The Big Picture

Collider’s Nate Richard talks with one of the stars for Prime Video’s
Invincible
, J.K. Simmons.
Simmons, who voices Omni-Man in the series, discusses how he first learned of the series, working with the voice cast, and what might be next for Omni-Man.
He also talks about voicing Omni-Man for
Mortal Kombat 1
, whether he’s a gamer, and shares an update on
The Accountant 2
.

The Invincible voice cast is already loaded with some of the biggest and best talent in Hollywood, with Steven Yeun, Sandra Oh, Seth Rogen, Zazie Beetz, Sterling K. Brown, and Ben Schwartz being just some of the names on the cast list. Of course, one of the series’ biggest standouts is Academy Award winner J.K. Simmons as Nolan Grayson aka Omni-Man.

Nolan had quite a fascinating arc in Invincible Season 2. After the destruction he caused in the shocking Season 1 finale, he flees Earth, leaving Debbie and Mark Grayson shaken and devastated. Once Mark reconnects with his father, we learn that Nolan is beginning to have a change of heart, feeling remorse for the damage he caused back on Earth, and disavowing his Viltrumite duties. He also introduces Mark to his new son, a half-Thraxan, half-Viltrumite infant, who is later named Oliver. Mark and Nolan’s reunion is short-lived after the latter is captured by Viltrumite agents, and he has spent much of the latter half of Season 2 reconciling with his atrocities while waiting to be executed.

Simmons is one of the most celebrated actors in the industry. He won his first Oscar in 2015 for his role as an abusive jazz instructor in Damien Chazelle’s breakthrough film Whiplash. He’s also no stranger to the world of superheroes, having memorably played J. Jonah Jameson in Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man trilogy, a role he reprised in the latter two Tom Holland films. He also took on the role of Commissioner Gordon in both cuts of Justice League.

Collider was fortunate enough to sit down and talk with Simmons about his role in Invincible, what’s possibly next for Omni-Man, as well as his recent involvement in the video games Mortal Kombat 1 and Baldur’s Gate 3, and updates on the long-awaited sequel to his 2016 film The Accountant.

Invincible Invincible is an adult animated superhero series that revolves around 17-year-old Mark Grayson, who’s just like every other guy his age — except his father is the most powerful superhero on the planet, Omni-Man. But as Mark develops powers of his own, he discovers his father’s legacy may not be as heroic as it seems.Release Date March 25, 2021 Creator Robert Kirkman Seasons 2 Developer Simon Racioppa Streaming Service(s) Prime Video

J.K. Simmons On His Involvement In ‘Mortal Kombat 1’ and ‘Baldur’s Gate 3’

COLLIDER: So I wanted to start off this interview with an off-the-beaten-path kind of question, because I know you just voiced Omni-Man also in Mortal Kombat 1, and you also were in one of the biggest games of last year, Baldur’s Gate 3. So I really wanted to ask, do you play a lot of video games? Are you a gamer?

J.K. SIMMONS: My family and I play lots of board games. My twenty-something kids, my son, especially — our son, as it was not a solo endeavor — is not a real hardcore gamer, but he’s in that world pretty frequently with his pals, and is a fan. Both of them, Mortal Kombat and Baldur’s Gate, were both very exciting for him and his pals. I am not. I’m an old dog that did not learn the new tricks, and was frankly not all that interested in that side. When I first did Portal 2, which was another super fun one, it’s a really complex game, and just to learn the basics of it, I was like, “You know what? I’ll just go back to the 1970s and play pinball, and that’ll be the closest I get to video games.” [Laughs]

What was your first introduction to Invincible? I know Steven [Yeun] worked with Robert Kirkman before, but had you ever met him prior to Invincible?

SIMMONS: No, I hadn’t. It was not on my radar at all. In the early discussions about it, I obviously started digging into it, looking at some of the original graphic novel, and this and that, and talking to [Kirkman.] Obviously, he had a giant audience even before the show that we’re doing. And as I asked other friends in and out of the business about him, most of them were at least somewhat familiar with Invincible, and most of them, or all of them, really, were encouraging me to jump on board.

J.K. Simmons on the Unpredictability of Omni-Man and What Might Come Next

I love the character of Omni-Man. The evil Superman is hot right now, but he’s also not that. He feels like such a complex character. I’m curious, how do you approach playing him? Did you know a lot about his redemption in Season 2 beforehand, like when you were recording Season 1?

