Jimmi Simpson

Jimmi Simpson (born November 21, 1975) is an American actor. Known for his work across film, television, and theatre, he is the recipient of BAFTA, Primetime Emmy, and Screen Actors Guild Award nominations.

Simpson made his feature film debut in Loser (2000). Subsequent 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 television, Simpson played the recurring role 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, 2025), Unsolved (2018), Perpetual Grace, LTD (2019), The Man Who Fell to Earth (2022), Pachinko (2022), and Dark Matter (2024). On stage, his portrayal of Philo Farnsworth in The Farnsworth Invention (Broadway, 2007–2008) earned him a Theatre World Award.

Early life 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), Knights of Badassdom (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. Den of Geek felt he displayed a "raw, manic energy" in his portrayal of Soldier—a psychotic drug dealer—that was "by turns infectious and terrifying", adding, "Seriously, [Simpson] is such a great bad guy". 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. Speaking of the pressure he felt being part of the hit show, Simpson said, "I think [a lot of us fear] that we won't be able to sleep at night if we deliver work that we're not happy with … Westworld [is] a lot of responsibility. It's a huge show. There's so much money and publicity behind it … and [the creators] need us to show up and be as amazing as possible. So the fear is a factor, because you look over and you see Anthony fucking Hopkins … It leaves me wondering: "How the hell did I get here?"".

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:

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.

Simpson received positive notices for his portrayal of an alcoholic father 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". From 2023 to 2024, he voiced Doctor Royce Hemlock in seasons 2 and 3 of the Disney+ animated series Star Wars: The Bad Batch.

Simpson wrote the upcoming horror comedy film Slay.

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 finalized 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 Appearance 2000 Loser Noah 2001 Slo-Mo Alex Short film 2003 The Academy Direct-to-videoFinal 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 Badassdom 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 Tarbell 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 Infinite Earths Green Arrow / Oliver Queen Voice role Audrey's Children Dr. Dan D'Angio 2025 Frankenbabes from Beyond the Grave Dr. Channard Chatterly Short film Post-production

Television Year Title Role Appearance 2002 Rose Red Kevin Bollinger 3 episodes The Division Sean Townsend Episode: "Forgive Me, Father" 24 Chris 3 episodes 2003 NYPD Blue Mike Episode: "Bottoms Up" Cold Case Ryan Bayes Episode: "Churchgoing People" 2005 Carnivàle Lee 2 episodes 20052013; 2023 It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia Liam McPoyle 8 episodes 2006 My Name Is Earl David Hayes 2 episodes 2007 Girltrash! Valentine Episode #1.1 2008 Eleventh Hour Will Sanders Episode: "Resurrection" CSI: Crime Scene Investigation Thomas Donover 2 episodes 20082009 Late Show with David Letterman Lyle the intern 15 episodes 2009 House Father Daniel Bresson Episode: "Unfaithful" Virtuality Virtual Man Pilot 20092013 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" 20112012 Breakout Kings Lloyd Lowery 23 episodes 2013 Unsupervised Matthew / Dean Jacobs (voice) Episode: "The Great Traveler's Road" 20132016 Person of Interest Logan Pierce 2 episodes 2014 The Newsroom Jack Spaniel 3 episodes 20142015 House of Cards Gavin Orsay 17 episodes 2016 Hap and Leonard Soldier 6 episodes This Is Us Andy Fanning Episode: "Last Christmas" 20162020 Westworld William Series regular (season 1); recurring (season 2); guest (season 3) 2017 Psych: The Movie Mary Lightly Television film Wormwood CIA Agent 2 episodes 2017, 2025 Black Mirror James Walton Episodes: "USS Callister", "USS Callister: Into Infinity" 2018 Unsolved Detective Russell Poole 10 episodes 20182020 Dream Corp LLC Patient 21 2 episodes 2019 Into the Dark Peter Rake Episode: "Treehouse" Perpetual Grace, LTD James 10 episodes 2020 The Twilight Zone Phil Hayes Episode: "Meet in the Middle" Psych 2: Lassie Come Home Mary Lightly Television film 2021 Solar Opposites Ethan (voice) Episode: "The Apple Pencil Pro" Ultra City Smiths Detective David Mills (voice) Main role 20212024 Star Trek: Prodigy Drednok (voice) Main role 2022present Pachinko Tom 12 episodes 2022 The Man Who Fell to Earth Spencer Clay Main role Somebody Feed Phil Himself Episode: "Oaxaca" 20232024 Star Wars: The Bad Batch Doctor Royce Hemlock (voice) 11 episodes 2024–present Dark Matter Ryan Holder Main role 2025 Twisted Metal Quatro (voice) 2 episodes 2025–present Haunted Hotel Abaddon (voice) Main role 2026 The Walking Dead: Dead City Mason Dillard Main role (season 3)

Video games

Accolades