J. K. Simmons

J. K. Simmons (b. 1955) is an Academy Award-winning character actor whose roles range from the vicious Vern Schillinger on HBO's Oz and Dr. Emil Skoda in the Law and Order franchise to J. Jonah Jameson in the Spider-Man movies and Commissioner Gordon in Justice League. In commercials, Simmons plays Farmers Insurance spokescharacter Nathaniel Burke of Farmers University, including in a series of spots opposite the Sesame Street Muppets. He also appeared with a Creature Shop-effects cat in The Ladykillers.

Simmons has spent much of his career based out of New York, combining stage work (on Broadway in revivals of Peter Pan as Captain Hook/Mr. Darling and Guys and Dolls as Benny Southstreet), voice-over (the yellow M&M in commercials, ensemble voices in Anastasia), and television (in addition to L&O and Oz, soap operas and other episodic roles). Later appearing in a mix of Hollywood blockbusters and indie fare, he won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for the 2014 film Whiplash as hard driving music professor Fletcher and played the title character's father in Juno. Other films include The Cider House Rules (with Michael Caine and Tobey Maguire), Hidalgo, The Mexican, Burn After Reading, and The Jackal. On TV, he was a regular or recurred on The Closer, the Hulu revival of Veronica Mars, and Men at Work and had voice roles in Zootopia (Mayor Lionheart), various Marvel Comics series (again as J. Jonah Jameson), Justice League Unlimited (General Eiling), and The Legend of Korra (Tenzin).