J.K. Simmons Movies
Jonathan Kimble Simmons was originally a singer, with a degree in music from the University of Montana. He turned to theater in the late 1970s and appeared in many regional productions in the Pacific Northwest before moving to New York in 1983. He appeared in Broadway and off-Broadway shows and also did some television -- his early roles included the portrayal of a white supremacist responsible for multiple murders in an episode of Homicide: Life on the Street. In that same vein, Simmons first gained wide exposure as Vern Schillinger, the leader of an Aryan Brotherhood-type organization in prison in the HBO series Oz.Parlaying his small-screen notoriety into feature film opportunities, Simmons had a small part in the 1997 thriller The Jackal and played a leading role in Frank Todaro's low-budget comedy Above Freezing, a runner-up for the most popular film at the 1998 Seattle Film Festival. Also in 1997, Simmons increased his television prolificacy by taking on the role of Dr. Emil Skoda, the consulting psychiatrist to the Manhattan district attorney's office in the series Law and Order.
By 1999, Simmons was showing up in such prominent films as The Cider House Rules and the baseball drama For Love of the Game, directed by Sam Raimi. The director again enlisted Simmons for his next film, 2000's The Gift. After a supporting turn in the disappointing comedy The Mexican, Simmons teamed with Raimi for the third time, bringing cigar-chomping comic-book newspaperman J. Jonah Jameson screaming to life in the 2002 summer blockbuster Spider-Man. In 2004, he would reprise the role in the highly anticipated sequel, Spider-Man 2. That same year, along with appearing alongside Tom Hanks in the Coen Brothers' The Ladykillers, Simmons continued to be a presence on the tube, costarring on ABC's midseason-replacement ensemble drama The D.A.
His career subsequently kicking into overdrive, the popular character actor was in increasingly high demand in the next few years, enjoying a productive run as a voice performer in such animated television series' as Justice League, Kim Possible, The Legend of Korra, and Ultimate Spider-Man (the latter of which found him reprising his role as J. Jonah Jameson), as well as turning in memorable performances in Jason Reitman's Juno, Mike Judge's Extract, and as a hard-nosed captain in the 2012 crime thriller Contraband. Meanwhile, in 2005, he joined the cast of TNT's popular crime drama The Closer as Assistant Chief Will Pope -- a role which no doublt played a part in the cast earning five Screen Actors Guild Award nominations for Best Ensemble Cast. ~ Bruce Eder, Rovi
The crime drama's fourth season continues to track detective Brenda Johnson (Kyra Sedgwick) as she utilizes her sly interrogation techniques to close L.A.-area crimes and finally takes her romance with FBI man Fritz Howard (Jon Tenney) to the next level. A red-hot case opens the season when Brenda smokes out a pyromaniacal nutcase after fires threaten vast swaths of L.A. In other prime-crime events, Brenda and her Priority Homicide Division (later renamed the Major Crimes Division after a moniker overhaul) scrutinize the suicide of a high-school girl in a case that spins around a hotheaded sheriff (Daniel Baldwin). The team also probes the vanishing of a troubled tween boy; sleuths when two Tijuana cops are murdered; investigates the death of a teen involved in an explosive bombing scheme; and tangles with a known sex offender and his sly and slimy attorney. It also gets hairy in Hollywood when a TV-show hairstylist is found slain, prompting Brenda to comb for clues. On the fringe and complicating matters is pesky journalist Ricardo Ramos (Stephen Martines), whose vitriolic column puts the team on the defensive. The year proves to be a difficult one for Det. Sanchez (Raymond Cruz): Not only is his brother shot, but he's shot as well. It's also rough going for gruff yet lovable Provenza (G.W. Bailey) when he loses crucial evidence gained from a sting operation. And wedding bells might ring for a Southern belle: Brenda prepares for her upcoming nuptials with Fritz, but the ceremony could give new meaning to "shotgun wedding" when they both grow obsessed with solving two separate crimes on their big day. At least Brenda's parents (Frances Sternhagen, Barry Corbin) and Fritz's colorful psychic sister (Amy Sedaris) are in town to keep the wedding plans moving-but it won't be a piece of cake. ~ Dean Maurer, Rovi
- Starring:
- Kyra Sedgwick, J.K. Simmons, (more)
Director Yves Simoneau explores the plight of the American Indian in the later half of the 19th century in this docudrama exploring the effects of westward expansion and based on the book by Dee Brown. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Aidan Quinn, Adam Beach, (more)
