Jimmi Simpson | |
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 Simpson in 2017 | |
| Born | (1975-11-21)November 21, 1975 (age 49) Hackettstown, New Jersey, U.S. |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 2000–present |
| Spouses | |
Jimmi Simpson (born November 21, 1975) is an American actor. Known for his work across film, television, and theatre, he is the recipient ofBAFTA,Primetime Emmy, andScreen Actors Guild Award nominations.
Simpson made his feature film debut inLoser (2000). Subsequent credits includeHerbie: Fully Loaded (2005),Zodiac (2007),Date Night (2010),Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter (2012),White House Down (2013),Under the Silver Lake (2018), andUnhinged (2020).
On television, Simpson played the recurring role ofLiam McPoyle onIt's Always Sunny in Philadelphia (2005–2023), and has since had roles in series such asPsych (2009–2013),Breakout Kings (2011–2013),The Newsroom (2014),House of Cards (2014–2015),Hap and Leonard (2016),Westworld (2016–2020),Black Mirror (2017),Unsolved (2018),Perpetual Grace, LTD (2019),The Man Who Fell to Earth (2022),Pachinko (2022), andDark Matter (2024). On stage, his portrayal ofPhilo Farnsworth inThe Farnsworth Invention (Broadway, 2007–2008) earned him aTheatre World Award.
Simpson was born inHackettstown, New Jersey, on November 21, 1975.[1] He has two older brothers.[2] He attendedHackettstown High School, where he took his first acting class.[3] After graduating fromBloomsburg University with aBA in theater, he acted for four seasons at theWilliamstown Theatre Festival inWilliamstown, Massachusetts.[4]
Simpson made his film debut at age 25 when he played Noah inLoser (2000), a teen romantic comedy directed byAmy Heckerling. This was followed by a supporting role in theStephen King miniseriesRose Red in 2002, and appearances on television shows such as24,NYPD Blue,Cold Case,Carnivàle, andIt's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, where he played the recurring character Liam McPoyle over several seasons, beginning in 2005.[5] Film credits during this period included the sports comedyHerbie: Fully Loaded (2005), the revisionist WesternSeraphim Falls (2006), and the critically acclaimedDavid Fincher thrillerZodiac (2007).[6] In an appraisal of the latter's final sequence, where Simpson appears as Mike Mageau, a surviving victim of the real-lifeZodiac Killer, Jim Emerson ofRogerEbert.com wrote, "Mageau … is nearly a ghost, a deeply wounded soul who is 80 percent certain of his own certainty but, like everyone else, wishes he could be sure".[7]
In 2008, Simpson starred asPhilo Farnsworth in a production ofAaron Sorkin'sThe Farnsworth Invention onBroadway. His portrayal of Farnsworth was described as "superb" by theChicago Tribune,[8] and earned him aTheatre World Award.[9] That same year, he made the first of several appearances as Lyle, a fictitious intern, onThe Late Show with David Letterman; a role he frequented until November 2009.[10] During that time he made guest appearances onCSI: Crime Scene Investigation,My Name is Earl,House, M.D., andPsych, and played supporting parts in the 2009 comedyThe Invention of Lying—the directorial debut ofRicky Gervais—and the big-budget romantic comedyDate Night (2010). Next, he appeared in one of the principal roles—Dr. Lloyd Lowery—on theA&E crime drama seriesBreakout Kings, which ran from 2011 to 2012. The show drew a mixed reception, but critics agreed that Simpson's performance was its best asset.[11][12]
Simpson's next projects were the filmsAbraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter (2012),The Truth About Emanuel (2013),Knights of Badassdom (2013), and theRoland Emmerich action thrillerWhite House Down (2013), where he played a villainous computer hacker. He then joined the cast of theNetflix political thriller seriesHouse of Cards, playing Gavin Orsay between 2014 and 2015.[13] For this, Simpson was nominated on two occasions—alongside his co-stars—for theScreen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble.[14][15]
In 2015, Simpson headlined aCircle X Theatre production ofTrevor, a play written byNick Jones. His portrayal of the title character, a full-grown chimpanzee, was roundly praised, withKCRW commenting, "You can't imagine the humanity that [Simpson] brings toTrevor. Yes, it's a funny play and, yes, there's some 'monkey business' but Mr. Simpson's gift is restraint. Instead of playing for broad laughs, he plays Trevor's struggle for just that: an honest struggle".[16]
