J.K. Simmons Biography

Born in Detroit, Michigan, J.K. Simmons' full name is Jonathan Kimble Simmons. He graduated from the University of Montana and also attended Ohio State University.

His breakthrough on the small screen came after years of acting, on the HBO prison drama series Oz, playing Vern Schillinger.

After working on Oz, J.K. appeared in a number of popular films and TV projects in the late '90s and early 2000s, including The Cider House Rules (1999), Autumn in New York (2000), The Gift (2000), The Mexican (2001), Spider-Man (2002), Law & Order: Special Victims Unit and ER.

J.K. went back to film with Spider-Man 2 (2004) and followed that up with roles in other movies including Thank You for Smoking (2005), Spider-Man 3 (2007), Juno (2007), Jennifer's Body (2009), Contraband (2012) and Labor Day (2013).

In 2015, J.K. won industry attention when he received an Academy Award for his supporting role in Damien Chazelle's indie film Whiplash (2014) with Miles Teller. His outstanding performance also earned him a Golden Globe, Screen Actors Guild award and BAFTA award.

J.K. has since starred in a number of films, including Terminator Genisys (2015), The Meddler (2015) and Worlds Apart (2015). He also lent his voice to the animated films Zootopia (2016) and Kung Fu Panda 3 (2016) and on TV, he has voiced multiple roles on Robot Chicken (2008 - 2018), The Simpsons (2006 - 2019) and American Dad! (2011 - 2019).

Other big screen credits include the musical La La Land (2016), which reunited him with director Damien Chazelle. He has also played substantial roles in films such as the true-story drama Patriots Day (2017) starring Mark Wahlberg, the comedies Bastards (2017) and All Nighter (2017), and the animated picture Rock Dog (2017) with Luke Wilson. He played Commissioner Gordon in Justice League (2017) with Ben Affleck and Gal Gadot and starred alongside Hugh Jackman in the political drama The Front Runner (2018) and with Chadwick Boseman in the crime thriller 21 Bridges (2019).

In the Apple TV+ series Defending Jacob (2020), he played a convicted murderer whose grandson is also accused of murder.

J.K. received his second Academy Award nomination in 2022 for his role as William Frawley in the Prime Video biopic Being the Ricardos (2021).

In 1996 J.K. married actress/producer Michelle Schumacher, whom he met while doing a tour of the stage musical Peter Pan. They have two sons together.

Filmography:

Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021)
National Champions (2021)
Being the Ricardos (2021)
Ghostbusters: Afterlife (2021)
Seal Team (2021)
Venom: Let There Be Carnage (2021)
The Tomorrow War (2021)
Ride the Eagle (2021)
Zack Snyder's Justice League (2021)
Defending Jacob (2020)
Palm Springs (2019)
Klaus (2019)
21 Bridges (2019)
The Front Runner (2018)
Justice League (2017)
The Snowman (2017)
All Nighter (2017)
Bastards (2017)
The Lake (2017)
Rock Dog (2017)
Patriots Day (2017)
The Accountant (2016)
Kung Fu Panda 3 (2016)
La La Land (2016)
The Late Bloomer (2016)
The Meddler (2016)
Zootopia (2016)
Break Point (2015)
The Rewrite (2015)
Terminator Genisys (2015)
Labor Day (2014)
Men, Women & Children (2014)
Murder of a Cat (2014)
The Wedding Guest (Barefoot) (2014)
Whiplash (2014)
Dark Skies (2013)
Jobs (2013)
An Invisible Sign (2012)
A Beginner's Guide to Endings (2012)
Contraband (2012)
Crazy on the Outside (2010)
Extract (2009)
I Love You, Man (2009)
Jennifer's Body (2009)
New in Town (2009)
Way of War (2009)
First Snow (2007)
Juno (2007)
Spider-Man 3 (2007)
Thank You For Smoking (2006)
The Ladykillers (2004)
Spider-Man 2 (2004)
Spider-Man (2002)
The Mexican (2001)
The Gift (2000)
Autumn in New York (2000)
The Cider House Rules (1999)
Above Freezing (1998)
Love Walked In (1997)
Extreme Measures (1996)
The First Wives Club (1996)
The Scout (1994)
The Ref (1994)