The Woods: J.K. Simmons will be ‘truly scary’ in thriller

The great J.K. Simmons, an Oscar-winner for his performance in the film Whiplash, has signed on to star in The Woods, a thriller that features “a sociopath on a murderous rampage” – and judging by a quote he gave to the folks at Deadline, it sounds like Simmons will be playing that rampaging sociopath. Here’s what it says on Deadline:

“I didn’t want to play any truly scary bad guys when our kids were young, partly because of how it might affect them if they saw the film, and also because I didn’t want to bring that energy home with me after an intense day on the set,” Simmons said. But now that his two children are in college, Simmons has freed himself to unleash his inner villain.

The Woods is being directed by Simmons’ wife Michelle Schumacher from a screenplay she wrote with Carolyn Carpenter. The story centers on

a teenage girl suffering from anxiety due to a tragic event from her past who finds herself hunted through the woods by a sociopath on a murderous rampage.

Simmons is joined in the cast by Allen Leech (Downton Abbey), Fernanda Urrejola (Cry Macho), and Isabelle Anaya (Donny’s Bar Mitzvah).

Randle Schumacher is producing The Woods for Rubber Tree Productions.

Simmons has over two hundred acting credits to his name, with some of his standout roles including Vern Schillinger on the series Oz, J. Jonah Jameson in the Spider-Man films, and Commissioner Gordon in Justice League. Some may point out that Simmons was already quite scary in the role of Vern Schillinger, but he played that character before his children were born. I look forward to seeing him get “truly scary” in The Woods.

Michelle Schumacher, who also had an acting role on Oz, previously directed the films 3 Geezers! and I’m Not Here.