J. K. Simmons

Infobox actor


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birthname = Jonathan Kimble Simmons
birthdate = Birth date and age|1955|1|9
birthplace = Detroit, Michigan
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occupation = actor
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Jonathan Kimble Simmons (born January 9, 1955), billed as J. K. Simmons, is an American actor. He is known for his role as Neo-Nazi Vernon Schillinger 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.

Biography

Early life

Simmons was born in Detroit, Michigan, the son of Patricia (née Kimble), an administrator, and Donald William Simmons, a college professor. [cite web |url=http://www.filmreference.com/film/81/J-K-Simmons.html |title=J. K. Simmons Biography |publisher=FilmReference.com ] [cite web |url=http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~battle/celeb/simmons.htm |title=Jonathan Kimble (“J. K.”) Simmons |publisher=rootsweb ] He has a brother, David (a singer-songwriter), and a sister, Elizabeth. He attended the University of Montanacite web |title=J. K. Simmons Biography |publisher=Yahoo! Movies |url=http://movies.yahoo.com/movie/contributor/1800307135/bio ] and was a member of the Seattle Repertory Theatre. He has been a Detroit Tigers fan since his youth.

Career

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 famous race-car driver Dale Earnhardt, in "". He played "B.R." in the film "Thank You For Smoking". He has been praised for his portrayal of Mac McGuff, Juno's father, in "Juno". Currently, he plays as the Assistant Chief of the LAPD, Will Pope in "The Closer".

Portrayal of J. Jonah Jameson

He also played the obsessively egotistical newspaper editor J. Jonah Jameson in all three Spider-Man movies, his portrayal being very well-received by fans of the comic book hero. 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".)

Lesser known roles

Less well known is that 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 "", though he portrayed a criminal suspect 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 also plays President Howard T. Ackerman in the upcoming video game, Red Alert 3.

Association with Jason Reitman

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.

Filmography

* "Pom Poko" (1994 film) - Seizaemon
* "The Ref" (1994 film) - Lt. Siskel
* "Oz (TV series)" (1997) - Vernon Schillinger
* "The Jackal" (1997 film) - Witherspoon
* "Celebrity (1998 film)" - Souvenir Hawker
* "The Cider House Rules (film)" (1999) - Ray Kendall
* "For Love of the Game" (2000 film) - Frank Perry
* "Autumn in New York" (2000 film) - Dr. Tom Grandy
* "The Gift (2000 film)" - Sheriff Pearl Johnson
* "The Mexican" (2001 film) - Ted Slocum
* " - (TV series)" (2000 - 2001) - Dr. Emil Skoda
* "Spider-Man (film)" (2002) - J. Jonah Jameson
* "Off the Map (film)" (2003) - George
* "Hidalgo (film)" (2004) - Buffalo Bill Cody
* "The Ladykillers (2004 film)" - Garth Pancake
* "Spider-Man 2" (2004 film) - J. Jonah Jameson
* "" (2004 in television) - Ralph Earnhardt
* "Harsh Times" (2005 in film) - Agent Richards
* "The Closer" (2005) TV series - Asst. Police Chief Will Pope
* "Thank You for Smoking" (2006 in film) - Budd "BR" Rohrabacher
* "First Snow" (2006 in film) - Vacaro
* "The West Wing" (2006, episode Duck and Cover) - Harry Ravitch
* "The Astronaut Farmer" (2006) - FAA Director Jacobson
* "Justice League Unlimited" (2006) TV series - General Wade Eiling
* "The Simpsons" ("Moe'N'a Lisa") - voice of J. Jonah Jameson
* "The Simpsons" ("Homerazzi") - voice of tabloid editor
* "Spider-Man 3" (2007 in film) - J. Jonah Jameson
* "Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee (film)" (2007) - McLaughlin
* "Rendition (film)" (2007 in film) - Lee Mayer
* "Juno" (2007 in film) - Mac MacGuff
* "Burn After Reading" (2008 in film) - CIA Superior
* "Red Sands" (2008 in film) - Arson
* "The Way of War" (2008 in film) - Mitchell
* "" (2008) - President Howard T. Ackerman
* "Chilled in Miami" (2009 in film) - TBA
* "The Vicious Kind" (2009 in film) - TBA
* "Jennifer's Body" (2009 in film) - Mr. Wroblewski
* "Crazy on the Outside" (2009 in film) - TBA
* "I Love You, Man" (2009 in film) - TBA
* "Extract" (2009 in film) - TBA

References

External links

*
* [http://youtube.com/watch?v=BQE045CkDpY Jewno] , a short film in which Simmons parodies his role in Juno