J.K. Simmons

J.K. Simmons

Birth name: Jonathan Kimble Simmons
Born: January 9, 1955
Age: 69
Birthplace: Grosse Pointe, Michigan, U.S.
Popularity:
Biography

Jonathan Kimble Simmons (born January 9, 1955), known professionally as J. K. Simmons, is an American actor and voice actor. He is known for the television roles of Dr. Emil Skoda on the NBC series Law & Order (and other Law & Order franchise series), neo-Nazi Vernon Schillinger on the HBO prison-drama Oz, and Assistant Police Chief Will Pope on TNT's The Closer; the film roles of J. Jonah Jameson in the Sam Raimi Spider Man trilogy, and music instructor Terence Fletcher in 2014's Whiplash. He is also known for the voicing Cave Johnson in the 2011 puzzle game Portal 2, Lenny Turtletaub in BoJack Horseman, The Warden in Megamind, Kai in Kung Fu Panda 3, Stanford Pines in Gravity Falls, Tenzin in The Legend of Korra and Mayor Lionheart in Zootopia. Simmons also reprised his role as J. Jonah Jameson in various Marvel animated series and video games. He has also appeared in a series of television commercials for Farmers Insurance.

Simmons' performance in Whiplash received universal acclaim and earned him more than thirty accolades, including the Academy Award, the Golden Globe Award, and BAFTA Award for Best Supporting Actor.

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Early life

Jonathan Kimble Simmons was born on January 9, 1955 in Grosse Pointe, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit, the son of Patricia (née Kimble), an administrator, and Donald William Simmons, a middle school music teacher. In 1965, when he was 10 years old, his family moved to Worthington, Ohio. 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. The younger Simmons graduated from the University of Montana in 1978 with a music degree, where he joined Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia.

He moved to Seattle, becoming a member of the Seattle Repertory Theatre.

Career

Broadway

On Broadway, Simmons played Benny Southstreet in the 1992 revival of Guys and Dolls. In 1994 he sang multiple roles in the Wagner opera satire, Das Barbecü. 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.

Film and television roles

See also: J. K. Simmons filmography

He is known for his roles as Dr. Emil Skoda, a police psychiatrist who has appeared on three of the four incarnations of Law & Order and New York Undercover, and as sadistic neo-Nazi inmate Vernon Schillinger on the prison drama Oz. He also stars as Ralph Earnhardt, the father of race-car driver Dale Earnhardt, in 3: The Dale Earnhardt Story. He plays Will Pope, Assistant Chief of the LAPD, in the series The Closer. In an interesting precursor to his 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 kid's show The Adventures of Pete & Pete in 1995.

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. In all three of Sam Raimi's Spider-Man films, Simmons played J. Jonah Jameson, editor-in-chief of the tabloid Daily Bugle (as well as in the expanded video game adaptation of Spider-Man 3). In 2008, he played a CIA superior in Burn After Reading and appeared in Postal as Candidate Wells. He also appeared in I Love You, Man.

Simmons starred in several films produced or directed by his friend Jason Reitman, including Thank You for Smoking, Juno, Up in the Air and Jennifer's Body. In 2013, he had a small role as Mr. Jervis in Reitman's film Labor Day. He voices Tenzin, an Airbending master and the son of Aang and Katara, in the 2012 Nickelodeon series The Legend of Korra. He starred as blind lawyer "Mel Fisher" in Growing Up Fisher. He has also most recently voiced the scientist Stanford Pines on the Disney cartoon series Gravity Falls.

In the 2014 drama film Whiplash, Simmons played Terence Fletcher, an intensely demanding conductor at the fictional Shaffer Conservatory of Music, who bullies and cajoles his student, Andrew Neiman (Miles Teller). The wide acclaim for Simmons's performance includes an Academy Award win for Best Supporting Actor. Rolling Stone said "Beat the drums for an Oscar for Simmons." Richard Roeper of the Chicago Sun-Times said "Simmons delivers one of the most memorable performances of the year." Entertainment Weekly summed up the reaction by saying Simmons's performance "has been universally praised" and that he was "a leading contender for Best Supporting Actor." On January 11, 2015, Simmons won the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor - Motion Picture and the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor on February 22, 2015.

In January 2015, Simmons was cast in a leading role in the upcoming film Kong: Skull Island, but he left with Michael Keaton. Simmons performed a substantial number of voice-over roles alongside his live action work. Several of these have arisen from his J. Jonah Jameson character in Spider-Man films, including voices of two newspaper editors in episodes of the eighteenth season of The Simpsons. While unnamed, these characters are clearly meant to emulate Jameson (one, bearing Jameson's appearance, demands "pictures of Spider-Man," then on being reminded he works at a poetry journal, demands "poems about Spider-Man"). Likewise, Simmons voiced an editor-in-chief of a newspaper (with Jameson's appearance and mannerisms) for a 2013 episode of The Hub's Pound Puppies.

