People

J.K. Simmons

Acting · follow into films and chains

Biography

Jonathan Kimble Simmons (born January 9, 1955) is an American actor. He has been cited as one of the greatest contemporary character actors, and has appeared in over 200 film and television roles since his debut in 1986. He is an Academy Award, BAFTA Award, Golden Globe Award, Screen Actors Guild Award, and Critics Choice Award winner, among other accolades. His film roles include J. Jonah Jameson in Sam Raimi's Spider-Man trilogy (2002–2007), tobacco industry executive B.R. in Thank You for Smoking (2005), Mac MacGuff in Juno (2007), music instructor Terence Fletcher in Whiplash (2014), Bill in La La Land (2016), William Frawley in Being the Ricardos (2021), and Commissioner James Gordon in the DC Extended Universe films Justice League (2017), Zack Snyder's Justice League (2021), and Batgirl (2022). He reprised his role as Jameson in various Marvel media unrelated to the Sam Raimi trilogy, including multiple animated series and the Marvel Cinematic Universe/Sony's Spider-Man Universe films Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019), Venom: Let There Be Carnage, and Spider-Man: No Way Home (both 2021), and the web series TheDailyBugle.net (2019; 2021). On television, he is known for playing Dr. Emil Skoda on the NBC series Law & Order, white supremacist prisoner Vernon Schillinger on the HBO series Oz, and Assistant Police Chief Will Pope on TNT's The Closer. From 2017 to 2019, he starred as Howard Silk in the Starz series Counterpart. He has also appeared in a series of commercials for Farmers Insurance and starred in the third season of the IFC comedy series Brockmire. In 2020, he had recurring roles on the miniseries Defending Jacob and The Stand. As a voice artist, he is known for voicing Cave Johnson in the video game 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), the titular character in Klaus (2019), Pig Baby in Season 4 of the HBO Max animated series Infinity Train (2021), and Nolan “Omni-Man” Grayson in the Amazon Prime action animated series Invincible (2021). He has been the voice of the Yellow M&M since 1996.

Notable films

Where to start

Highlights from credits and KinoChain journeys.

Spider-Man: No Way Home

As J. Jonah Jameson

Whiplash

Appears in a KinoChain journey

La La Land

Appears in a KinoChain journey

Heart of the Beast

Appears in a KinoChain journey

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse

As J. Jonah Jameson (voice)

Spider-Man

As J. Jonah Jameson

Spider-Man 3

As J. Jonah Jameson

Red One

As Nick

Chains

KinoChain journeys

Public chains that pass through their films — or name them as a bridge.

Browse all chains

The Reckless Edge - Talent as a Double-Edged Sword

Forty years after Top Gun roared into cinemas, Maverick's need for speed still feels as exhilarating as ever. But Pete Mitchell is part of a much bigger movie t...

7 films

Loyalty Beyond the Last Breath

From the Alaskan wilds to the trenches of war, a journey through films where the bond between soldier and dog faces the ultimate test.

8 films

Unmasked: Living in the Aftermath of Exposure

The secret is out, and the thrill of anonymity is gone. This collection skips the suspense of a secret identity to focus on the unglamorous aftermath of total e...

7 films

The Path to La La Land & Its Legacy

A decade on from its 2016 debut, La La Land remains a landmark achievement in modern cinema: a dazzling, bittersweet love letter to big dreams and hard choices....

7 films

Topics