Jimmi Simpson facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Jimmi Simpson
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Simpson in 2017
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Born | Hackettstown, New Jersey, U.S.
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November 21, 1975
Occupation | Actor |
Years active | 2000–present |
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Jimmi Simpson (born November 21, 1975) is an American actor. Known for his work in film, television, and theatre, he came to prominence with his portrayal of Liam McPoyle on It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia (2005–2023), and has since had roles in series such as Psych (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), and Pachinko (2022). Simpson is the recipient of Emmy, BAFTA, and Screen Actors Guild Award nominations.
Simpson made his feature film debut in Loser (2000). Other credits include Herbie: Fully Loaded (2005), Zodiac (2007), Date Night (2010), Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter (2012), White House Down (2013), Under the Silver Lake (2018), and Unhinged (2020). On stage, Simpson's portrayal of Philo Farnsworth in The Farnsworth Invention (Broadway, 2007–2008) earned him a Theatre World Award.
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Early life
James Raymond Simpson was born in Hackettstown, New Jersey, on November 21, 1975. He has two older brothers. He attended Hackettstown High School, where he took his first acting class. After graduating from Bloomsburg University with a BA in theater, he acted for four seasons at the Williamstown Theatre Festival in Williamstown, Massachusetts.
Career
2000–2007: Film debut and early roles
Simpson made his film debut at age 25 when he played Noah in Loser (2000), a teen romantic comedy directed by Amy Heckerling. This was followed by a supporting role in the Stephen King miniseries Rose Red in 2002, and appearances on television shows such as 24, NYPD Blue, Cold Case, Carnivàle, and It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, where he played the recurring character Liam McPoyle over several seasons, beginning in 2005. Film credits during this period included the sports comedy Herbie: Fully Loaded (2005), the revisionist Western Seraphim Falls (2006), and the critically acclaimed David Fincher thriller Zodiac (2007). In an appraisal of the latter's final sequence, where Simpson appears as Mike Mageau, a surviving victim of the real-life Zodiac Killer, Jim Emerson of RogerEbert.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".
2008–2015: Stage, television, and film work
In 2008, Simpson starred as Philo Farnsworth in a production of Aaron Sorkin's The Farnsworth Invention on Broadway. His portrayal of Farnsworth was described as "superb" by the Chicago Tribune, and earned him a Theatre World Award. That same year, he made the first of several appearances as Lyle, a fictitious intern, on The Late Show with David Letterman; a role he frequented until November 2009. During that time he made guest appearances on CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, My Name is Earl, House, M.D., and Psych, and played supporting parts in the 2009 comedy The Invention of Lying—the directorial debut of Ricky Gervais—and the big-budget romantic comedy Date Night (2010). Next, he appeared in one of the principal roles—Dr. Lloyd Lowery—on the A&E crime drama series Breakout Kings, which ran from 2011 to 2012. The show drew a mixed reception, but critics agreed that Simpson's performance was its best asset.
Simpson's next projects were the films Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter (2012), The Truth About Emanuel (2013), and the Roland Emmerich action thriller White House Down (2013), where he played a villainous computer hacker. He then joined the cast of the Netflix political thriller series House of Cards, playing Gavin Orsay between 2014 and 2015. For this, Simpson was nominated on two occasions—alongside his co-stars—for the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble.
In 2015, Simpson headlined a Circle X Theatre production of Trevor, a play written by Nick Jones. His portrayal of the title character, a full-grown chimpanzee, was roundly praised, with KCRW commenting, "You can't imagine the humanity that [Simpson] brings to Trevor. 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".
2016–present: Westworld and career progression
Simpson starred on the first season of SundanceTV's dark comedy-drama Hap and Leonard in 2016. That same year, he appeared in a principal role on the debut season of HBO's science fiction drama series Westworld. His portrayal of William, a businessman who visits the titular Wild West-themed amusement park and falls in love with one of its android inhabitants, was described as "spellbinding" by Maureen Ryan of Variety. Simpson was once again nominated alongside his co-stars for a Screen Actors Guild Award in 2017, while his work on the show's second season earned him an Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series.
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 series Black 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". His portrayal of Walton earned him a nomination for the BAFTA Award for Best Supporting Actor the following year.
Simpson starred as the real-life Russell Poole in Unsolved, a ten-part miniseries based on the 1990s murders of rappers Tupac Shakur and Biggie Smalls, which ran on the USA Network between February and May 2018. IndieWire praised the "elevated artistry" of Simpson's portrayal of the LAPD detective, while Vulture 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.
Simpson's next roles were in David Robert Mitchell's neo-noir black comedy Under the Silver Lake (2018), the action thriller Unhinged (2020), and the comedic crime drama Breaking News in Yuba County (2021). He also headlined the ten-part Epix series Perpetual Grace, LTD in 2019, earning strong reviews for his portrayal of James Schaeler, an ex-firefighter embroiled in a conspiracy to scam a corrupt pastor; Darren Franich of Entertainment Weekly described him as "an endearingly slippery protagonist, looking terrified, sad, amused, and exhausted all at once".
