J.K. Simmons

09 Jan, 1955 | Detroit, Michigan

Actor

Biography

Jonathan Kimble "J. K." Simmons is an American actor. He is known for his role as Neo-Nazi Vernon Schillinger in the HBO prison drama Oz, and his role as J. Jonah Jameson in the Spider-Man film series, as well as various other television and film roles. Early life Simmons was born in Detroit, Michigan, the son of Patricia (née Kimble), an administrator, and Donald William Simmons, a college professor.He has a brother, David (a singer-songwriter), and a sister, Elizabeth. He attended the University of Montana and was a member of the Seattle Repertory Theatre. He has been a Detroit Tigers fan since his youth. Musical theatre career Prior to his film & television career, Simmons was a Broadway actor and singer. He was in the revival of Guys and Dolls as Benny Southstreet. He also played the role of Jigger in a revival of Carousel at the Houston Grand Opera. Notable film and television roles Simmons is known for his TV roles as Dr. Emil Skoda, a police psychiatrist, who has appeared on three of the four incarnations of Law & Order, and as the sadistic prison 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 played "B.R." in the film Thank You For Smoking. He has been praised for his performance in Juno as Mac McGuff, the title character\'s father. Currently, he plays Will Pope, Assistant Chief of the LAPD, in The Closer. He also played J. Jonah Jameson in all three Spider-Man movies. Simmons provided his voice for two newspaper editors in two episodes of the eighteenth season of The Simpsons. The characters are never named, but are obviously meant to emulate the character of Jameson (one, bearing Jameson\'s appearance, even demands "pictures of Spider-Man", then on being reminded he works at a poetry journal, demands "poems about Spider-Man"). Simmons provided the voice of the yellow M&M in the product\'s commercials as well as voiceover work for Norelco razors. He also provided the voice of General Wade Eiling in Justice League Unlimited. He also did an audio book for Tom Clancy\'s Net Force Point of Impact. Like many of his Law & Order co-stars, he also appeared in an episode of Homicide: Life on the Street, though he portrayed a criminal rather than his Dr. Skoda character. That episode crossed over with Law & Order before Simmons joined the cast as Skoda. He also played a small role as an army general in the television sitcom Arrested Development, alongside his Juno co-stars, Michael Cera and Jason Bateman. He has recently appeared in the video game, Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3 as the anti-communist U. S. President Howard T. Ackerman. Simmons appears also in Postal as Candidate Wells Simmons is quickly becoming known for starring in movies that are produced or directed by his friend Jason Reitman, including Thank You for Smoking, Juno and the upcoming Jennifer\'s Body, written by Juno screenwriter Diablo Cody.