SIMMONS: I didn’t. After the initial research, I’ve steered clear of even looking at the source material anymore. I try to, as hard as it is these days, keep myself ignorant of where the character is gonna go, because, and it sounds silly and kind of actor-y, but even in the animation world, if you’re playing a character and you know, “Oh, this is how and where and when he’s gonna die, or how and where and when he’s gonna kill this person,” or whatever it is, I think, on some cellular level, that’s not good for your creation of the character. Not “creation,” Robert created it, I’m just a conduit, but it affects how I help bring that character to life in our animated universe.

So, Omni-Man and Debbie, they’re obviously not on great terms, but throughout the season I kept wondering, what would be the first thing that Omni-Man would say to Debbie?

SIMMONS: It’s such an interesting question, too, and I love that it is a question on your mind, and a question worth answering, and no, I’m not gonna answer it. [Laughs] But I think, because we’ve seen enough of Omni-Man to know what his mission is and what his roiling conflicts, internal conflicts are, and things that he will continue to wrestle with, I think it might be one of those things where he doesn’t know. Omni-Man/Nolan doesn’t know until he’s standing there inhaling and opening his mouth, he doesn’t know what he’s gonna say.

I know you said you weren’t as familiar with the comics, so what was your reaction to you recording Season 1 to recording Season 2? Were you pretty shocked with where Omni-Man’s character went?

SIMMONS: Well, yeah, and that’s part of the fun. I mean, I’m not sure “shocked,” but certainly surprised and kind of delighted. And I think that you could talk to several of the other actors on the show and get a similar answer. That’s part of the fun of being a participant in this universe where there’s literally no boundaries for the creators. They can portray anything, and we can lend our voices to it. It’s just a fun, unpredictable ride to be on. I love that it continues to be unpredictable and staying true to the source material, but at the same time mixing in some off-speed pitches and allowing for and supplying some surprises along the way, even to people who think they know what’s coming.

J.K. Simmons Is a Fan of Allen the Alien

Do you have a favorite character on the show, obviously besides Omni-Man?

SIMMONS: I have a lot, and it’s hard to pick one. But certainly, my wife and son. I’m gonna put Allen the Alien up there pretty high.

Good choice.

SIMMONS: But I mean, every time a new character is introduced, or every time we revisit a character that we sort of had barely met before, it’s just a long, long list of really interesting and fun characters And actors. So many great actors, including the ones that are the household names, like Steven and Sandra [Oh] and Seth [Rogen], and that list obviously goes much longer. But also the people that the animation fans really know a lot better, who a mainstream audience might not know because they’re primarily voice actors. Obviously, there’s another long list of them too. Every time I have an opportunity to either actually interact, like record, with some of the rest of the cast, or even just hear their work as I’m doing my work, it’s just such a great ensemble of voices.

J.K. Simmons Gives an Update on ‘The Accountant 2’

For my final question before I let you go, I’m a massive fan of the movie you’re in, The Accountant, and I was delighted to hear that they’re finally doing a sequel. Do you know when filming is set to begin on that?

SIMMONS: I head to LA in a little over a week to do some rehearsals and pre-production, and start shooting my chunk of it. I’m not even sure if they start shooting… I think they start early next week because then I’m in the week after doing my supporting thing. But there was a plan for a possible sequel at the very beginning. I mean, not a plan plan, not like a story, but that was always a possibility. Thanks to Gavin O’Connor and Ben Affleck for really being determined to make it happen, because, as I’m sure you know, that movie did well in theaters, but then it’s had a really, really popular resurgence in the last few years in streaming. It’s just such great characters and such a great story that I’m glad they worked their butts off, and now are with a different studio finally making it work. A lot of us are going to be back, and I’m really, really looking forward to my contribution to that, and to the movie itself. Bill Dubuque, again, did the script, with Gavin obviously, and Ben’s input. Same with Invincible, obviously it’s a team game. But those three guys particularly have really been behind this for seven, eight years now, and finally it’s coming to fruition, and I’m really excited about it.

New episodes of Invincible Season 2 stream on Thursdays, only on Prime Video.

Watch on Prime Video