J. K. Simmons (born January 9, 1955) is an American actor of film, television and stage. He is known for his roles as Dr. Emil Skoda on the NBC series Law & Order (and other Law & Order franchise series), neo-Nazi Vernon Schillinger on the HBO prison drama series Oz, Assistant Police Chief Will Pope on the TNT series The Closer, J. Jonah Jameson in Sam Raimi's Spider-Man trilogy, and the voices of Cave Johnson in the 2011 puzzle game Portal 2 and Tenzin in The Legend of Korra. 

Simmons also provides the voice of J. Jonah Jameson in the Ultimate Spider-Man, Hulk and the Agents of S.M.A.S.H. and Avengers Assemble animated series. Simmons is also known for appearing in a series of television commercials for Farmers Insurance.Simmons' performance as music instructor Terence Fletcher in Whiplash (2014) received universal acclaim and earned him more than 30 accolades.He won Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor in 2015 for the flim Whiplash.