Published Feb 20, 2026
Photo Credit: CW
In the opening scene of the pilot episode for the television series Wild Cards, a police officer on a boat patrolling the waterways by Vancouver, Canada, pulls over a boat where a woman is illegally standing on the bow while it moves.
“Are you giving me a ticket?” the boat’s leader asks.
“Yeah, that’s what happens when you break the law,” said the officer, Detective Cole Ellis, played by actor Giacomo Gianniotti.
“What about him?” the other man challenged.
The camera pans toward the edge of the cop’s own boat, and we cat lovers get a delightful surprise when we see “him.” It’s Ellis’ Devon Rex cat named Marc, purring as he jumps down.
“He’s a cat,” Ellis explains. (As we know, they have a different set of rules.)
Later, Ellis gets a call, revs up his boat’s motor, and says: “Hold on, Marc!” Then, Marc surprises an arrestee when she discovers the purring cat in Ellis’ police car.
Photo Credit: CW
The pixie-faced tabby who plays Marc is feline actor “Jonesy,” who lives in the Vancouver area with his mom and trainer, Grace MacLeod. Grace describes her perky, wavy-haired Devon Rex, who turns 7 in the spring of 2026, as both a toddler and teenager with an adorably grumpy face and fun purrsonality.
“He acts like a young cat,” says Grace, who got Jonesy when he was about 9 months old. She has seven cats, all different breeds, who are in show business.
“Jonesy has a very cute, funny little Gremlin face,” Grace says. “He’s well loved by everybody. He has a unique little head with big eyes, and it’s very alien-like.”
Jonesy is the purrfect cat to play the detective feline sidekick in Wild Cards – a comedy that pairs Gianniotti’s character with Vanessa Morgan as Max, a con artist that works with Cole in an odd pairing to help solve crimes. Marc, like Jonesy, is curious, adventurous, friendly and affectionate, and a good listener.
“I think that Marc and Jonesy are one and the same,” Grace says. “When we’re auditioning cats, they ask us what cat would most be like the character we want them to be? I just knew, even though he was a unique-looking cat, that he was going to be the best fit for the world of living on a boat, with all of his funny quirks.”
In Marc’s bio, CW officials humorously describe him this way: “Jonesy hasn’t let fame go to his head. He loves to give kisses and is just as happy sitting in a box as he is a soft, fluffy bed. Although he does sometimes insist on drinking water from the goldfish tank over plain tap water.”
Photo Credit: CW
Jonesy got started in show business after producers of a Netflix show called Brand New Cherry Flavor came to Vancouver and were seeking a Cornish Rex cat to play a part. Grace couldn’t find a Cornish Rex, but she was inspired to connect with a breeder and get a Devon Rex, a breed that is similar with the wavy fur but smaller than the Cornish Rex.
Grace had never worked with a Devon Rex before, but she knew they were “cute little inquisitive cats.” Jonesy, who was about 8 or 9 months old when she got him, was outgoing and friendly from the beginning. He took quickly to acting.
“It was like he’s been doing this forever,” Grace recalls.
People on sets have been intrigued by Jonesy’s distinctive wavy fur, which is characteristic of his breed, she says.
“A lot of people have never met a Devon Rex before,” Grace says. “People get a chance to pet him and feel that coat, and they just can’t believe what a different coat it is compared to domestic cats at home.”
Jonesy made his television debut with Wild Cards, which premiered with its first season in 2024 and is now airing its third season on The CW Network; you can stream episodes on the CW website. He made his big-screen debut in 2025 as the cat character named Marlene Purrkins in Gabby’s Dollhouse: The Movie.
Jonesy didn’t audition for the role on Wild Cards. Grace was contacted about supplying a cat for the show, and she brought her Devon Rex to the film office to do a hard sell. She said that the outgoing Jonesy has what it takes to play a character living on a boat, which is very challenging for a cat. Jonesy walked around the boat as if to say, “No problem!”
“For me, a trainer, that is gold,” Grace says. “We were able to agree that he is the best cat for the part.”
Jonesy does not appear in every episode, but whenever scenes are shot in the boat where Officer Cole Ellis lives with Marc, Jonesy becomes a part of the scenes. The boat is located at Fisherman’s Wharf in a busy hub spot of downtown Vancouver.
Photo Credit: CW
Jonesy is very popular with cast members who love spending time with the cat on filming day. And for viewers, he brings a lot of laughs and an “Aaww” factor to Wild Cards, Grace says.
“He brings comic relief to the show,” she says about Jonesy. “Most of the times, we know that when we put a cat or another animal in something, it sort of earns viewers’ hearts – but for people that love animals, it’s just a little something that adds to the relationship. … We’re all pretty proud of him.”
Whenever Jonesy is being filmed, Grace is not far away. She is maybe about 10 feet away from the cat and ready with a treat. Animals learn by training and conditioning, and they are very food-motivated. Cat actors are motivated to get up and move when their trainer uses a laser pointer, like Grace does.
“From a trainer perspective, I’m always just really thankful when they add a cat character to the show,” she says. “Not everyone thinks it’s easy to work with a cat, but Jonesy proves that we can do that.”