Simmons reprised his role as the voice of J. Jonah Jameson in the animated series Ultimate Spider-Man, The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes and Avengers Assemble. He has also expressed interest in reprising the role in Sony and Marvel Studios' upcoming reboot of the Spider-Man film series, scheduled for a 2017 release. Other voice-over work is heard in friend Reitman's film Young Adult, as the protagonist's boss via a series of voicemails. He also provides the voice of the yellow M&M in the product's commercials, as well as for the 3-D film I Lost My M in Vegas, playing at M&M's World in Las Vegas. He has also done voice-over work for Norelco razors. He also provided the voice of General Wade Eiling in Justice League Unlimited. He recorded an audiobook for Tom Clancy's Net Force: Point of Impact. He will also play James Gordon in the upcoming two-part film Justice League; the first part will be released in 2017 and the second in 2019.

In the field of television commercials, Simmons is featured as Professor Nathaniel Burke of the University of Farmers in ads for Farmers Insurance Group, since 2010.

Video games

Simmons appears as the anti-communist U.S. President Howard T. Ackerman in the video game Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3 and for a series of promotional advertisements parodying the 2008 presidential elections. In these advertisements, he offers himself (as Ackerman) as an alternative to other, unnamed presidential candidates and uses the slogan "Vote for me, if you want to live."

In April 2011, he appeared in Portal 2 as the voice of Aperture Science founder Cave Johnson, a performance that was lauded as the "surprise star turn" of the game. He reprised his role as Cave Johnson in the 2015 video game Lego Dimensions.

Personal life

Simmons and his wife, Michelle, have two children: Joe and Olivia.

Simmons is an avid fan of the Detroit Tigers of Major League Baseball. He threw the ceremonial first pitch for the Tigers on April 6, 2015 for Opening Day.

Awards and nominations

Year Association Category Title of work Result Ref.
1995 Drama Desk Awards Outstanding Actor in a Musical Das Barbecü Nominated
2006 Screen Actors Guild Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series The Closer Nominated
2008 Critics' Choice Movie Awards Best Acting Ensemble Juno Nominated
Screen Actors Guild Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series The Closer Nominated
2009 Screen Actors Guild Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series Nominated
Denver Film Critics Society Best Acting Ensemble I Love You, Man Nominated
Denver Film Critics Society Best Acting Ensemble Up in the Air Nominated
Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association Best Ensemble Nominated
2010 Screen Actors Guild Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series The Closer Nominated
2011 Screen Actors Guild Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series Nominated
2014 AACTA Award
Best Supporting Actor Whiplash Won
Academy Awards Best Supporting Actor Won
African-American Film Critics Association Best Supporting Actor Won
Alliance of Women Film Journalists Best Supporting Actor Won
Austin Film Critics Association Best Supporting Actor Won
BAFTA Awards Best Actor in a Supporting Role Won
Boston Society of Film Critics Best Supporting Actor Won
Chicago Film Critics Association Best Supporting Actor Won
Critics' Choice Movie Awards Best Supporting Actor Won
Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association Best Supporting Actor Won
Denver Film Critics Society Best Supporting Actor Won
Detroit Film Critics Society Best Supporting Actor Won
Florida Film Critics Circle Best Supporting Actor Won
Georgia Film Critics Association Best Supporting Actor Won
Golden Globe Awards Best Supporting Actor - Motion Picture Won
Houston Film Critics Society Best Supporting Actor Won
Independent Spirit Awards Best Supporting Male Won
International Online Film Critics' Poll Best Supporting Actor Won
Iowa Film Critics Best Supporting Actor Won
Las Vegas Film Critics Society Best Supporting Actor Won
London Film Critics' Circle Supporting Actor of the Year Won
Los Angeles Film Critics Association Best Supporting Actor Won
National Society of Film Critics Best Supporting Actor Won
New York Film Critics Circle Best Supporting Actor Won
New York Film Critics Online Best Supporting Actor Won
North Texas Film Critics Association Best Supporting Actor Won
Phoenix Film Critics Society Best Supporting Actor Won
Palm Springs International Film Festival Spotlight Award Won
Santa Barbara International Film Festival Virtuoso Award Won
Satellite Awards Best Supporting Actor - Motion Picture Won
Screen Actors Guild Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role Won
Southeastern Film Critics Association Best Supporting Actor Won
St. Louis Gateway Film Critics Association Best Supporting Actor Won
Toronto Film Critics Association Best Supporting Actor Won
Utah Film Critics Association Best Supporting Actor Won
Vancouver Film Critics Circle Best Supporting Actor Won
Village Voice Best Supporting Actor Won
Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association Best Supporting Actor Won
MTV Movie Awards Best Villain Nominated
Online Film Critics Society Best Supporting Actor Nominated
San Diego Film Critics Society Best Supporting Actor Nominated
San Francisco Film Critics Circle Best Supporting Actor Nominated
Saturn Awards Best Supporting Actor Nominated

[ Source: Wikipedia ]

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