kids encyclopedia robot

Jimmi Simpson facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts
Quick facts for kids
Jimmi Simpson
Jimmi Simpson by Gage Skidmore.jpg
Simpson in 2017
Born (1975-11-21) November 21, 1975 (age 49)
Occupation Actor
Years active 2000–present
Spouse(s)
  • (m. 2007; div. 2014)
  • Sophia Del Pizzo
    (m. 2019; div. 2021)

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.

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

List of films and roles
Year Title Role Notes
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 Not yet released Green Arrow / Oliver Queen Voice role
TBD Audrey's Children Not yet released Dr. Dan D'Angio Post-production
Home Delivery Not yet released TBA Post-production
Key
Films that have not yet been released Denotes films that have not yet been released

Television

List of television appearances and roles
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 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 Not yet released Ryan Main role, upcoming series
Key
Television series that have not yet been released Denotes television series that have not yet been released

Video games

List of video game voice roles
Year Title Role Ref.
2008 Wanted: Weapons of Fate Wesley "The Killer II" Gibson
2022 Star Trek Prodigy: Supernova Drednok

Accolades

Year Association Category Work Result Ref.
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

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Jimmi Simpson para niños

kids search engine
Jimmi Simpson Facts for Kids. Kiddle Encyclopedia.