J.K. Simmons Swears His New J. Jonah Jameson Isn't Based on Alex Jones
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
J.K. Simmons is trying not to go on his "old curmudgeon rant." He's reflecting on youth and expectation—how younger generations desire instant recognition, how it took Simmons a long time to land something like Marvel's J. Jonah Jameson, how it was all worth it, anyway.
“If you’re getting into [acting], because you want to be rich and famous and get a lot of attention, then I don’t have much to say to you, because, the joy that I get from the work still, even though I am, by all reasonable expectations, all of the above—the joy in the work isn’t, look at me, look at me, or how much money did I make this year? The joy is doing the work. And I think it’s easy for a lot of young actors, of every generation, to lose sight of that and get stars in their eyes.”
Simmons takes a beat, catching himself. “Really, really going out on a cranky old guy rant,” he says. He grins.
Simmons has probably best channeled the old curmudgeon rant into Jameson, a character he's played since 2002's Spider-Man. This month, he'll reprise the role for a fifth time in Spider-Man: No Way Home, joining other actors like Alfred Molina, who also made the leap from one franchise to another.
In an interview with Men's Health, Simmons gave as spoiler-free a breakdown of the character as he could, including where he takes his curmudgeon inspiration and what he thinks of J.J.J. now, almost 20 years later.
Men's Health: J. Jonah Jameson has always been something of a news parody. In the Sam Raimi movies he’s the fast-talking 1940s newspaperman. He’s since been updated as a controversial talk show host. Is he parodying anyone in particular now? It’s hard not to see Bill O’Reilly or Alex Jones. Did you refer to anything outside the comic for research here?
J.K. Simmons: To me, it’s the same guy but with less hair and in a different medium. Always the blowhard. He was always somebody who refused to listen to anything other than his own point of view. And, you know, if people want to equate that with their specific talking head in the media somewhere that they feel I’m channeling, well, feel free to do that. But all I’m doing is playing the same guy from the comic books, who has been brought forward into the 21st century. And so yeah, you’re not running a print newspaper anymore, because that’s not how most people are digesting their news anymore. You got to be on a screen, and you got to be controversial. You know, ranting about whatever it is you're ranting about. So, no. Coincidence. Similarities to any persons living or dead is entirely coincidental.
MH: So you weren’t watching InfoWars while taking notes?
JS: [laughing] I’m not watching anything other than sports and whatever movie my wife and daughter want to watch.
MH: What was your introduction into the MCU like?
JS: That happened really quickly. I never actually asked them, but it felt like it must have almost been an afterthought. My first JJJ reappearance... I think the film was almost in the can when they came to my agent and said, ‘We'd love to sit down with J.K. and the director and producer in the studio.’ And like the next day, we were sitting around a table and they said, ‘Hey, what do you think? We’d like to bring this back.’ And I was excited about it. Really, the only discussion was ‘how are we going to bring that character and make him sort of fit into 2018?’ Once we kind of decided, you know, not all that much was going to change except the medium that he’s working in, it was an easy and fun and exciting thing to say ‘yes.’
And it's been really great doing these. It's just a little comic relief. You know, a glorified cameo. Which is perfect. It’s what I’ve always felt that character should be. That’s what it was in the Sam Raimi movies. It’s always been just a fun sort of slice of comic relief. It's a joy to be having an opportunity to do it again 20 years later.
MH: Is there anything you added into this latest version, though?
JS: I can’t say that I specifically put it in. I think that the writers and director, you know, put things in. There are some fun little updates. But I’m the most spoiler averse guy on the planet, so I'm gonna stop talking right now.
This interview has been edited and condensed. Men's Health's full J.K. Simmons feature story is coming soon.
You Might Also Like
