J.K. Simmons shared some details about his upcoming role as Commissioner James Gordon in Zack Snyder’s Justice League Part One movie.
Simmons said that while he is working hard to prep for his role, do not expect him to be taking any acting cues from the previous Gordon actors, like Gary Oldman from The Dark Knight trilogy or Pat Hingle from Tim Burton’s 1989 Batman. He will be making the role of Gordon his own by going straight the source for inspiration: the comic books.
“Well, to read the comics, yes, absolutely. I’m just planning on learning as much as I can about him through the comics and getting my feet wet in the first movie, and then hopefully continuing on from there… I’m sure there will be differences and similarities with what Gary Oldman or Pat Hingle have done before, but I’m just going to try to do my take on it and be as informed as I can about the rich history of the Batman universe, going into it.”
Simmons, a talented, celebrated actor of many roles, is most well known to comic book fans as comic’s other famous mustached supporting character: J. Jonah Jameson from Sam Rami’s Spider-Man movies. Simmons breaks down how the character of Jameson differs from Gordon’s character.
“My understanding, from what I’ve learned so far about Commissioner Gordon, is that he’s the older guy with the mustache who relates with our hero in a certain way. Other than that, it’s a vastly different character [from J. Jonah Jameson] and much more of a stronger, impactful character in the DC universe.”
Simmons is confirmed to play Gordon only in Justice League-Part One so far. But phrases like “impactful in the DC universe,” imply that Simmons’ Gordon may reach across multiple DC movies, such as the Ben Affleck’s untitled Batman solo movie.
Justice League Part One hits theaters November 17, 2017.