About
Johnny Simmons
Johnny Simmons made his feature film debut in the 2007 comedy Evan Almighty, where he played Dylan Baxter, the eldest son of Steve Carell's Evan Baxter and Lauren Graham's Joan Baxter. He quickly followed up with roles in various films, including the 2009 children's comedy Hotel for Dogs, alongside Jake T. Austin and Emma Roberts. That same year, he starred in the black comedy horror film Jennifer's Body as Chip Dove, the boyfriend of Amanda Seyfried's character, Anita "Needy" Lesnicki. In 2010, Simmons showcased his talents in the cult classic Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, portraying Young Neil, a 20-year-old bass guitarist and devoted fan of the fictional band Sex Bob-omb.
He continued to build his resume with a supporting role in the comedy 21 Jump Street, which premiered at South by Southwest in 2012, and co-starred as the closeted quarterback Brad Hayes in the teen drama The Perks of Being a Wallflower, an adaptation of Stephen Chbosky's novel. In February 2013, he was cast in The CW's television drama film Blink and made a cameo in Drake's music video for "Hold On, We're Going Home."
Simmons also joined the cast of the comedy *Frank and Cindy* alongside Rene Russo and Oliver Platt. That same year, he starred in the short film Whiplash, a precursor to the Academy Award-winning feature film. In 2014, he took on the role of Jack London in the Discovery Channel miniseries Klondike, the channel's first scripted series, detailing the Klondike Gold Rush of the 1890s.
In 2015, he co-starred as Jeff Jansen in the thriller *The Stanford Prison Experiment*, and in 2016, he showcased his versatility in four films, including the border-set thriller *Transpecos*, the comedy-musical *Dreamland*, the baseball drama *The Phenom*, and Kevin Pollak's comedy *The Late Bloomer*.
Recently, on March 30, 2023, it was announced that Simmons would reprise his role as Young Neil in the Netflix series Scott Pilgrim Takes Off. After a six-year hiatus, he made a striking return to live-action performance with a small role in the drama Sing Sing, playing an inmate scammed out of five hundred dollars by Clarence "Divine Eye" Maclin. He will also appear as a local deputy in the upcoming action-comedy Bad Man, where he has a starring role alongside Rob Riggle and Sean William Scott. Additionally, he shot a series regular role for an ABC pilot from This Is Us writer Kay Oyegan.