Simpson starred on the first season ofSundanceTV's dark comedy-dramaHap and Leonard in 2016.Den of Geek felt he displayed a "raw, manic energy" in his portrayal of Soldier—a psychotic drug dealer—that was "by turns infectious and terrifying", adding, "Seriously, [Simpson] is such a great bad guy".[17] That same year, he appeared in a principal role on the debut season ofHBO's science fiction drama seriesWestworld. His portrayal of William, a businessman who visits the titularWild West-themed amusement park and falls in love with one of its android inhabitants, was described as "spellbinding" byMaureen Ryan ofVariety.[18] Simpson was once again nominated alongside his co-stars for a Screen Actors Guild Award in 2017,[19] while his work on the show's second season[20] earned him anEmmy Award nomination forOutstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series.[21] Speaking of the pressure he felt being part of the hit show, Simpson said, "I think [a lot of us fear] that we won't be able to sleep at night if we deliver work that we're not happy with …Westworld [is] a lot of responsibility. It's a huge show. There's so much money and publicity behind it … and [the creators] need us to show up and be as amazing as possible. So the fear is a factor, because you look over and you see Anthony fucking Hopkins … It leaves me wondering: "How the hell did I get here?"".[22]
In 2017, Simpson appeared as Walton, a lieutenant aboard the titular spaceship ("USS Callister") in the opening episode of the fourth season of British anthology sci-fi seriesBlack Mirror. In their review,Den of Geek called Simpson "one of [television's] best-kept secrets" and remarked that his performance "pops off the screen".[23] His portrayal of Walton earned him a nomination for theBAFTA Award for Best Supporting Actor the following year.[24]
Simpson starred as the real-lifeRussell Poole inUnsolved, a ten-part miniseries based on the 1990s murders of rappersTupac Shakur andBiggie Smalls, which ran on theUSA Network between February and May 2018.IndieWire praised the "elevated artistry" of Simpson's portrayal of theLAPD detective,[25] whileVulture said in their review:
In an ensemble this solid, it can be challenging for one performance to emerge as a standout. But Simpson's does because he so carefully calibrates Poole's intensity, dialing it up by slight degrees in each episode until he's radiating with panicky determination ... Simpson physically and emotionally illustrates [the character's] internal struggle beautifully.[26]
Simpson's next roles were inDavid Robert Mitchell's neo-noir black comedyUnder the Silver Lake (2018), the action thrillerUnhinged (2020), and the comedic crime dramaBreaking News in Yuba County (2021). He also headlined the ten-partEpix seriesPerpetual Grace, LTD in 2019, earning strong reviews for his portrayal of James Schaeler,[27] an ex-firefighter embroiled in a conspiracy to scam a corrupt pastor; Darren Franich ofEntertainment Weekly described him as "an endearingly slippery protagonist, looking terrified, sad, amused, and exhausted all at once".[28]
Between April and July 2022, Simpson appeared asCIA agent Spencer Clay inShowtime's adaptation ofThe Man Who Fell to Earth, which ran for a single season.[29] In a mixed review of the series,Vulture commented that it felt "unsure" of itself, but said of Simpson, "[he tears] into the material [in] amusing and engaging ways".[30] In March that same year, he began playing Tom Andrews on theApple TV+ dramaPachinko. Chronicling an immigrant Korean family across four generations, the series was universally praised.[31]
Following a guest voice role—as Doctor Royce Hemlock—in four episodes of theDisney+ animated seriesStar Wars: The Bad Batch,[32] Simpson received positive notices for his portrayal of an alcoholic father in the 2023 coming-of-age filmThe Starling Girl,[33][34][35] an independent drama aboutfundamentalist Christianity that Peter Debruge ofVariety felt was "refreshing" and "rigorously realistic".[36]
