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 film debut in Loser (2000). His 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
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 roles during this period included the auto racing comedy Herbie: Fully Loaded (2005) opposite Lindsay Lohan, the revisionist Western Seraphim Falls (2006) with Liam Neeson, 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, opposite Hank Azaria. 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 also had guest roles on CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, My Name is Earl, House 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), where he co-starred with Steve Carell and Tina Fey. 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 received 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 epic 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 starred with Laurie Metcalf in a Circle X Theatre production of Trevor, a play written by Nick Jones. Simpson's 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, awards recognition, and continued career 

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 (Evan Rachel Wood), 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—in "USS Callister", the opening episode of the fourth season of 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)—where he co-starred with Russell Crowe—and the comedic crime drama Breaking News in Yuba County (2021). He also headlined the ten-part Epix series Perpetual Grace, LTD, earning strong reviews for his portrayal of James Schaeler, an ex-firefighter embroiled in a conspiracy to scam a corrupt pastor (Ben Kingsley); Darren Franich of Entertainment Weekly described him as "an endearingly slippery protagonist, looking terrified, sad, amused, and exhausted all at once". Next, he appeared as CIA agent Spencer Clay in Showtime's adaptation of The Man Who Fell to Earth between April and July 2022. In a mixed review of the series, Vulture commented that it felt "unsure" of itself, but said of the performances: "Jimmi Simpson, Clarke Peters, and Bill Nighy tear into the material in alternately amusing and engaging ways".

Since 2022, Simpson has played Tom Andrews on the Apple TV+ drama Pachinko. Chronicling an immigrant Korean family across four generations, the series was universally praised. In 2023, he guest-voiced the character Doctor Royce Hemlock in four episodes of Star Wars: The Bad Batch.

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

Television

Video games

Accolades

References

External links 
 
 

1975 births
20th-century American male actors
21st-century American male actors
American male film actors
American male television actors
American male voice actors
Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania alumni
Hackettstown High School alumni

Living people
Male actors from New Jersey
People from Hackettstown, New Jersey
Theatre World Award winners