J. K. Simmons is an American actor, considered one of the most prolific and well-established character actors of his generation. He has appeared in over 200 films and television roles since his debut in 1986 with film roles including J. Jonah Jameson in Sam Raimi's Spider-Man trilogy (2002–2007), Thank You for Smoking with Aaron Eckhart (2005), Juno (2007), Whiplash with Miles Teller (2014), for which he won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, La La Land with Ryan Gosling (2016), Commissioner Jim Gordon in Justice League (2017), Santa Claus in Klaus (2019) and Red One (2024), and William Frawley in Being the Ricardos (2021). He reprised his role as Jameson in various Marvel media unrelated to the Raimi trilogy, including the Marvel Cinematic Universe films Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019) and Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021), the Sony's Spider-Man Universe film Venom: Let There Be Carnage (2021), and the animated film Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (2023). He has also voiced Jameson in a multitude of animated television shows.
On television, he is known for playing Dr. Emil Skoda in the Law & Order franchise (1997–2010), white supremacist prisoner Vernon Schillinger on the HBO series Oz (1997–2003), and Assistant Police Chief Will Pope on the TNT series The Closer (2005–2012). From 2017 to 2019, he starred as Howard Silk in the Starz series Counterpart. In 2020, he had recurring roles on the miniseries Defending Jacob and The Stand.
As a voice artist, he is known for voicing Magister Prior Gilhil on Ben 10: Alien Force and Ben 10: Ultimate Alien, Cave Johnson in the video game Portal 2 (2011) and its spin-off Aperture Desk Job (2022), Tenzin in The Legend of Korra (2012–2014), Stanford "Ford" Pines in the second season of Gravity Falls (2015–2016), Kai in Kung Fu Panda 3 (2016), Mayor Leodore Lionheart in Zootopia (2016), Nolan Grayson / Omni-Man in Invincible (2021–present) and Mortal Kombat 1 (2023), and Captain Putty in Chip 'N Dale: Rescue Rangers (2022).
Film Year Title Role Notes 1994 The Ref Colonel Siskel The Scout Assistant CoachCINEMA: Fast Pitch Time1996 The First Wives Club Federal Marshal Extreme Measures Dr. Mingus1997 Love Walked In Mr. Shulman Crossing Fields Guy The Jackal FBI Agent Timothy I. Witherspoon Anastasia Additional voices Voice1998 Celebrity Souvenir Hawker Above Freezing Hoyd1999 Hit and Runway Ray Tilman The Cider House Rules Ray KendallEbert, Roger (December 17, 1999). "The Cider House Rules" . Roger Ebert/Chicago Sun-Times. For Love of the Game Frank Perry I Lost My M in Vegas Yellow Voice; short film2000 Autumn in New York Dr. Tom Grandy The Gift Sheriff Pearl Johnson 2001 The Mexican Ted Slocum"From adulterous mob boss to gay hit man: Tough-guy Gandolfini praised for The Mexican" (March 8, 2001) Edmonton Journal 2002 Spider-Man J. Jonah Jameson2003 Disposal Old-Age Hunter Short film Off the Map George2004 Hidalgo William "Buffalo Bill" CodyRoger Ebert, "HIDALGO" , Chicago Sun-Times, March 5, 2004 The Ladykillers Garth Pancake Spider-Man 2 J. Jonah Jameson2005 Thank You for Smoking B.R. Pom Poko Seizaemon Voice; English dub A green check mark indicates that a role has been confirmed using a screenshot (or collage of screenshots) of a title's list of voice actors and their respective characters found in its credits or other reliable sources of information. Harsh Times Agent RichardsHarsh Times page, rottentomatoes.com, (see consensus).2006 First Snow Vacaro The Astronaut Farmer Jacobson2007 Spider-Man 3 J. Jonah Jameson Postal