You may know him from the movies Coal Miner’s Daughter, The Fugitive, and Men in Black, but in Japan Tommy Lee Jones is the face of Suntory’s Boss Coffee. The familiar craggy face lurks on vending machines, billboards, convenience store shelves and in commercials on Japanese TV. Jones has been the frontman for the coffee company since 2006 as a character called “Alien Jones,” an extraterrestrial who takes the form of a human to check on the world of humans, all while sipping on Boss Coffee. The furrowed brow, the slight smirk, and that dry indifference make the ads a brilliant mix of deadpan humor and subtle empathy, qualities that Jones’ weathered face conveys perfectly. Why Tommy Lee Jones? After all, Japan is no stranger to celebrities of their own. It turns out that Jones brings with him a no-nonsense, charismatic, rugged authenticity and reliability, all which pair perfectly with what the coffee is all about in the first place. As for why Tommy Lee said yes to making Japanese commercials: “I’m an introspective guy when there’s money in it."
