Page 15 - Flathead Beacon // 3.4.15

FLATHEADBEACON.COM COVER MARCH 4, 2015 | 15
THE MAKING OF
J.K. SIMMONS
Before building an accomplished career and winning an Oscar, a young actor got his start in Bigfork
BY DILLON TABISH
And the Oscar went to J.K. Simmons.
As the announcement sunk in, he leaned over and kissed his wife, Mi- chelle Schumacher, who he met almost 25 years ago when they were both performing in the Broadway production of “Peter Pan.” Back then, as two working actors trying to make a go of it, he played the dastardly Captain Hook and she was Tiger Lily.
All these years later, Simmons walked onstage at the Dolby Theatre in Los An- geles, finally arriving at the summit of his profession. The 60-year-old jour- neyman actor, known for his baritone voice and versatility and beloved for his workman-like approach, received rau- cous applause and a standing ovation from much of the star-studded crowd as he accepted the award for best actor in a supporting role.
On the biggest stage of his life, in front of over 37 million viewers around the world, he took the brief opportunity to thank and compliment his wife and two kids, Joe and Olivia. In closing, he offered heartfelt words of encourage- ment to everyone.
“If you’re lucky enough to have a par- ent or two alive on this planet, call them. Don’t text. Don’t email. Call them on the phone. Tell them you love them and thank them and listen to them for as
long as they want to talk to you,” he said. Then, patting his heart with glassy eyes, he said, “Thank you Mom and
Dad.”
The crowd erupted with more ap-
plause. Grasping the gold statue, he walked offstage.
As is the customary next step, he met reporters backstage and answered ques- tions about his impressive run of success leading up to that night.
In just the last year, Simmons’ film credits included nine movie roles, in- cluding his critically acclaimed and award-winning performance in “Whip- lash,” and others that he has finished or continues to film, such as a new thrill- er with Ben Affleck and the upcoming “Terminator” blockbuster. He garnered a whopping total of 40 acting awards in 2014, including a Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild Award. Viewers also saw him in a variety of commercials
or likely recognized his voice as the Yel- low M&M. His triumphant rise to Hol- lywood stardom even included hosting Saturday Night Live in late January.
In the overwhelming moment of try- ing to grasp how he arrived here, Sim- mons reflected on how it all began.
As he told ABC News, “I began with no real training as an actor. It was just because I could sing and they needed somebody to be the lead in a musical at the Bigfork Summer Playhouse up in Flathead Lake, Montana.”
It all began in Bigfork.
IT WAS THE SPRING OF 1977. Don Thomson was commuting back and forth from Great Falls – where he was a teacher helping to build a set for an op- era performance – and Bigfork, where he and his wife, Jude, owned and operated the Bigfork Summer Playhouse, a sea- sonal repertory theater.