After watching HBO’s Oz for years, it was hard for me to picture JK Simmons playing a nice guy. Then I saw Juno, and fell in love with him. It sounds like Simmons is going to continue steering clear of the skinhead criminal roles…for now. He’s just joined the cast of An Invisible Sign of My Own, an indie drama starring Jessica Alba.

His role in the movie has yet to be announced, but if I can take the liberty to connect the dots I believe he will be playing Alba’s father. From the title, An Invisible Sign of My Own sounds like a Lifetime movie. I know I shouldn’t judge a movie by its title, but take a look at the plot. Alba plays a math whiz whose father gets super sick, leaving her with very little will to live. She finds a job as a math teacher and discovers that she has a special and significant way to reach those kids. She regains her faith in life and finds a love interest. Plus, the screenwriter, Michael Ellis, wrote The Wedding Planner. That’s not a good sign. HR reports that this movie will be an “Amelie-style indie,” so there may still be hope. HR also reports that Chris Messina (Vicky Cristina Barcelona) will co-star.

Simmons reminded me that he can play an a—hole in Burn After Reading, but the fact that he can believably go from playing a kind soul in Juno to an evil CIA bigwig in Reading helped me realize his range as an actor. According to IMDB, he’s working harder than most of us know. He’s been on The Closer for three years, has appeared on American Dad and has seven movies coming out in 2009. Sounds like we are all going to get to see his range! I’m rooting for him.