JK Simmons is having a ball right about now. The Academy Award winner has been mixing it up with a wide variety of projects that range from his reunion with Whiplash director Damian Chazelle in La La Land to his role as Commissioner Gordon in Zack Snyder's Justice League, and he doesn't show any signs of slowing his roll. In particular, his entrance into the DC Cinematic Universe has fans buzzing about how the former Marvel compatriot will make his mark on the still developing DCU. Well whatever mark it is, don't expect it to be a huge one, as the star had a couple of words about the extent of his part in the DC team up.
During a particularly relaxed conversation with ET, Simmons gladly admitted that he was officially wrapped on the first Justice League film. So with his portion of the film complete, we can now start to learn what to expect from the man himself and his initial appearance in the DC Comics films. The following remarks from J.K. Simmons say it all, as he lays out the extent of his role in Zack Snyder's latest:
In this first installment of the Justice League, Commissioner Gordon is not a particularly sizable part. We just kind of introduce him and see a little bit of his interactions with Batman -- and with most of the Justice League.
Apologies to those of you who were hoping for a lot more Commissioner Gordon in the Justice League movie. While there's an obvious potential for Gotham's top cop to make himself more of a presence in subsequent DC Comics films, this first encounter with the character won't be an extensive affair. To be honest, that in and of itself is still kind of a surprise, as one would think that the legendary fixture in the Batman universe would make his debut in a proper entry to that franchise's canon. So encountering Gordon this early in the game is pretty lucky for us fans.
Expectations aside, JK Simmons also had some choice words to speak about working on the set of a film like Justice League, versus putting in time on the set of a much smaller film such as his other, more recent project, Lorene Scarfaria's The Meddler. Simmons described the differences as follows:
Zack [Snyder] runs sort of a big, happy family and it's obviously, in many ways, a very different work environment when you're working on a big, giant movie like that than a relatively small movie like The Meddler. But at the end of the day, the director is the one who sets the tone. And one of the things that Zack and Lorene [Scarfaria] have in common is they're just nice, smart, competent, fun people that you don't mind spending a 12-hour day with.
Understanding both approaches to film-making is vital to any working actor in Hollywood these days. So to see JK Simmons switch from comic tentpole to indie comedy is akin to a sort of magic, as the man very rarely loses a step. It's because of this that we'll always look forward to his next picture, as his work always shines regardless of whatever the film may be.
Justice League attempts to save the day on November 17, 2017. Meanwhile, JK Simmons has both La La Land and Patriot's Day heading to theaters this winter.