Brenda Johnson (Kyra Sedgwick), head of the LAPD's Priority Homicide Division, continues to cope with high-profile murders, higher-profile suspects, and the downright hostility of her coworkers and superiors in Season Two of The Closer. Determining much of the drama this season are the ever-growing romantic difficulties between Brenda and her unit's FBI liason Fritz (Jon Tenney). There is also a pivotal--and very bloody--moment in the midseason episode "No Good Deed",when Priority Homicide's headquarters are nearly reduced to rubble by a frenzied shoot-out. In the season opener "Blue Blood", the murder of an off-duty cop forces Brenda to forestall an important decision involving Fritz. "Mom Duty" finds Brenda bending the rules to the breaking point in order to interrogate the members of a sequestered jury in the middle of a mob trial. In "Slipping", a homicide on the USC campus puts a damper on a visit from Brenda's mom. Brenda herself begins exhibiting stranger behavior than usual in the wake of a restauranteur's murder in "Aftertaste". Two of Brenda's associates, Andy Flynn (Anthony Dennison) and Det. Lt. Provenza (G.W. Bailley), endanger the future of the unit by spending too much time at sporting events in "Protect and Serve". In "Out of Focus", a stalker who specializes in shadowing other stalkers is killed. A possible pregnancy weighs heavily upon Brenda's mind as she investigates the grisly murder of a porn star in "Head Over Heels". In "Criticial Missing", a serial killer could be involved in the alleged suicide of two Japanese women. A small boy may not be guilty of murder, but the kid's mom may know more than she's letting on, in "Heroic Measures". Then follows the aforementioned "No Good Deed", itself followed by "Overkill", in which a reluctant Fritz must act as peacemaker between Brenda and another FBI agent. The two-part season finale "Serving the King" finds Brenda, forced to take administrative leave, going undercover on her own to root out a possible terrorist--even while her longtime adversary Commander Taylor (Robert Gossett) is pulling strings to break up the Priority Homicide Division. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Kyra Sedgwick, J.K. Simmons, (more)
No sooner has transplanted Atlantan Brenda Johnson (Kyra Sedgwick) arrived in Los Angeles to assume her duties as deputy police chief of the LAPD's Priority Homicide Division that she is plunged into a bizarre murder case--which, like all those that will follow, is embarrassingly high-profile. Season One of The Closer also establishes that there is no love lost between the abrasive, temperamental Brenda and her coworkers, who don't so much resent her for being a woman than for the infuriating fact that her brash behavior and unorthodox methods always yield results. The season's remaining twelve episodes include "About Face", in which the murder of a supermodel brings Brenda literally face-to-face with the Hollywood scene, phony tinsel and all. In "The Big Picture", the victim is a Russian call girl with a list of celebrity clients. Latino gang members are apparently being picked off one by one by a well-trained military sniper in "Show Yourself". "Flashpoint" involves a murder motived by corporate intrigue in the pharamaceutical industry, but Brenda finds that media scrutiny of her checkered past is more troublesome than the case at hand. In "Fantasy Date", Brenda's team embarks upon an odyssey into the seamy underworld of S&M to find the rapist-killer of a congressman's daughter. The only witness to the murder of a much-despised judge is the victim's autistic son in "Batter Up". In "The Butler Did It", Brenda faces the double whammy of a wealthy and fatally dysfunctional family, and an apparent deliberately freeze-out by her own superiors. In "Good Housekeeping", Brenda's zeal to bring a murderer to justice threatens to cost her her job, while I "LA Woman", Brenda's romance with FBI agent Fritz (Jon Tenney) is jeopardized when they both probe the deaTH of an Iranian businessman. The plot complications "Fatal Retraction" include the premature release of a convicted murderer, a victim whose identity is a mystery, and the possibility of evidence tampering within Brenda's own department. And finally, in "Standards and Practices", an unknown antagonist sabotages Brenda's career as she tracks down clues in the murder of a film producer. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Kyra Sedgwick, J.K. Simmons, (more)
- 2005
