BWW Oscar Profile: Academy Award Nominated J.K. Simmons
By: Jennifer McHugh Feb. 16, 2015
In anticipation of the 87th Annual Academy Award broadcast on ABC on Sunday, February 22nd, BWW is spotlighting some of the nominees. Let's take a look at the work of Best Supporting Actor nominee, J.K. Simmons.
J.K. Simmons is getting a lot of attention for his nominated role in the feature film, WHIPLASH, however, he has graced our lives for years. Born in Detroit Michigan in 1955, J.K. attended the University of Montana as a music major. He performed in many regional theatre productions in the Northwest before deciding to head East to New York in the early 1980's. He appeared in a number of Off-Broadway and Broadway productions, perhaps his most famous being in the 1992 revival of GUYS AND DOLLS.
As he started to break into smaller TV roles, he first gathered attention playing White Supremacist, Vern Schillinger, the head of the Aryan Brotherhood on the HBO prison drama, OZ. He next headed over to another New York based legacy, LAW & ORDER and had a recurring role on all incarnations of the show as Dr. Emil Skoda. His latest most recognizable television role as Chief Will Pope in TNT's THE CLOSER which garnered him a SAG nomination for Best Ensemble Cast.
J.K. ventured into the world of voiceover acting and lent his signature tone to such shows as JUSTICE LEAGUE, KIM POSSIBLE, LEGEND OF KORRA and THE ULTIMATE SPIDERMAN. When he dove into the film industry, he made an even bigger splash as J. Jonah Jameson in Sam Raimi's SPIDERMAN trilogy as well as the father of JUNO in the movie of the same title. He continues to pop up in small, but significant roles in television and movies, but it was a small, Indie film this past year that put his name in the headlines.
WHIPLASH based on Damian Chazelle's experience at Princeton, the film stars Simmons, Miles Teller, Paul Reiser and Melissa Benoist. Simmons is definitely the odds on favorite to take home the golden statue as he has won nearly every award he has been nominated for with this performance of music instructor, Terence Fletcher.
J.K. seems like he's become famous overnight, but really he has been in our theaters, living rooms and movie theaters for years. WHIPLASH is a tiny movie that made a name for itself at Sundance in 2014 and has been growing ever since. Controversial at best, as a teacher's methods border on sadism to bring out musical genius of his students, Simmons has been racking up the nominations, not to mention the awards. It is a film unlike anything you've ever seen and whether you walk out of the theatre having enjoyed it or not, you won't stop thinking about it for a long time.
Here are 5 clips of the illustrious career of J.K. Simmons. The first is his turn in the 1992 revival of GUYS AND DOLLS on Broadway as Benny Southstreet. The next is his horrifying portrayal of villain, Vern Schillinger in HBO's OZ, which although creepy, shows off some of his vocal skills. Following that, are three of his most famous film roles in SPIDERMAN, JUNO and, of course, WHIPLASH.
Watch J.K. Simmons on the 87th Academy Awards telecast will air live coast-to-coast on Sunday, February 22nd 5:30PM (PST)/8:30PM (EST). And be sure to follow @BWWTVWorld for live tweets of the 2015 ACADEMY AWARDS.
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