J.K. Simmons

A struggling jazz drummer must navigate the brutal tutelage of his demanding instructor to prove himself as a musician, but at what cost to his sanity and relationships?

Born

January 9, 1955

From

Detroit, Michigan, USA

157

Credits on file

Decades active

Awards

Upcoming

In short · Acting since 1989, 5 decades active, 157 credits, 1 Academy Award win.

Known for

Ranked by community engagement + sustained interest across this person's credits in our database.

Now & next

2027
Upcoming
Hypergalactic
Jul 11
In the news
Mob Drama 'The Westies' Premieres, 'Lestat' Explores Witchcraft, 'Grantchester' Tackles Church Crime
“A new mob drama, 'The Westies,' premieres on MGM+, following the conflict between Irish gangsters and the Italian mob in 1980s New York. The series explores tensions between the Westies, led by J.K. Simmons, and the Gambino family during the construction of the Javits Convention Center. Meanwhile, in 'The Vampire Lestat,' Lestat reconnects with his former lover Louis as the vampire community prepares for a major gathering. 'Grantchester' delves into a crisis of faith as the vicar investigates crime within his church, featuring guest star Nicholas Ralph. The Wimbledon tournament concludes with men's and women's finals as the World Cup continues its quarterfinals.”
2014
Award win
Academy Awards — Oscar — Actor in a Supporting Role

Biography

Jonathan Kimble Simmons (born January 9, 1955) is an American actor who has appeared in over 200 film and television roles since his debut in 1986. He has won an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award, a Golden Globe Award, a Screen Actors Guild Award, and a Critics Choice Award, among other honors.

Simmons has portrayed a range of characters in film, including J. Jonah Jameson in Sam Raimi's Spider-Man trilogy (2002–2007), B.R. in *Thank You for Smoking* (2005), Mac MacGuff in *Juno* (2007), Terence Fletcher in *Whiplash* (2014), Bill in *La La Land* (2016), William Frawley in *Being the Ricardos* (2021), and Commissioner James Gordon in *Justice League* (2017), *Zack Snyder's Justice League* (2021), and *Batgirl* (2022). He has also reprised his role as Jameson in various Marvel media, including animated series and the Spider-Man films *Far From Home* (2019), *Venom: Let There Be Carnage* (2021), *Spider-Man: No Way Home* (2021), and the web series *TheDailyBugle.net* (2019; 2021).

On television, Simmons is known for his roles as Dr. Emil Skoda on *Law & Order*, Vernon Schillinger on *Oz*, and Assistant Police Chief Will Pope on *The Closer*. He starred as Howard Silk in *Counterpart* from 2017 to 2019 and appeared in commercials for Farmers Insurance and the IFC comedy series *Brockmire*. In 2020, he had recurring roles in the miniseries *Defending Jacob* and *The Stand*.

As a voice artist, Simmons has voiced Cave Johnson in *Portal 2* (2011), 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), Klaus in *Klaus* (2019), Pig Baby in *Infinity Train* (2021), and Nolan “Omni-Man” Grayson in *Invincible* (2021). He has also been the voice of the Yellow M&M since 1996.

Filmography · 146 of 146

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