This episode elaborates upon the secret government conspiracy against the Justice League, introduced in such third-season episodes as "Fearful Symmetry" and "Ultimatum." As Batman tries to halt the conspiracy that has been fomented by the sinister Amanda Waller, Superman heads into the bowels of a volcano for a titanic battle from which he may not emerge alive. It seems that Superman's opponent is the diabolical Doomsday -- who was supposed to have been permanently killed off several episodes ago. ~ Rovi
- Starring:
- CCH Pounder, Michael Jai White, (more)
- 2004
The Justice League may have met its match in the form of hostile aliens who cannot be stopped in their efforts to overwhelm the earth. Upon disovering that the aliens are not living beings but actually compried of millions upon millions of tiny nanotech machines, Superman turns to the one man who may be able to come up with a means to destroy the invaders. That man is scientist Ray Palmer, who in his alter-ego form as The Atom shrinks himself to microscopic dimensions in order to face down the nanotechs on their own terms! ~ Rovi
- Starring:
- John C. McGinley, J.K. Simmons, (more)
Barry Pepper stars as stock-car racing legend Dale Earnhardt in this made-for-cable drama. Dale was raised by Ralph Earnhardt (J.K. Simmons), a proud man who worked at a mill to feed and clothe his family but found true satisfaction rebuilding jalopies in his garage and racing them at local events on the weekends. Ralph was a minor legend in Southern stock-car racing, and when Dale dropped out of high school to follow his own passion for racing, he started out in his father's shadow -- and with no illusions about the odds stacked against him. But after more than a decade of struggle, Dale finally began to break into the big leagues in the late '70s, and in time he became the biggest money maker in NASCAR history, tying with the great Richard Petty as the winner of the Winston Cup trophies. But the lessons Dale learned from his father took on a deeper meaning when his own teenage son, Dale Jr. (Chad McCumbee), also decided to take up racing at the age of 16 -- and Dale tried to keep his hot-headed son away from the track. Named for Earnhardt's racing number, 3: The Dale Earnhardt Story debuted on the ESPN cable network on December 11, 2004, and was released on home video shortly afterward. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Barry Pepper, Elizabeth Mitchell, (more)
Although Oz's longtime narrator, wheelchair-bound prison inmate Augustus Hill (Harold Perrineau Jr.), was killed at the end of the series' fifth season, he is still very much in attendance at the beginning of season six -- albeit from beyond the grave. Hill is, in fact, one of several ghostly prisoners, all of them victims of past tragedies occurring at the experimental "Emerald City" unit at Oswald Correction Facility, who show up to narrate the eight episodes in this, the series' final season on the air. Undaunted by previous failures and setbacks, unit manager Tim McManus (Terry Kinney) remains steadfast in his belief that the prisoners living within "Emerald City" can be rehabilitated if given freedom of movement, extra privileges, and a sense of responsibility and self-worth. Unfortunately, he may not get the chance to carry out his reforms this season, inasmuch as several prisoners have become violently ill due to faulty building substances used to renovate the unit. In another disturbing development, Emerald City's most famous "resident," charismatic Muslim leader Said (Eamonn Walker), is murdered. On a more satisfying note, the ruthlessly ambitious Governor Devlin (Zeljko Ivanek), who for six years has opposed the efforts by McManus and Warden Glynn (Ernie Hudson) to improve prison conditions, may finally be called to account for all of his crooked and underhanded dealings in the past. Oz's climactic episode, running 100 minutes, not only serves up just desserts for Devlin, but also charts the ultimate destinies of two other long-term series regulars, convicts Miguel Alvarez (Kirk Acevedo) and Tobias Beecher (Lee Tergesen). "There's no place like home." ~ Rovi
- Starring:
- Ernie Hudson, Terry Kinney, (more)
- 2003
The detectives are skeptical when Tim Grayson (Robert Stanton), a self-proclaimed psychic, insists that he has envisioned the murder of his attractive neighbor, who is found beaten to death outside a sex club. The fact that Grayson is the archetypal misfit loner, coupled with the discovery of his shoe print at the crime scene, is enough for the DA's office to draw up murder charges against him. But though Assistant District Attorney McCoy (Sam Waterson) is confident of a conviction, it turns out that just appearing to be guilty as hell isn't quite enough -- and that there are radically different degrees of "guilt." ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 2003
