J.K. Simmons Looks Back on Spiderman Role, and Looks Ahead Toward MCU
One of the most recognizable, and yet underrated actors of his generation, an Academy Award winner, the face of a clever and enduring ad campaign, and a presence in some of your favorite films and TV shows; J.K. Simmons looks back on Spiderman role and looks ahead toward the MCU.
Simmons is quite the definition of underappreciated.
He’s won an Oscar for his riveting and troublesome performance as Terrance Fletcher in Whiplash. A violent, brash, and unsettling Jazz instructor who molds his students with fire, brimstone, and insults; and values greatness above all else.
The role had placed Simmons in a spotlight that was unique to the Actors long career; as his entire acting life had seemed to place him in much smaller roles.
The face, and voice, of the famous State Farm, “we know a thing or two, because we’ve seen a thing or two,” ad campaign, Simmons had become a widely recognizable face for his part in those commercials; but before State Farm, and Whiplash, Simmons played an iconic character in a very beloved superhero movie.
Cast As J. Jonah Jameson in Sam Raimi’s Spiderman trilogy, Simmons truly embodied what makes that character such a fantastic piece of the Peter Parker mythos; not to mention he is one of the most faithful looking adaptations in comic movie history.
In a shocking move, Simmons was chosen by Marvel to return to the character of Jameson in the MCU Spiderman films; with a unique take on the character that sees him play a borderline Alex Jones-like Jameson, dead set on exposing the criminal that is Spiderman.
It is through this rebirth, and reflection, J.K. Simmons looks back on Spiderman role, and look ahead toward the MCU.
Simmons, in a recent interview with Denofgeek.com, reflected on the character, the director he worked with on the original Spiderman films, and his direction with the MCU.
Simmons told the website, “Those movies with Sam will always be big highlights of my career and life, Sam is one of my favorite directors and human beings.”
For Simmons, there is a certain joy in playing the continuously pessimistic Jameson. The veteran actor spoke on his return to the character, and what he’s looking forward to with this Marvel Studios universe.
“To have the opportunity to kind of do a reboot of the character, I was eager to hang on to the things I really loved about it and totally open to letting go of some of that, and realizing we are in a more updated version of that universe,” Simmons stated. “Hopefully, we found the sweet spot there.”
The beauty of Jameson is that he is unchanging; the actor noted, stating, “For a lot of characters, that evolution is a really important aspect. I like the lack of evolution of that character. There are ways that he’s evolved, but he’s the same blowhard… and that’s what I enjoy doing.”
Fans can catch Simmons reprise his role in Marvel’s Spiderman: No Way Home