogue One and The Theory of Everything actress was older and far more mature than her: Jones would not be the one getting drunk on Thursday nights as she had a part to record on the popular Radio 4 soap opera, The Archers. The child actress also had a friendship group in Wadham College who were artistic and good-looking, while she was “the star in their midst”, and was in play after play in Oxford.
Clearly, Oxford was a necessary platform for Jones to develop her artistic and intellectual curiosities. “I wanted to carry on studying because I liked English at school”, Jones once told Stylist Magazine. “Going somewhere like Oxford meant I could act and be part of the theatre there and study at the same time”.
Today, the Oxford drama scene continues to flourish and has provided a platform for countless performers, including Jones. You can picture the scene: Jones arrives at the Oxford Playhouse or the Burton Taylor Studio on a cold and wet evening to perform for a modestly-sized audience—that audience (and perhaps Jones herself) having no idea of what she would go on to achieve.
After all, Felicity Jones represents a new age for Hollywood movies. We are used to men being centre-stage, as well as being paid far more than their female counterparts. This, of course, is still a problem. However, what the movie industry cannot deny is the talent of actresses like Jones. She is stylish, attractive and charismatic—the embodiment of twenty-first century films. Henderson recalls how the young actress had a particular style: “I have a vivid memory of her walking down Broad Street, past the Sheldonian… in a blue pinafore, white ruffled lace shirt and pointed brogues. She looked just how you’d hope an undergraduate would look—when, light-deprived and spotty, they normally disappoint.”
One important thing to remember is that Jones is only 33-years-old. She has had supportive roles in various blockbuster hits, but is now cementing her own place on the big-screen, and juggling Oxford essays with theatre productions perhaps prepared the actress for her increasingly demanding schedule.
While her natural ability in the arts was evident to those close to her at an early age, it is clear that Oxford, with all its opportunities and unique position in society, moulded Jones into the actress and the person she is today.