A woman's body is fished out of the East River, and evidence at the crime scene points to a missing football player. Also intimately involved in the case is the athlete's brother, Sean Ridgeway (Craig Walker), and his parents Howard and Miriam (John Doman and Lizbeth Mackay). This episode is distinguished by two facts: It was broadcast on a Thursday night, rather than the usual Law & Order Wednesday slot, and it was the subject of a Newsday article, written by a journalist who'd been hired to appear as an extra. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 2003
A cab driver is murdered, sending Briscoe (Jerry Orbach) and Green (Jesse L. Martin) on another clue-gathering expedition. The trail leads to a lost book, a brace of authors, and a onetime child prodigy. The story takes a bizarre twist when the suspect demands to be sentenced to death. And, oh, yes, also figuring in the proceedings is the former law school professor and mentor of ADA Serena Southerlyn (Elisabeth Rohm). ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 2003
Memories of a certain multimillionaire household-advice diva may be stirred up by this episode, which begins with the murder of a stockbroker. The first suspect is the victim's girlfriend, who happens to be the daughter of powerful, much-despised cosmetics queen Jackie Scott (Lucie Arnaz). Scott ultimately stands trial for murder, using "hormone replacement therapy withdrawal" as her defense. Complicating matters is the accused's long-standing friendship with District Attorney Arthur Branch (Fred Dalton Thompson). ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 2002
The murder of a psychologist reveals evidence that the killer had access to secret information possessed by the victim. Investigating, the detectives end up at the door of a computer company which sells information about its clients. The D.A.'s office must prove that such transactions are dangerous violations of privacy -- and that the computer firm is just as liable for the psychologist's death as the actual perpetrator. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 2002
Once again, a real-life tragedy proved to be grist for the Law & Order story mill. The detectives investigate the bizarre death of an 11-year-old girl. All clues lead to an unorthodox, and highly dangerous, "rebirthing" procedure recommended by a child therapist. This episode provides some choice acting moments for such recurring characters as Medical Examiner Rodgers (Leslie Hendrix) and police psychologist Dr. Emil Skoda (J.K. Simmons). ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 2002
The devastating big business scandals of the early 21st century served as inspiration for this episode. An investment analyst is murdered, and his body left near a ferry terminal. The detectives are faced with a surplus of suspects, most of them disgruntled investors in a failing corporation. Ultimately, however, the trail of evidence leads to the conclusion that money may not have been the primary motive. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
Previously fired from his job as manager of "Emerald City," the experimental unit set up at Oswald Correctional Facility, Tim McManus (Terry Kinney) has been reinstated by the time Oz's fifth season gets under way. The season begins with an accounting of the damage caused by the gas explosion at the end of season four. Not long afterward, "Emerald City" has new facilities, and a whole new crop of inmates -- all from solitary, having been relocated due to ventilation problems. In another development, a bus accident kills the relatives of several Emerald City inmates; among those devastated by the loss is wheelchair-bound Augustus Hill (Harold Perrineau Jr.), who makes a dangerous choice when he tries to console himself. Elsewhere, convict Miguel Alvarez (Kirk Acevedo) puts his life on the line to reassert his control over the prisoners; inmate Rebadow (George Morfogen) is cheated out of a two-million-dollar lottery prize; and the prisoners put on a variety show. Season five ends with an overabundance of cliffhanger situations involving (among other things) a comatose convict and a capital murder conviction. There is also a devastating loss at season's end -- even more devastating than the one incurred at the outset of the season. ~ Rovi
- Starring:
- Ernie Hudson, Terry Kinney, (more)
- 2002
Briscoe (Jerry Orbach) and Green (Jesse L. Martin) investigate the murder of a high school English teacher. Their prime suspect is shy student Fiona Reed (Stephi Lineburg), a troubled teenager who, by all accounts, is the product of a miserable, abusive home environment. Digging a bit deeper, the detectives and lawyers McCoy (Sam Waterston) and Southerlyn (Elisabeth Rohm) make the startling discovery that Fiona is not all that she claims to be -- and is not, in fact, even a teenager. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 2002
