Ron Cephas Jones Joins ‘Looking For Alaska’ Cast

Ron Cephas Jones won hearts and awards during his time as William “Shakespeare” Hill on NBC’s emotional drama series, This Is Us. Now, the actor is lending his talent to an upcoming series, Looking for Alaska, according to a report from TV Guide.

The eight-episode series is based on John Green’s novel by the same name and will focus on Miles Halter, played by Charlie Plummer, as he arrives at a new boarding school to get a fresh start. While there, he befriends a beautiful girl named Alaska, played by Kristine Froseth, and becomes completely enthralled and slowly begins to fall in love with her. However, he soon realizes things aren’t what they seem and Alaska’s life isn’t as perfect as he initially thought.

According to the report, Jones will play Dr. Hyde, the History of Religion teacher at Culver Academy, which is the boarding school at the center of the series. In the novel, Hyde is “described as incredibly old and amused by his own jokes, but he’s also a makeshift mentor for Miles and his ragtag group of friends.”

The actor took to Instagram to post a screenshot of the announcement and his followers were quick to comment with well-wishes.

“Well deserved! We need more of you on TV,” one person wrote.

“Oh, I love Dr. Hyde! You’re going to crush this role,” another said.

After his time on This Is Us came to an end, Jones appeared in a comedy film, Dog Days, alongside Nina Dobrev, Vanessa Hudgens, Eva Longoria, Tone Bell, and Adam Pally. In the movie, Jones played a man who recently lost his spouse and has to learn how to adjust to life alone. As he tries to navigate, he finds himself bonding with the couple’s pet.

While chatting with Essense, he said he was “excited” for the role because of his own love for dogs. Jones’ real-life daughter, Jasmine Cephas Jones, who is an original cast member of Hamilton, also stars in the film.

As for his castmates on Looking for Alaska, Jones will be joined by Veep’s Timothy Simons, who will tackle the role of Culver Academy’s headmaster, The Eagle. Simons’ character is described as “the law around campus and the person Miles and his friends must get around in order to experience true youthful rebellion.”

Production for the series has already began and it will be available for streaming on Hulu, but an official premiere date has yet to be announced.