Now two seasons deep, Invincible has proved itself to be one of the best superhero properties in the genre and one of the best TV shows of the last several years. Invincible currently sits at a nearly perfect 99% rating from critics and an 89% rating from general audiences on the aggregate site Rotten Tomatoes, and its success doesn’t stop there. However, when J.K. Simmons, who voices Omni-Man in the series, first signed on for the show, he had no idea it would be such a success. During a recent interview at the Toronto International Film Festival for the 10th anniversary of Whiplash, with Collider’s Steve Weintraub, Simmons spoke about how shocked he was at the series’ success when it first came out, as well as how much it helped to spend time in the studio with his co-stars, Steven Yeun and Sandra Oh:
“First of all, we got to actually record together, Steven Yeun and Sandra Oh and I, which you almost never get to do, some of those family scenes — not a lot, but a few days at least. That was a really good way to sort of establish the the tone and the vibe. But
I didn’t really get it until it came out and people were stopping me on the street constantly
for an animated show. It’s so well done and so well acted, written and everything. It’s become a real phenomenon, and I’m really excited to be a part of it.”
It’s understandable that Simmons perhaps wasn’t expecting this much notoriety for a show that only features his voice, not his face, but therein lies the power of animation. He also isn’t wrong that the show has become a true phenomenon and infiltrated pop culture in a way that few other superhero properties have. His portrayal of Omni-Man is largely to thank for that success. Simmons stepped into a much smaller role in Season 2 by nature of his character departing Earth and inevitably being captured by Viltrum, but now that Allen the Alien (Seth Rogen) is in prison alongside him with plans to bust him out, fans are hopeful that Simmons will step out of a supporting role and back into a starring capacity in Season 3 and beyond.
J.K. Simmons Almost Didn’t Play Omni-Man in ‘Invincible’
It’s hard to imagine someone else playing Omni-Man in the first two seasons of Invincible, but creator Robert Kirkman initially had another role in mind for Simmons. It’s unclear exactly what role, but Simmons revealed that he initially said no to being in the show until he was offered the role of Omni-Man. He told Collider:
“I didn’t know the source material. I’m not a big fan of that world on paper. They sent it to me, I read the script, and they actually originally asked me to play a different character in it. I read it and I thought, “Wow, this is really interesting for a genre that I personally am not a consumer of.” But at the end of the day, for a variety of reasons, it just didn’t feel — and it’s silly to say for something animated, but it didn’t feel like the right fit. Then they came back and asked me to play Nolan, and I was like, “Yeah, sure. Great. It’s a cartoon. It’ll be fun.” [Laughs]”
While it may be a secret which role Simmons was originally offered in Invincible, it’s safe to say things worked out for the best when he initially declined to star in the series. Simmons’ performance as Omni-Man is unquestionably one of the strongest aspects of Invincible, and although he’ll likely never portray the character in live-action, his voiceover work on the Prime Video series will live on forever.
Invincible Season 3 does not yet have an official release date. Stay tuned to Collider for future updates on the series and watch the first two seasons of Invincible on Prime Video.
Special thanks to this year’s partners of the Cinema Center x Collider Studio at TIFF 2024 including presenting Sponsor Range Rover Sport as well as supporting sponsors Peoples Group financial services, poppi soda, Don Julio Tequila, Legend Water and our venue host partner Marbl Toronto. And also Roxstar Entertainment, our event producing partner and Photagonist Canada for the photo and video services.
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