Anyone who saw Whiplash, the 2014 indie about a drumming prodigy (Miles Teller) who’s tormented by an abusive music-school instructor, knows that JK Simmons is not a man to be trifled with. And if that Oscar-winning turn didn’t convince you of that fact, then a newly-released photo of the 61-year-old star definitely will.
In an Instagram post from Aaron Williamson — a Marine Corp vet and professional trainer who’s worked on movies like Terminator Genisys and The Big Short and whose other photos include one opposite Hollywood’s buffest action icon, Dwayne “The Rock†Johnson — Simmons sports a grizzly-man beard and enormous biceps, which to put it bluntly, are borderline Schwarzeneggerian. Here’s another photo posted a few weeks ago:
It’s unclear when the photos were actually taken, but a recent shot of Simmons from June 5 shows that he’s since shaved the beard into a more utilitarian ‘stache.
Simmons on June 5 (Photo: Paul Archuleta/FilmMagic)
Even when taking into account the strapping build he displayed in Whiplash, the actor’s physique is nothing short of astonishing. It also would suggest he kicked his fitness into an even higher gear after previously working with trainer Dana Perri to get his lean-n-mean Whiplash physique. Back in 2015, Simmons told Backstage that he actually got to ask Arnold Schwarzenegger himself about what the former bodybuilding champ thought of Simmons’ Whiplash muscles. (The two costarred in the sequel Terminator Genisys.) He said that Schwarzenegger responded, “Your biceps were OK. Your triceps were extraordinary.â€
The next project on Simmons’ docket is Zack Snyder’s DC Comics superhero team-upJustice League, which just began production. The actor’s part — as Batman’s long-time law enforcement comrade Commissioner Jim Gordon — hardly requires him to be tremendously ripped. Still, that film appears to be a more likely reason for Simmons’ fitness enhancement than I’m Not Here, a small-scale drama starring Sebastian Stan and Maika Monroe that’s set to open next year, and in which he has a supporting part.
Simmons in ‘Whiplash’ (Photo: AP Photo/Sony Pictures Classics, Daniel McFadden)
Regardless of why Simmons is getting into such phenomenal shape, it’s now clear that he won’t be dwarfed by his musclebound compatriots Ben Affleck (Batman) and Henry Cavill (Superman) when Justice League invades theaters on November 16, 2017.