Leslie Jones

Leslie Jones (born September 7, 1967, Memphis, Tennessee) is an actress and comedian best known to Ghostbusters fans for portraying Patty Tolan in Ghostbusters: Answer the Call (2016).

Ghostbusters role

Jones plays Patty Tolan in the 2016 film, one of the four central Ghostbusters. Patty is a New York City Transit Authority worker whose encyclopedic knowledge of the city's history and infrastructure proves invaluable to the team. Jones's stunt double for the film was Alyma Dorsey.

Jones is also acknowledged in the in-universe tie-in book "Ghosts from Our Past: Both Literally and Figuratively: The Study of the Paranormal" (Three Rivers Press), where she is thanked by name in the acknowledgment section (page 215).

In the IDW Comics series, Ghostbusters Crossing Over Issue #3 contains a nod to Jones: on page 16, panel 4, the POV screen of Jillian Holtzmann's Ecto Goggles displays the year 1967, Jones's birth year.

Career

Jones rose to prominence as a cast member and writer on Saturday Night Live, joining in 2014. She had previously appeared in the television series The League (2013), Girlfriends (2004), and the films National Security (2003) and Wrongfully Accused (1998).

Casting

The role of Patty Tolan was originally conceived with Melissa McCarthy in mind. The character's surname, Tolan, was a deliberate nod to McCarthy's Irish ethnicity. Director Paul Feig changed course and mentally cast Jones for the role after watching her perform on SNL's "Weekend Update" segment. Jones has said she lost 27 pounds during production of the film, and that she relied heavily on Epsom salt baths, regular massages, and twice-weekly chiropractic visits to manage the physical demands of shooting.

References

• Ghostbusters: Answer the Call (2016), Sony Pictures
• Ghostbusters Crossing Over Issue #3, IDW Publishing
• Ghosts from Our Past: Both Literally and Figuratively: The Study of the Paranormal, Three Rivers Press