J.K. Simmons on James Gordon: 'Justice League' Commissioner Will Be "Bada$$"
Academy Award-winning actor J.K. Simmons, who's probably best known for his meme-worthy portrayal of Peter Parker's boss J. Jonah Jameson in the original Spider-Man trilogy, is now tackling another big comic book role: Gotham City police Commissioner James Gordon in the Zack Snyder-directed Justice League. What will be different from his performance to that of, say, Gary Oldman?
The Whiplash star spoke to Entertainment Weekly last weekend, and of course, his new inclusion in the DC Extended Universe came up during the conversation. Saying the people in his generation remember Commissioner Gordon as a "jolly, ineffectual Santa Claus type" (obviously referring to the 60s Batman series, where the character was played by Neil Hamilton), Simmons added that the new film will be focusing on the more updated version of the character, as it has evolved a lot in the comics.
"One of the things that's interesting to me is investigating hopefully a little bit more of that bada$ [side]," Simmons explained "In the universe of non-superheroes I like the idea of Commissioner Gordon as a guy that can take care of himself, a guy that's a real partner to Batman, not just a guy that turns on the bat signal and goes, 'Help! Help, Batman!'"
Similarly, Simmons also told Collider that he wasn't planning on re-watching any of the other portrayals of the character, but rather delve deeper into the comic books and create his own character from there.
Simmons has big shoes to fill. While the role was most recently played by Oldman, one of the most iconic actors out there, others who have stepped into the shoes of Gotham's most famous cop have included Pat Hingle in the Tim Burton/Joel Schumacher film series and, most recently, Ben McKenzie in Gotham.
Simmons' previous appearance in a comic book adaptation, as Tobey Maguire's boss in the first three Spidey movies, has been lauded as one of the best out there, and shortly before it was announced he'd be the next James Gordon, there was even an online petition asking Sony and Marvel Studios to consider rehiring him for the role of J. Jonah Jameson. In the years since the Spider-Man trilogy ended, the actor has also reprised the role in multiple animated appearances.
Simmons isn't the only Spider-Man alum that Snyder cast in Justice League: Academy Award nominee Willem Dafoe, who famously played the Norman Osborn/The Green Goblin in the same trilogy, will also be jumping on the DC bandwagon during the film, playing Nuidis Vulko.