J.K. Simmons: Big Talent in Small Roles

We will be uh probably outside the back door with a uh pot and a wooden spoon going, "Yippee!" with the kids again and and uh and not drinking. My parents used to say on New Year's Eve they leave the drinking to the amateurs.

I'm Oliver Javen here at the Young Hollywood Studio with none other than J. K. Simmons. How are you?

I'm well, how are you?

I'm good. I'm good. Well, you're a little bit stressed. Little bit stressed because I live in Los Angeles and I have to get from here to there to here to there. That's what we do. And we do it in traffic. We're going to release a bit of stress, hopefully. All right, good. Just do that. That's good. Young adult, which is your uh new film that you're not in that much.

Buddy and I are meant to be together and I'm here to get him back. I'm I'm pretty sure he's married with a kid on the way. No, kids here. I'm cool with it. I mean I've got baggage too. I would keep all of this to yourself. I would I would find a therapist. Literally you will not see me in the movie. A couple of lines. You'll hear me in the movie. A couple of lines. Since I'm Jason's muse, as he refers to me. I've been in every film of his. He he said I had to be in this one, even though he didn't have a part for me. The parts do get smaller and smaller. I don't know what I'm going to do in his next film because uh if my part's any smaller it's going to be like off-camera background.

Have you got a lot coming up? Contraband?

Contraband, in which I uh I appear physically. They're running something on my ship. Could be big. Takes money to make money. No, it's no good. There's there's more of me to see too. I was about 45 to 50 pounds heavier when I did that.

You're looking good.

Well, thank you.

You're looking good. Are you uh playing some baseball? How are you keeping fit?

Going to the gym, doing the cardio, picking up some heavy stuff, putting it back down, you know. Sitting in cars.

Sitting in cars. Picking up cars. Driving over Laurel Canyon. Honking the horn. Love that. Love that. Yeah. Drama, comedy, what's your uh what's your favorite? I'm sure you've been asked that a million times.

You know what? I like to do uh whatever I wasn't just doing. Right. Yeah. Not just doing. I like to do something something different from from what I was doing recently. So, both. Uh you know, every all of the above.

Ah yeah, you're singing Broadway back in the day. Yeah. Yeah, yeah. Any desire to go back? Might that happen?

You know, kind of. I'm not one of those guys that There are a lot of actors, you know, really good actors, friends of mine who who just can't stay away from the stage, you know. I'm not I'm not one of those guys. I miss it sometimes, you know. But um the age my kids are, the way my life is right now, it just doesn't make a lot of sense. Maybe maybe when my kids are in college.

You you did mention your kids. You just mentioned that you you took them on the subway. The the whole subway concept in LA. I mean people must use it. But I'm telling you we the field trips that we went on, we didn't have any trouble getting a seat. Let me put it that way. It wasn't exactly the one train. And now you're from Detroit. I noticed that hat.

Thank you.

But I knew you were from Detroit already. That is the Detroit. It it looks uh quite a bit like the the University D. But it's very good. The Tigers. Very good for a person who I'm guessing is not from around here. The Detroit I knew you're from Detroit, so that was a D. And when you just turned it on the back it's got Tigers. That's the honest answer. Okay. Um, holiday plans. Is Christmas coming up, isn't it?

Yeah, yeah, I'm going to be uh down in the San Diego area with the in-laws. Christmas in the sun.

And uh New Year's?

We will be uh probably outside the back door with a uh pot and a wooden spoon going, "Yippee!" with the kids again and and uh and not drinking. My parents used to say on New Year's Eve they leave the drinking to the amateurs. And I uh was a professional uh but now I'm retired. It's a good sport to take up and give up.

And any any resolutions for next year, anything you you're thinking you wanna?

Yeah, you know what? Uh my resolution is just not to get fat again. Right. Because uh uh you know, it doesn't get easier to shed that when you're 56 years old.

Well, you're looking good and you're looking trim. I'm not going to

Thank you, you look fabulous as well.

Well, I I've fished for a while now. I've kept, you know, But you do, you look you look great. painfully obvious. And um, I'm glad that we get to see you for the couple of seconds, minutes. Yeah. In Young Adult. Yeah. But I'm looking forward to having you back for the films that we physically see you more in.

See more of me. I'm gonna have a word with Jason and see if there is some

You know, I would think. Yeah.

Although last time we played cards, I took a lot of his money. Probably not. Taking money from friends just doesn't go well.

Thanks for stopping in.

You bet. Thank you.

Thank you.