Mastering the art of jazz drumming wasn’t the only objective on actor J.K. Simmons’ mind when he signed on to play an abusive music teacher in the independent film “Whiplash.” He also focused on co-star Miles Teller’s face. The actor quipped in a recent interview, “I mostly just wanted to do the best possible job of reddening Miles’ cheeks while slapping him.” Among his many roles, Simmons, 60, has previously played a neo-Nazi in HBO’s prison drama “Oz,” a psychiatrist in police procedural “Law & Order,” a newspaper editor in the “Spider-Man” film franchise and a blind lawyer in “Growing Up Fisher.”