Simpson met New Zealand actressMelanie Lynskey in 2001 during the filming ofRose Red, in which they both appeared. They became engaged in 2005 and married on April 14, 2007, in a chapel onLake Hayes, nearQueenstown, New Zealand.[37] Lynskey filed for divorce in September 2012, citingirreconcilable differences.[38] It was finalized in May 2014.[39]
Simpson married English actress Sophia Del Pizzo in April 2019.[40] It was announced in July 2021 that the pair had split and that Simpson had filed for divorce.[41]
| † | Denotes film or TV productions that have not yet been released |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | Rose Red | Kevin Bollinger | 3 episodes |
| 2002 | The Division | Sean Townsend | Episode: "Forgive Me, Father" |
| 2002 | 24 | Chris | 3 episodes |
| 2003 | NYPD Blue | Mike | Episode: "Bottoms Up" |
| 2003 | Cold Case | Ryan Bayes | Episode: "Churchgoing People" |
| 2005 | Carnivàle | Lee | 2 episodes |
| 2005–2013; 2023 | It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia | Liam McPoyle | 8 episodes |
| 2006 | My Name Is Earl | David Hayes | 2 episodes |
| 2007 | Girltrash! | Valentine | Episode #1.1 |
| 2008 | Eleventh Hour | Will Sanders | Episode: "Resurrection" |
| 2008 | CSI: Crime Scene Investigation | Thomas Donover | 2 episodes |
| 2008–2009 | Late Show with David Letterman | Lyle the intern | 15 episodes |
| 2009 | House | Father Daniel Bresson | Episode: "Unfaithful" |
| 2009 | Virtuality | Virtual Man | Pilot |
| 2009–2013 | Psych | Mary Lightly | 5 episodes |
| 2010 | Party Down | Jackal Onassis / Dennis | Episode: "Jackal Onassis Backstage Party" |
| 2011 | How I Met Your Mother | Pete Durkenson | Episode: "The Naked Truth" |
| 2011–2012 | Breakout Kings | Lloyd Lowery | 23 episodes |
| 2013 | Unsupervised | Matthew / Dean Jacobs (voice) | Episode: "The Great Traveler's Road" |
| 2013–2016 | Person of Interest | Logan Pierce | 2 episodes |
| 2014 | The Newsroom | Jack Spaniel | 3 episodes |
| 2014–2015 | House of Cards | Gavin Orsay | 17 episodes |
| 2016 | Hap and Leonard | Soldier | 6 episodes |
| 2016 | This Is Us | Andy Fanning | Episode: "Last Christmas" |
| 2016–2020 | Westworld | William | Series regular (season 1); recurring (season 2); guest (season 3) |
| 2017 | Psych: The Movie | Mary Lightly | Television film |
| 2017 | Wormwood | CIA Agent | 2 episodes |
| 2017 | Black Mirror | James Walton | Episode: "USS Callister" |
| 2018 | Unsolved | DetectiveRussell Poole | 10 episodes |
| 2018–2020 | Dream Corp LLC | Patient 21 | 2 episodes |
| 2019 | Into the Dark | Peter Rake | Episode: "Treehouse" |
| 2019 | Perpetual Grace, LTD | James | 10 episodes |
| 2020 | The Twilight Zone | Phil Hayes | Episode: "Meet in the Middle" |
| 2020 | Psych 2: Lassie Come Home | Mary Lightly | Television film |
| 2021 | Solar Opposites | Ethan (voice) | Episode: "The Apple Pencil Pro" |
| 2021 | Ultra City Smiths | Detective David Mills (voice) | Main role |
| 2021–present | Star Trek: Prodigy | Drednok (voice) | Main role |
| 2022 | Pachinko | Tom | 8 episodes |
| 2022 | The Man Who Fell to Earth | Spencer Clay | Main role |
| 2022 | Somebody Feed Phil | Himself | Episode: "Oaxaca" |
| 2023–2024 | Star Wars: The Bad Batch | Doctor Royce Hemlock (voice) | 11 episodes |
| 2024 | Dark Matter | Ryan | Main role |
| † | Denotes series that have not yet been released |
| Year | Title | Role | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | Wanted: Weapons of Fate | Wesley "The Killer II" Gibson | [48] |
| 2022 | Star Trek Prodigy: Supernova | Drednok | [49] |
| Year | Association | Category | Work | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | Theatre World Awards | Theatre World Award | The Farnsworth Invention | Won | [9] |
| 2013 | Ashland Independent Film Festival | Best Acting Ensemble(shared with the cast) | The Truth About Emanuel | Won | [50] |
| 2015 | Screen Actors Guild Awards | Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series(shared with the cast) | House of Cards | Nominated | [14] |
| 2016 | Nominated | [15] | |||
| 2017 | Westworld | Nominated | [19] | ||
| 2018 | British Academy Television Awards | Best Supporting Actor | Black Mirror(Episode: "USS Callister") | Nominated | [24] |
| Primetime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series | Westworld | Nominated | [21] |
Actor Jimmi Simpson is 42.
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