Candidate Welles Juno Mac MacGuff Rendition Lee Mayer 2008 Burn After Reading CIA Superior2009 The Vicious Kind Donald Sinclaire New in Town Stu Kopenhafer The Way of War Sergeant Mitchell Red Sands Lieutenant Colonel Arson I Love You, Man Oswald Klaven Aliens in the Attic Skip VoiceJosh Peck Heads Out Of This World For Ashley Tisdale's Sci-Fi Flick 'Upstairs' MTV. Retrieved March 4, 2009. Post Grad Roy DaviesEbert, Roger."Post Grad" (review), Chicago Sun-Times, August 19, 2009 Extract Brian Up in the Air Bob Jennifer's Body Mr. Wroblewski2010 4192: The Crowning of the Hit King Narrator Voice; documentary Crazy on the Outside Ed An Invisible Sign Mr. Jones A Beginner's Guide to Endings Uncle Pal Megamind WardenVoice Cats & Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore Gruff K-9 True Grit J. Noble Daggett Voice; uncredited2011 The Music Never Stopped Henry Sawyer The Good Doctor Detective Krauss Blackstone Detective Burke Short film Young Adult Mavis's Publisher Voice; uncredited Sidebar to story "Charlize Theron Gets an 'Adult' Education"2012 The Words Mr. Jansen Contraband Captain Camp Adventure Planet President of Capitol State Voice2013Jobs Arthur Rock Dark Skies Edwin Pollard 3 Geezers! J. Kimball Labor Day Mr. Jervis The Heeler RoscoeShort film The Magic Bracelet The Shaman WhiplashTerence Fletcher2014 Whiplash Barefoot Dr. Bertleman Break Point Jack The Boxcar Children Dr. Moore Voice Murder of a Cat Sheriff Frank Hoyle The Rewrite Dr. Hal Lerner Men, Women & Children Allison's Dad Ava & Lala General Tiger Voice2015 The Jay Z Story Nas Short film April and the Extraordinary World Rodrigue Voice Terminator Genisys O'Brien The Meddler "Zipper" Worlds Apart Sebastian2016 The Accountant Raymond King Kung Fu Panda 3 KaiVoice Zootopia Mayor Lionheart Punching Henry Jay Warren La La Land Bill The Late Bloomer James Newmans Patriots Day Sergeant Jeffrey Pugliese2017 Rock Dog Khampa Voice All Nighter Mr. Gallo The Black Ghiandola Ralph Aceto Short film The Bachelors Bill Palet Renegades Levin I'm Not Here Steve The Snowman Arve Stop Justice League Detective Jim Gordon Father Figures Roland Hunt2018 A Boy Called Sailboat Ernest The Boxcar Children: Surprise Island Dr. Moore Voice The Front Runner Bill Dixon2019 Fanboy J.K. / Frank Perry Short film Spider-Man: Far From Home J. Jonah Jameson Cameo 3 Days with Dad Joey Klaus Klaus (Santa Claus) Voice 21 Bridges Captain Matt McKenna 2020 Palm Springs Roy Schlieffen 2021 The Tomorrow War James Forester Ride the Eagle Carl Venom: Let There Be Carnage J. Jonah Jameson Uncredited cameo; mid-credits scene Seal Team Claggart Voice Ghostbusters: Afterlife Ivo Shandor Cameo Being the Ricardos William Frawley National Champions Coach James Lazor Spider-Man: No Way HomeJ. Jonah Jameson2022 Morbius Cameo; deleted scenes Marmaduke ZeusVoice Chip 'n Dale: Rescue Rangers Captain Putty Glorious Ghatanothoa2023 Little Brother Warren Duffy One Day as a Lion Walter Boggs Rally Road Racers GnashVoice Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse J. Jonah Jameson The Venture Bros.: Radiant Is the Blood of the Baboon Heart Ben 2024 You Can't Run Forever Wade The Union Tom Brennan Saturday Night Milton Berle Juror No. 2 Harold Red One Nick (Santa Claus) 2025 The Accountant 2 Raymond King 2026 The Brink of War George Shultz Heart of the Beast Watkins Purgatory Father Malone Christopher Marc, "‘Purgatory’: J.K. Simmons, Abby Elliott, John Reynolds & More Star In ’80s-Set Coming-Of-Age Dramedy From Lindsay Lanzillotta". The Playlist, February 24, 2026. TBA Vex Post-production; voice Post-production
Television