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J. K. Simmons

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J.K. Simons
J. K. Simmons at the 15th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards in 2009
Born
Jonathan Kimble Simmons

(1955-01-09) January 9, 1955 (age 69)
Grosse Pointe, Michigan, US[1]
OccupationActor
Years active1986–present
Spouse
Michelle Schumacher
​
(m. 1996)​
Children2

Jonathan Kimble "J. K." Simmons (born January 9, 1955) is an American actor of film, television and stage. He is known for his roles as Dr. Emil Skoda on the NBC series Law & Order (and other Law & Order franchise series), neo-Nazi Vernon Schillinger on the HBO prison drama series Oz, Assistant Police Chief Will Pope on the TNT series The Closer, J. Jonah Jameson in Sam Raimi's Spider-Man trilogy, and the voices of Cave Johnson in the 2011 puzzle game Portal 2 and Tenzin in The Legend of Korra. Simmons also provides the voice of J. Jonah Jameson in the Ultimate Spider-Man, Hulk and the Agents of S.M.A.S.H. and Avengers Assemble animated series. He also appears in a series of television commercials for Farmers Insurance.

Simmons' performance as music instructor Terence Fletcher in Whiplash (2014) received universal acclaim and earned him more than 30 accolades, including the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, the Golden Globe and BAFTA Award.

Early life

Jonathan Kimble Simmons was born on January 9, 1955 in Grosse Pointe, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit,[2][3] the son of Patricia (née Kimble), an administrator, and Donald William Simmons, middle school music teacher.[4][5][6] When he was 10, in 1965 his family moved to Worthington, Ohio.[2] 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.[2] The younger Simmons graduated from the University of Montana[7][8] in 1978 with a music degree, where he joined Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia.[9]

He moved to Seattle, becoming a member of the Seattle Repertory Theatre.[7]

Career

Broadway

In Broadway, Simmons played Benny Southstreet in the 1992 revival of Guys and Dolls,[10] and in 1994, he sang multiple roles in the Wagner opera satire, Das Barbecu.[7] 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

Simmons is known for his television 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 (as well as in the expanded video game adaptation of Spider-Man 3). In 2008, Simmons played a CIA superior in Burn After Reading and appeared in Postal as Candidate Wells. He also appeared in I Love You, Man.

Simmons at the 2007 Toronto International Film Festival

Simmons has 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.[11] 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.[12]

In 2014, Simmons starred as Terence Fletcher in Whiplash. Fletcher is an intensely demanding conductor at the fictional Shaffer Conservatory of Music, where he bullies and cajoles the protagonist, Andrew Neiman, played by Miles Teller. The wide acclaim for Simmons' 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."[13] Entertainment Weekly summed up the reaction by saying "Simmons' performance has been universally praised... a leading contender for Best Supporting Actor".[14] On January 11, 2015 Simmons won the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture for his role in Whiplash.[15] On February 22, 2015, Simmons won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor for his role in the 2014 film Whiplash.[16]

In January 2015 Simmons was cast in a leading role in the upcoming film Kong: Skull Island.[17] Simmons has performed a substantial number 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.

He has resumed 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 said he would like to reprise the role again in Marc Webb's The Amazing Spider-Man series, a reboot of the Spider-Man film series.[18] Other voice-over work is heard in friend Reitman's film Young Adult, as the protagonist's boss via a series of voicemails. Simmons provides the voice of the yellow M&M in the product's commercials, as well as 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 audio book for Tom Clancy's Net Force: Point of Impact.

In the world of television commercials, Simmons has been featured as Professor Nathaniel Burke of the University of Farmers in television commercials for Farmers Insurance Group, beginning in 2010.[19]

Video games

Simmons appears as the anti-communist U. S. President Howard T. Ackerman in the video game Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3 and 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."[20]

In April 2011, he appeared in Portal 2 as the voice of Aperture Science founder Cave Johnson,[21] a performance that was lauded as the "surprise star turn" of the game.[22]

Awards and nominations

Year Award Work Result
2006 Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series[23] The Closer Nominated
2008 Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series[24] The Closer Nominated
2009 Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series[25] Nominated
2010 Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series[26] The Closer Nominated
2011 Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series[26] Nominated
2014 Austin Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actor[27] Whiplash Won

References

  1. ^ Hinds, Julie (24 February 2015). "J.K. Simmons lit up Oscars with simple message". The Detroit Free Press. Retrieved 24 February 2015.
  2. ^ a b c The Detroit Free Press, "Tribute From The Heart", by Julie Hinds, February 24, 2015, page A1
  3. ^ http://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/jk-simmons-154813/bio/
  4. ^ "J. K. Simmons Biography". filmreference.com.
  5. ^ "Jonathan Kimble ("J. K.") Simmons". rootsweb.com.
  6. ^ "Patricia 'Pat' Kimble Simmons". missoulian.com.
  7. ^ a b c "J. K. Simmons Biography". Yahoo! Movies.
  8. ^ "Wichita Eagle: Search Results". newsbank.com.
  9. ^ "sinfonia.org".
  10. ^ "J. K. Simmons". playbillvault.com.
  11. ^ "'Labor Day (2013)". Internet Movie Database. Retrieved February 17, 2014.
  12. ^ Stanley, Alessandra (February 21, 2014). "The Fun of Having a Single Parent". The New York Times. Retrieved April 26, 2014.
  13. ^ "Whiplash".
  14. ^ "J.K. Simmons: The friendly face behind this year's scariest movie villain".
  15. ^ "J.K. Simmons Wins Golden Globe for 'Whiplash' Role".
  16. ^ McNary, Dave (2015-02-22). "J.K. Simmons Wins Oscar for Best Supporting Actor". Variety (magazine). Retrieved 2015-02-22.
  17. ^ "J.K. Simmons Reveals Kong: Skull Island Details; Keaton All But Confirms Involvement".
  18. ^ Outlaw, Kofi (August 6, 2012). "'Amazing Spider-Man 2′: Should J.K. Simmons Return as J. Jonah Jameson?". screenrant.com. Retrieved August 6, 2012.
  19. ^ "University of Farmers Insurance". The Inspiration Room.
  20. ^ Red Alert Universe > Factions > Factions, Units, & Characters, President Ackerman character information.
  21. ^ Miller, Greg (2011-03-11). "PAX: Portal 2 Nabs J.K. Simmons". IGN. Retrieved 2011-03-14.
  22. ^ "Edge Online - Video game features, reviews & industry jobs". Edge Online.
  23. ^ "The 12th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards". sagawards.org.
  24. ^ "The 14th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards". sagawards.org.
  25. ^ "The 15th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards". sagawards.org.
  26. ^ a b "The 17th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards". sagawards.org.
  27. ^ http://austinfilmcritics.org/awards/2014-awards/
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