Jon Jon Briones

Filipino-American actor (born 1965)

In this Philippine name, the middle name or maternal family name is Cloma and the surname or paternal family name is Briones.

Jon Jon Briones

Born|

Ernesto Cloma Briones Jr.

(1965-08-07) August 7, 1965 (age 59)

Quezon City, Philippines

Citizenship|

* Philippines
* United States

Occupation| Actor
Spouse|

Megan Johnson

(m. 1996)​

Children|

* Isa Briones
* Teo Briones

Ernesto Cloma Briones Jr.[1] (born August 7, 1965),[2] known as Jon Jon Briones, is a Filipino-American actor best known for his work in musical theatre. He played the Engineer in the original casts in the West End revival of Miss Saigon in 2014, for which he was nominated for the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor in a Musical, and reprised the part on Broadway in 2017.

## Career

[edit]

While an engineering student in the Philippines, Briones became involved with the original 1989 London production of Miss Saigon. Briones had a friend who was a producer in the Philippines, who asked Briones to help "facilitate an audition" for the Cameron Mackintosh team who were holding auditions in the Philippines for Miss Saigon. In addition to helping with the organization of the auditions, Briones himself auditioned for and then became a member of the ensemble.[3]

He has been involved with various touring productions of Miss Saigon, as a swing and covering other roles, finally playing the Engineer. In 2014 he joined the original cast of the Miss Saigon West End revival, playing the Engineer.[4] He was nominated for the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor in a Musical for playing this role and won the Whatsonstage.com Award for Best Actor in a Musical.[5][6] He remained in the role until the production closed on February 27, 2016.[7]

In 2017, Briones transferred with the production to Broadway at the Broadway Theatre. Previews started on March 1, 2017, with an official opening on March 23.[8]

On April 30, 2019, Briones received the Visionary Award from East West Players during their annual awards dinner and silent auction.[9] The award is given to celebrate individuals that are able to raise the visibility of Asian Pacific Americans through their work.[10] During his acceptance speech, Briones said that his "vision is that we change hearts and minds in Hollywood and in the theatre community so they see that we have a voice and a story – beautiful stories – to tell, and we are the ones who can and should tell it."[11]

In 2018, he appeared in The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story as Modesto Cunanan, father of Gianni Versace's murderer, Andrew Cunanan, and in American Horror Story: Apocalypse as Ariel Augustus.

In 2020, Briones appeared in the Netflix drama series Ratched,[12] portraying Dr. Richard Hanover.[13]

In 2022, Briones appeared in the second season of Star Trek: Picard. His daughter, Isa Briones, is a main cast member on the series.

In 2023, Jon Jon Briones played the role of Joseph in the movie 'The Last Voyage of the Demeter.' This drama/horror film tells the story of the crew of the merchant ship Demeter, who sail towards London to deliver a cargo of 50 unmarked wooden crates, only to discover that they are not alone. The presence of Dracula haunts them throughout the entire ship.

In March 2024, Briones joined the cast of Hadestown on Broadway, portraying Hermes. He starred opposite his daughter, who made her Broadway debut as Eurydice.[14]

## Personal life

[edit]

Briones was born in Quezon City, Philippines and became a United States citizen in 2010.[15] In 1996, he married Megan Johnson. They have two children: Isa Briones (b. 1999) and Teo Briones (b. 2005).[16] His wife and both children are also actors.[17]

## Filmography

[edit]

### Film

[edit]

