J.K. Simmons Reveals He Initially Passed on His Iconic Comic Book Role

Despite his villainous role as Omni-Man on Prime Video, invincible He became one of the most notorious supervillains of the 21st century, In fact, J.K. Simmons refused to appear on the show before being persuaded to return to the (now) hit series.Nolan Grayson, also known as Omni-Man, was the most powerful hero on Earth before he began killing other superheroes to make way for his species to conquer and eventually enslave the planet. A very violent and authoritarian take on Superman from DC Comics, Omni-Man has become one of the most popular characters in the Emmy-nominated animated series on Prime Video.

J.K. Simmons sat down with GQ to discuss his most iconic roles throughout his illustrious career. While discussing his voice acting role in invincible, Simmons revealed that he was initially asked to play a different character in the series.While Simmons did not name the character, he believed he was not the right person for the role, and turned it down. However, he was convinced when the studio came back to him, and asked him to read for Omni-Man. He said:

“I read the only script available, and I thought it was really good. In fact, they initially approached me about playing a different character. It sounds silly because it's an animation, but I didn't see myself as the character they said they wanted me to play. I turned it down. And then, I don't know how long ago, they came back and asked me to play Nolan, Omni-Man.”

Omni-Man is one of J.K. Simmons' most popular characters.

It premiered on Prime Video in 2021, invincible Adapted from the graphic novels of the same name by Robert Kirkman (creator The Walking Dead). Over the course of two seasons, the series received nearly flawless reviews, with the first season receiving a 98% on Rotten Tomatoes, while the second season received a 100%. As is customary in the age of social media, invincible Not only is the show an amazing show, it has also become a pop culture phenomenon thanks to a series of internet memes… most of which feature the Omni-Man character. Omni-Man's line “Think of Mark, think of Mark” has become ingrained in pop culture, and fans around the world still refer to it. It's really hard to imagine anyone else selling that line the way Simmons did.

When Simmons signed on to play Omni-Man, he had no idea how popular the show would become. Simmons has appeared in some incredibly popular characters throughout his career, including J. Jonah Jameson in Sam Raimi's spider man Fletcher's Terrifying Trilogy neck injuryand the only yellow candy to appear in 30 years of commercials. However, Simmons revealed that he does receive calls from fans invincible A lot, which shows the impact the series has had. The actor said:

“[I had] “I never thought this movie would become such a huge hit. I mean, it’s such an iconic movie. It’s been completely blown away. I get comments from strangers on the street about Invincible and Omni-Man as much as I do about any of the other things we’re talking about here today. It’s been such an impact. Especially in terms of animation, there are literally no boundaries. It’s been a really fun journey to go on.”

JK Simmons, along with the rest of invincibleThe impressive cast of Invincible — which includes Steven Yeun, Sandra Oh, Gillian Jacobs, Zazie Beetz, Walton Goggins, Jason Mantzoukas, Zachary Quinto, and many more — are all returning for the show's upcoming third season. No official footage or trailer has been released for season three, but Robert Kirkman has already teased fans with the new Invincible suit in the show's anticipated return.