After two films in Europe with Pia Degermark ("The Looking Glass War" and "Brief Season", both 1970), Jones was cast by director David Lean in "Ryan's Daughter" (1970). The two men had a difficult relationship; this was the experience of many actors who worked with Lean. The problems intensified when production of the film took 12 months instead of the expected six, because Lean would wait for the right composition of clouds or the perfect storm to brew. Unbeknownst to Jones, he was drugged during his filming of "Ryan's Daughter" by Sarah Miles, according to her first autobiography "A Right Royal Bastard"; this caused him to believe he was having a breakdown. Jones also was involved in a car crash, not knowing he had been drugged. The director and producers never informed him of the drugging. Later, Lean dubbed his voice (Jones's voice was also dubbed in "The Looking Glass War"), causing the actor a bad reputation ("Beyond the Epic: The Life and Films of David Lean"). This took a personal toll on Jones, who returned from Ireland to California after filming ended (staying for a time in his manager Rudy Altobelli's guest house, the cottage behind 10050 Cielo Drive, the house where Sharon Tate had been murdered), and abandoned his acting career. He engaged in a few long-term relationships, did painting, art deco, and Roman classic sculpting in clay, and had a family life, living quietly at the beach with his children.