J. K. Simmons has a glorious career to his name playing several iconic roles including J. Jonah Jameson in Spider-Man Trilogy and Terence Fletcher in Whiplash. In his career spanning over 40 years, the actor appeared in 200 films and television shows.
The actor has excelled across genres and shown his prowess as a legendary character actor accumulating praise from the audience and critics alike. However, many fans may have failed to recognize Simmons’ voicing these animated characters. Omni-Man in Invincible is obvious but apart from that here are five animated characters Simmons voiced.
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5. Tenzin
J.K. Simmons voiced the air-bending master Tenzin in Nickelodeon’s steampunk action-adventure drama The Legend of Korra. Tenzin is one of Aang’s grown children in the show. Tenzin was exclusively created for The Legend of Korra, a sequel to Avatar: The Last Airbender. Both the character and show were created by Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko. The show aired from aired from 2012 to 2014.
4. Klaus
Simmons voiced the lead character Klaus in Sergio Pablos’ directorial debut movie Klaus. The acclaimed Netflix animated Christmas adventure comedy received several accolades including an Academy Award nomination for Best Animated Feature. The movie has an astounding 95% Rotten Tomatoes score.
3. Lionheart
Disnye’s Mayor Leodore Lionheart in Zootopia is another major animated role Simmons played. The Rich Moore and Byron Howard-directed acclaimed movie featured Lionheart as the 52nd mayor of Zootopia who graduated from Zootopia law school with a JD. He served as a City Hall councilor prior to being elected as a Mayor. He is not exclusively a hero but rather considered an anti-hero. Zootopia was a huge success, the movie grossed over $1.025 billion at the global box office against a budget of $150 million. Also, the movie won an Oscar in the Best Animated Feature category in 2017.
2. Warden
Tom McGrath’s 2010 animated superhero comedy Megamind featured Simmons as Warden alongside steller casts which includes Will Ferrell, Brad Pitt, Ben Stiller, and Jonah Hill. Warden is a fascinating character and closely related to Megamind (played by Ferrell). He is the head of the Metro City Prison For The Criminally Gifted. Made with a production budget of $130 million, the movie collected $321.9 million worldwide.
1. Kai
Simmons played Kai in the third installment of one of the most popular animated action comedy franchises Kung Fu Panda. General Kai is the supreme villain of Kung Fu Panda 3. He also goes by several names including The Collector, Supreme Warlord of all China, The Jade Slayer, Master of Pain, Beast of Vengeance, or Maker of Widows. The dweller of the Spirit Realm and former Army General possesses Supernatural abilities and strengths.
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