J. K. Simmons
Jonathan Kimble Simmons[1] (born January 9, 1955) is an American actor. Considered one of the most eminent character actors of his generation,[2][3] he has appeared in over 200 film and television roles. He is the recipient of various Supporting Actor accolades for his performance as the music instructor Terence Fletcher in Damien Chazelle's Whiplash (2014), including an Academy Award, a British Academy Film Award, a Screen Actors Guild Award, and a Golden Globe Award.
J. K. Simmons
Actor
1977–present
2
Simmons is known for his role as J. Jonah Jameson in Sam Raimi's Spider-Man trilogy (2002–2007). He reprised his role as Jameson in various Marvel media unrelated to the Raimi trilogy, including multiple animated titles and the Marvel Cinematic Universe films. He has appeared in numerous supporting roles in films such as The Cider House Rules (1999), Thank You for Smoking (2005), Juno (2007), Burn After Reading (2008), Up in the Air (2009), Jennifer's Body (2009), La La Land (2016), Justice League (2017), and Palm Springs (2020). He portrayed William Frawley in Being the Ricardos (2021), for which he received another nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.
On television he is known for playing white supremacist prisoner Vernon Schillinger on the HBO series Oz (1997–2003), the recurring role of Dr. Emil Skoda on the NBC series Law & Order (1997–2010), Assistant Police Chief Will Pope on the TNT series The Closer (2005–2012), and Howard Silk in the Starz series Counterpart (2017–2019). He also appeared in commercials for Farmers Insurance.
On the Broadway stage Simmons played Captain Hook in the 1991 revival of Peter Pan and Benny Southstreet in the 1992 revival of Guys and Dolls.[4]
As a voice actor he is known for portraying the Yellow M&M in commercials since 1996, Cave Johnson in the video game Portal 2 (2011), White Knight in Generator Rex (2010-2013), Tenzin in The Legend of Korra (2012–2014), Stanford "Ford" Pines in Gravity Falls (2015–2016), Kai in Kung Fu Panda 3 (2016), Mayor Leodore Lionheart in Zootopia (2016), the titular character in Klaus (2019), Nolan Grayson / Omni-Man in Invincible (2021–present), and General Ketheric Thorm in the video game Baldur's Gate 3 (2023).
Early life and education[edit]
Simmons was born on January 9, 1955,[5] in Grosse Pointe, Michigan,[6] the son of Patricia (née Kimble), an administrator, and Donald William Simmons, a music teacher[7] at Parcells Middle School.[8] One of three children,[8] Simmons attended Ferry Elementary School in Grosse Pointe Woods.[9] In 1965, when he was 10 years old, his family moved to Worthington, Ohio, a suburb of Columbus, Ohio.[6] From 1970 to 1972, he attended Worthington High School, where he participated in drama, football and choir.[10] In 1973, when he was 18, they moved to Missoula, Montana, where his father became director of the School of Music at the University of Montana.[6] The younger Simmons graduated from the University of Montana in 1978 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in music.[11][12][13] During college, he became a member of the music-oriented fraternity Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia. Simmons appeared at the Bigfork Summer Playhouse in Bigfork, Montana, in various roles from 1977 to 1982. Later, he moved to Seattle and became a member of the Seattle Repertory Theatre, where he met his best friend Michael Smith.[11] Simmons eventually landed his first role on Broadway in 1992.[14]
Career[edit]
Stage[edit]
On Broadway, Simmons played Benny Southstreet in the 1992 revival of Guys and Dolls.[4] In 1994, he sang multiple roles in the Wagner opera satire Das Barbecü.[11] He also played the role of Jigger in a revival of Carousel with the Houston Grand Opera and starred in the 1987 Off-Broadway musical Birds of Paradise. During his time on Broadway, Simmons also played Captain Hook in Peter Pan (1991–1992).[15]
Film and television roles[edit]
Simmons made his first appearance in a live-action television role in the show Popeye Doyle, appearing as a patrol officer. The next year, Simmons appeared on All My Children, as an RCMP sergeant. Among his more notable roles are Dr. Emil Skoda, a police psychiatrist whom Simmons played on three of the four incarnations of Law & Order and New York Undercover, and sadistic neo-Nazi inmate Vernon Schillinger on the prison drama Oz.[16]
He appeared as Ralph Earnhardt, the father of race-car driver Dale Earnhardt, in 3: The Dale Earnhardt Story, and also made appearances as Will Pope, Assistant Chief of the LAPD, in the series The Closer. In the show Raising Hope, he plays Burt Chance's brother Bruce Chance. In a precursor to joining the Law & Order cast as Skoda, Simmons appeared in Homicide: Life on the Street, portraying a criminal in a Law & Order cross-over episode. Other roles include that of an army general in the television sitcom Arrested Development, and Dan the Barber in the surreal Nickelodeon series The Adventures of Pete & Pete in 1995.[17]
He played B.R. in the film Thank You for Smoking (2005) and has been praised for his performance in Juno (2007) as "Mac" McGuff, the title character's father. Simmons played J. Jonah Jameson, editor-in-chief of the newspaper Daily Bugle, in all three of Sam Raimi's Spider-Man films,[18] as well as in the expanded video game adaptation of Spider-Man 3.[19] In 2008, he played a CIA superior in Burn After Reading and appeared in Postal as Candidate Welles. He also appeared in I Love You, Man as the father of Paul Rudd's character.[20]
Throughout 2011 to 2018, Simmons was a prime time voice actor for the Adult Swim stop-motion series Robot Chicken. Simmons performed various voices for several characters over the last couple of years. For example, one of the characters that he played was Vernon Schillinger (in 2011) for a singular episode.[21] In 2011 and 2014, he also voiced Master Chief for various scenes throughout two episodes. Lastly in 2018, he voiced the widely known J. Jonah Jameson for an episode.
Personal life[edit]
Simmons married film director Michelle Schumacher in 1996.[62][63] They have two children; their daughter Olivia has appeared in two films, The Only Good Indian (2009) and I'm Not Here (2017), while their son Joe has also made occasional appearances in low-budget films. Simmons admits in an interview that he encouraged their interest in acting.[64][65]
Simmons is an avid fan of the Detroit Tigers. He threw the ceremonial first pitch for the Tigers on April 6, 2015 for Opening Day,[66] and played the Tigers' manager in For Love of the Game (1999). He is also a fan of the Ohio State Buckeyes, having spent his formative years in Ohio.[67]
He is a member of Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia, the men's music fraternity, and was initiated in 1975 at the University of Montana.[68]
During Mardi Gras 2018, he was appointed King of Bacchus by the Krewe of Bacchus.[69]