--- description: The actor hosts for the first time on Jan. 31 title: 'Whiplash' Oscar Nominee J.K. Simmons Will Host Saturday Night Live image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta2739c7e7fc170d3/69877ac4e20a875c17a8498e/jk-simmons.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Entertainment](/section/entertainment/) ## Entertainment Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # _Whiplash_ Oscar Nominee J.K. Simmons Will Host Saturday Night Live by [Rachel Janik](/author/rachel-janik/) ## Rachel Janik Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jan 20, 2015 4:47 PM CUT  J.K. Simmons poses in the 72nd Annual Golden Globe Awards at The Beverly Hilton Hotel on January 11, 2015 in California. J.K. Simmons poses in the 72nd Annual Golden Globe Awards at The Beverly Hilton Hotel on January 11, 2015 in California.Steve Granitz—WireImage by [Rachel Janik](/author/rachel-janik/) ## Rachel Janik Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jan 20, 2015 4:47 PM CUT J.K. Simmons, a frontrunner in the Best Supporting Actor category at this year’s Oscars, will host _Saturday Night Live_ on Jan. 31. The character actor, known for his roles in films like Jason Reitman’s _Juno_ and Sam Raimi’s _Spider-Man_ series, and on the television series _Oz_, has received critical acclaim for his recent portrayal of a disturbing, aggressive jazz instructor in the movie [_Whiplash_](http://www.time.com/3484871/whiplash-movie-review/ "undefined"), earning him awards galore including a nod from the Academy. PEOPLE first reported that he was confirmed to host the long-running sketch comedy show. **Read more:**[_Oscar 2015 Nominations Analysis: Who Will Take Home the Awards?_](http://www.time.com/3668960/oscars-2015-nominations-analysis/?xid=time%5Freadnext "undefined") Simmons will be joined by musical guest D’Angelo and his band The Vanguard. PEOPLE has the full story [here](http://www.people.com/article/jk-simmons-host-saturday-night-live-snl "undefined"). ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3674627/j-k-simmons-saturday-night-live-whiplash/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3674627/j-k-simmons-saturday-night-live-whiplash/"},"headline":"Whiplash Oscar Nominee J.K. Simmons Will Host Saturday Night Live","datePublished":"2015-01-20T16:47:49.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T03:42:47.631Z","description":"The actor hosts for the first time on Jan. 31","url":"https://time.com/3674627/j-k-simmons-saturday-night-live-whiplash/","keywords":["Television","Saturday Night Live"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta2739c7e7fc170d3/69877ac4e20a875c17a8498e/jk-simmons.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Rachel Janik","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/rachel-janik/"}],"articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta2739c7e7fc170d3/69877ac4e20a875c17a8498e/jk-simmons.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"72nd Annual Golden Globe Awards - Press Room","caption":"72nd Annual Golden Globe Awards - Press Room","creditText":"Steve Granitz—WireImage","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/entertainment/","name":"Entertainment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3674627/j-k-simmons-saturday-night-live-whiplash/","name":"Whiplash Oscar Nominee J.K. Simmons Will Host Saturday Night Live"}}]}] ```