Year  | Title  | Role  | Notes

|
|
|

2007  | Potluck |  | Short film
2008  | Proud American | Dawn's Father  |
An Immigrant Girl's Journey | Paulo Alcedo  | Short film
Brown Soup Thing | Uncle Jon Jon  |
2010  | Breathe | Rhadamanths  | Short film
2012  | Jolly B. Fierce | Edward Biagan  | Short film
Nico's Sampaguita | Raul  | Short film
Just an American | Father of Dawn Trang  |
2014  | Sinbad: The Fifth Voyage | Asian Genie  |
Blood Ransom | Father Mena  |
2016  | Miss Saigon: 25th Anniversary | The Engineer  |
2018  | Model Home | Mr. Fan  |
2022  | Beauty and the Beast: A 30th Celebration | Maurice | TV film special
2023  | The Last Voyage of the Demeter | Joseph  |
TBA  | Patron Saints of Nothing | Tito Maning  |

### Television

[edit]

Year  | Title  | Role  | Notes

|
|
|

2003–2004  | Las Vegas | Cosme Caliyag  | 2 episodes
2007  | Moonlight | Party Goer  | Episode: "Out of the Past"
2008  | Sons of Anarchy | Asian Elvis  | Episode: "Pilot"
2009  | Monk | First Mercenary  | Episode: "Mr. Monk and the Magician"
2010  | Miami Medical | Technician  | Episode: "Diver Down"
Law & Order: LA | Brant Ross  | Episode: "Hollywood"
2011  | Southland | Rama  | Episode: "Graduation Day"
2013  | The Mentalist | Mr. Lam  | Episode: "My Blue Heaven"
2014  | Bones | Adrian Lingao  | Episode: "Big in the Philippines"
2017  | Criminal Minds: Beyond Borders | Lama Vajra  | Episode: "Abominable"
2018  | The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story | Modesto Cunanan  | 2 episodes
Designated Survivor | Prime Minister Khallou  | Episode: "Bad Reception"
American Horror Story: Apocalypse | Ariel Augustus  | 3 episodes
2019  | Better Things | Himself  | Episode: "The Unknown"
All Rise | Daniel Mendoza  | Episode: "How to Succeed in Law Without Really Re-Trying"
2020  | Ratched | Dr. Richard Hanover  | Main role
2021  | Trese | Hank  | Voice role[18]
2022  | Star Trek: Picard | Confederation Magistrate  | Episodes: "Penance" and "Assimilation"
Transformers: EarthSpark | Alex Malto  | Voice role[19]
2023  | Class of '09 | Gabriel  | Main cast[20]
2025  | Avatar: The Last Airbender | Piandao (season 3)  | Guest role

## Theatre credits

[edit]

Year  | Production  | Role  | Venue

|
|
|

1989-1992  | Miss Saigon | Ensemble  | Theatre Royal Drury Lane, West End
1992  | Into the Woods | Rapunzel’s Prince | Repertory Philippines
1993  | Little Shop of Horrors | Seymour Krelborn
Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat | The Narrator
Les Misérables | Enjolras
1994  | The Wiz | The Lion
Miss Saigon | Swing  | German Tour
1995  | The Engineer
1997  | Children of Eden | Adult Storyteller  | Paper Mill Playhouse
1998-1999  | Miss Saigon | The Engineer (Alternate) | Theatre Royal Drury Lane, West End
2000  | Cultural Center of the Philippines
2001  | The Engineer  | Asia Tour
2002–2004  | North American Tour
2004–2006  | U.K. Tour
2012  | A Little Night Music | Fredrik Egerman  | East West Players
2014–2016  | Miss Saigon | The Engineer  | Prince Edward Theatre, West End
2016  | La Cage aux Folles | Georges  | East West Players
2017–2018  | Miss Saigon | The Engineer  | Broadway Theatre, Broadway
2018  | Sweet Charity | Herman  | Freud Playhouse
2023  | Waterfall: A New Musical[21] | Than Chao Khun  | Muangthai Rachadalai Theatre
2024  | Hadestown | Hermes | Walter Kerr Theatre, Broadway
Pacific Overtures | Reciter, Shogun, Emperor  | East West Players