In another episode loosely inspired by actual events, the limo driver for star baseball player Kevin Seleeby (Reynaldo Rosales) is murdered. When it turns out that the victim was regularly supplying steroids to his boss, Seleeby becomes the prime suspect. But, as often happens on this series, the DA's office discovers that nothing is cut and dried, not even what seems to be irrefutable evidence. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 2001
Former series regular Carey Lowell makes a return appearance as Jamie Ross, onetime assistant District Attorney, now counsel for the defense. The story begins with a school shooting in which four are killed and 12 are wounded. An interview with a school psychologist reveals that the suspect, a teenager with a long history of "violent episodes," had sent a threatening e-mail to the student council president just prior to the massacre. But this vital clue may never make it to court: Jamie Ross argues that the e-mail was privileged information, and as such is inadmissible. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 2001
The black CEO of a magazine publishing firm is murdered. The detectives put the pieces together and collar a rabidly racist suspect. After the D.A.'s office takes over the case, the suspect's defense attorney serves up a curve ball by arguing that racism is a "mental defect." This is the first Law & Order episode in which the terrible events of September 11, 2001 were acknowledged. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
As season four of Oz begins, the experimental unit at Oswald State Correctional Facility known as "Emerald City" is not living up to manager Tim McManus' (Terry Kinney) hopes. Ever since he set up the unit, wherein convicts are given more freedom of movement, extra privileges, and the opportunity for advancement, McManus has been frustrated that his good intentions have not paid off in wholesale rehabilitation. In fact, things seem to have gotten worse, with too many murders and suicides occurring within the unit. Hoping to alleviate the situation, McManus' head guard, Murphy (Robert Clohessy), suggests that all the cons -- including those in solitary -- spend an hour each day indulging in healthy recreation. Again, however, the plan fails when a killing takes place during that special hour. With more episodes this season than in previous years (16, compared to the usual eight), Oz is able to devote extra time to a plethora of subplots. One of these involves convicted murderer Shirley Bellinger (Kathryn Erbe), who after losing her unborn baby under suspicious circumstances is sent back to death row. Also, a group of illegal aliens sequestered in Emerald City is the catalyst for a rash of violence; Warden Glynn (Ernie Hudson) runs for lieutenant governor; an attempt to film a documentary in Oz ends in disaster; Busmalis (aka "The Mole") (Tom Mardirosian), manages to break out of prison, only to be recaptured as he stands outside the home of his favorite TV star; crooked evangelist Rev. Cloutier (Luke Perry) is tossed into the unit; and infirmary doctor Gloria Nathan (Lauren Velez) is raped. Tensions continue to mount as McManus is fired and convict Miguel Alvarez (Kirk Acevedo) escapes (these plot twists were designed to allow Acevedo and his co-star Terry Kinney to take leaves of absence to appear in other projects); new unit manager Martin Querns (Reg E. Cathey) cuts a sinister deal with drug-dealing con Adebisi (Adewale Akinnouye-Agbaje) to put a lid on the violence; fired guard Clayton Hughes (Seth Gilliam) tries to assassinate Governor Devlin (Zeljko Ivanek); a plot is hatched to frame wheelchair-bound convict Hill (Harold Perrineau Jr.) for a crime he hasn't committed; the children of inmate Beecher (Lee Tergesen) are placed in jeopardy thanks to orders from the "inside"; and incarcerated Muslim leader Said (Eamonn Walker) settles accounts with an old enemy. The season ends with a cliffhanger, sparked -- literally -- by a deadly gas explosion. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Ernie Hudson, Terry Kinney, (more)
- 2000
The trunk of an abandoned car yields the dead body of a schoolteacher. Detectives Briscoe (Jerry Orbach) and Green (Jesse L. Martin) suspect that the killing was the result of a gone-bad romance between the teacher and one of her students. But the D.A.'s office ultimately issues warrants for the dead woman's husband (Richard Joseph Paul) and father-in-law (Jon Cypher) -- psychiatrists both. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
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