J.K. Simmons

J. K. Simmons is Vern Schillinger in Oz. His clipped delivery and air of ordinary certainty make the character especially unpleasant: the threat does not need an elaborate performance of menace. It is a very different use of his authority from the comedy many viewers associate with him.

As J. Jonah Jameson in Sam Raimi's Spider-Man films, that same precision becomes rapid-fire impatience. His Oscar-winning performance as Terence Fletcher in Whiplash turns a music teacher's authority into something much more punishing.

Counterpart gives him another kind of challenge, playing contrasting versions of Howard Silk. Small differences in posture and speech distinguish the roles without relying on costume to explain them. Simmons's range is particularly apparent across these parts: he can dominate a room, make it ridiculous or quietly suggest that somebody has spent years avoiding notice.