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Blank, Matthew (October 21, 2014). "CUE & A: London's Miss Saigon Star Jon Jon Briones on Sammy Davis Jr., "Field of Dreams" and Two Decades as The Engineer". Playbill.
2. ^ "Briones Broadway" Playbill, retrieved September 24, 2017
3. ^ Gordon, David. "From Engineering Student to "The Engineer": Jon Jon Briones' Journey With 'Miss Saigon' " theatermania.com, March 19, 2017
4. ^ "Alistair Brammer, Tamsin Carroll, Hugh Maynard & More Join West End's Miss Saigon; Full Cast Announced!". November 22, 2013. Retrieved March 31, 2017.
5. ^ "Olivier awards 2015: complete list of nominations". March 9, 2015. Retrieved March 31, 2016.
6. ^ "Miss Saigon dominates WhatsOnStage awards". BBC. February 15, 2015. Retrieved March 31, 2017.
7. ^ "Final flight for Miss Saigon". cameronmackintosh.com. July 14, 2015. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved March 31, 2017.
8. ^ Gans, Andrew (September 29, 2016). "Additional Casting Announced for Miss Saigon Broadway Revival". Playbill. Retrieved March 31, 2017.
9. ^ Wood, Ximón (April 10, 2018). "TV & Stage Stars Suzy Nakamura and Jon Jon Briones will join Lily Mariye and Wendy Chang/Dwight Stuart Youth Fund as Honorees at East West Players' 52nd Visionary Awards Dinner & Silent Auction on Monday, April 30, 2018 at Hilton Universal City". East West Players. Retrieved July 22, 2019.
10. ^ Wood, Ximón (June 23, 2014). "Golden Anniversary Visionary Awards Dinner and Silent Auction". East West Players. Archived from the original on July 22, 2019. Retrieved July 22, 2019.
11. ^ TFCBalitangAmerica (May 2, 2018), Showbiz Tonight: Jon Jon Briones receives Visionary Award by East West Players, retrieved July 22, 2019
12. ^ Petski, Denise (January 14, 2019). "'Ratched': Sharon Stone, Cynthia Nixon Among 10 Cast In Ryan Murphy's Netflix Series". Deadline. Retrieved January 20, 2019.
13. ^ "Ratched star Jon Jon Briones on his wild role: 'Oh my God, I have to do a lobotomy on my son'". EW. Retrieved October 4, 2020.
14. ^ Jon Jon Briones and Daughter Isa Briones to Join Cast of Broadway's Hadestown
15. ^ Wolf, Matt. "West End Star Jon Jon Briones on His 25-Year Journey in 'Miss Saigon', From Ensemble Member to Engineer" broadway.com, May 7, 2014
16. ^ "Jon Jon Briones". IMDb. Retrieved October 1, 2021.
17. ^ Grigware, Don. "BWW Interview: Isa Briones Opens Up About Next To Normal". BroadwayWorld.com. Retrieved October 1, 2021.
18. ^ Milligan, Mercedes (May 21, 2021). "New Trailer & Cast Revealed for 'Trese,' Premiering June 11". Animation Magazine. Retrieved May 22, 2021.
19. ^ Petski, Denise (July 22, 2022). "'Transformers: EarthSpark': Paramount+ Series Sets Voice Cast, Teaser Trailer — Comic-Con". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved July 23, 2022.
20. ^ Cordero, Rosy; Petski, Denise (November 10, 2021). "'Class of '09': Raúl Castillo, Jake McDorman, Sepideh Moafi, Brian J. Smith Among 7 Cast In FX Limited Series". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved February 9, 2022.
21. ^ Josh Dela Cruz, Danielle Hope, and Jon Jon Briones Will Star in Waterfall in Thailand, Broadway World, Retrieved 13 September 2023

## External links

[edit]

* Jon Jon Briones at IMDb
* Jon Jon Briones at the Internet Broadway Database

Authority control databases

International|

* ISNI
* VIAF

National|

* Germany
* United States

Artists|

* MusicBrainz

People|

* DDB

*[m.]: married