Between April and July 2022, Simpson appeared as CIA agent Spencer Clay in Showtime's adaptation of The Man Who Fell to Earth, which ran for a single season. 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". In March that same year, he began playing Tom Andrews on the Apple TV+ drama Pachinko. Chronicling an immigrant Korean family across four generations, the series was universally praised and is due return for a second season.
Following a guest voice role—as Doctor Royce Hemlock—in four episodes of the Disney+ animated series Star Wars: The Bad Batch, Simpson received positive notices for his role in the 2023 coming-of-age film The Starling Girl, an independent drama about fundamentalist Christianity that Peter Debruge of Variety felt was "refreshing" and "rigorously realistic".
Personal life
Simpson met New Zealand actress Melanie Lynskey in 2001 during the filming of Rose Red, in which they both appeared. They became engaged in 2005 and married on April 14, 2007, in a chapel on Lake Hayes, near Queenstown, New Zealand. Lynskey filed for divorce in September 2012, citing irreconcilable differences. It was finalised in May 2014.
Simpson married English actress Sophia Del Pizzo in April 2019. It was announced in July 2021 that the pair had split and that Simpson had filed for divorce.
Filmography
Film
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
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2000 | Loser | Noah | |
2001 | Slo-Mo | Alex | Short film |
2003 | The Academy | Direct-to-video | |
Final Draft | Chad | ||
2004 | D.E.B.S. | Scud | |
2005 | Herbie: Fully Loaded | Crash | |
2006 | Stay Alive | Phineus | |
2007 | Seraphim Falls | Big Brother | |
Itty Bitty Titty Committee | Chris | ||
Zodiac | Older Mike Mageau | ||
2008 | A Quiet Little Marriage | Jackson | |
2009 | The Mother of Invention | Martin Wooderson | |
The Invention of Lying | Bob | ||
Taking Chances | Charlie Cabonara | ||
2010 | Miss This at Your Peril | Frank Corral | Short film |
Good Intentions | Kyle | ||
Date Night | Armstrong Gold | ||
2011 | The Death and Return of Superman | Mad Scientist | Short film |
The Big Bang | Niels Geck | ||
2012 | Hello I Must Be Going | Phil | |
Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter | Joshua Speed | ||
Tracer Gun | Ben | Short film | |
2013 | The Truth About Emanuel | Arthur | |
White House Down | Skip Tyler | ||
Knights of ... | Ronnie Kwok | ||
2014 | The Last Time You Had Fun | Jake | |
2015 | Gravy | Stef | |
2018 | Under the Silver Lake | Allen | |
2020 | Unhinged | Andy | |
2021 | Breaking News in Yuba County | Petey Buttons | |
Night of the Animated Dead | Johnny | Voice role | |
Silk Road | Chris Talbert | ||
2022 | Studio 666 | Venue person | |
Green Lantern: Beware My Power | Green Arrow / Oliver Queen | Voice role | |
A Little White Lie | Detective Karpas | ||
2023 | The Starling Girl | Paul Starling | |
Fool's Paradise | Talk Show Host | ||
2024 | Justice League: Crisis on Infinte Earths, Part One | Green Arrow / Oliver Queen | Voice role |
TBD | Audrey's Children | Dr. Dan D'Angio | Post-production |
Home Delivery | TBA | Post-production |
Denotes films that have not yet been released |
Television
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
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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 | 1 episode |
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 | Main role (season 1) Recurring role (season 2) Guest role (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 | Detective Russell 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 | Star Wars: The Bad Batch | Doctor Royce Hemlock (voice) | 4 episodes |
TBD | Dark Matter | Ryan | Main role, upcoming series |
Denotes television series that have not yet been released |
Video games
Year | Title | Role | Ref. |
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2008 | Wanted: Weapons of Fate | Wesley "The Killer II" Gibson | |
2022 | Star Trek Prodigy: Supernova | Drednok |
Accolades
Year | Association | Category | Work | Result | Ref. |
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2008 | Theatre World Awards | Theatre World Award | The Farnsworth Invention | Won | |
2013 | Ashland Independent Film Festival | Best Acting Ensemble | The Truth About Emanuel | Won | |
2015 | Screen Actors Guild Awards | Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series | House of Cards | Nominated | |
2016 | Nominated | ||||
2017 | Westworld | Nominated | |||
2018 | British Academy Television Awards | Best Supporting Actor | Black Mirror (Episode: "USS Callister") | Nominated | |
Primetime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series | Westworld | Nominated |
See also
In Spanish: Jimmi Simpson para niños