See J.K. Simmons Finally Surface in New 'Terminator Genisys' Spot

Meriah Doty
·Editor
Updated

Wait, J.K. Simmons is in Terminator Genisys? Yes, yes he is. After being MIA in all the previous teaser footage for the upcoming “re-imagining" of the Arnold Schwarzenegger blockbuster series, the newly minted Oscar winner appears in this exclusive new TV spot as a neurotic San Francisco police detective.

In the film, Detective O’Brien (Simmons) partners with Sarah Connor (Emilia Clarke) and Reese (Jai Courtney) in the 2017 backdrop of Genisys. Together they fight to stem Skynet’s future acts of genocide.

This guy is no Professor Fletcher, Simmons’s Academy Award-winning Whiplash role. “O’Brien is a sad sack compared to Fletcher, especially when we first meet him,” the actor told USA Today earlier this week. In fact, his fellow officers think he’s crazy.

In a major twist in the series story, Schwarzenegger plays dueling Terminators — one seemingly bad one and one apparent good guy — at least based on what we’ve seen so far. But how and why did the killer cyborg age? His exterior (Schwarzenegger is now 67 years old) is human tissue that’s simply gotten on in years.

Fun fact: Simmons, 60, did some bodybuilding of his own for the role, earning a compliment from Ah-nuld on his triceps.

Terminator Genisys storms theaters July 1.