Justice League’s J.K. Simmons Wants To Show Badass Side Of Commissioner Gordon

J.K. Simmons take on Commissioner Gordon will debut in the Zack Snyder-directed Justice League, and recently he gave some insight into his vision for the beloved character.

In an interview with EW, the actor shared what he hopes to bring to the role. An often overlooked aspect is just how Gordon has lasted this long in a place like Gotham when Batman isn’t around, and it’s something Simmons hopes to illustrate with his take on the character.

“People of my generation remember Commissioner Gordon as this jolly, ineffectual Santa Claus type, and I think over the years in the comics there’s definitely much more of a badass side to him,” Simmons explains. “One of the things that’s interesting to me is investigating hopefully a little bit more of that badass [side]…You’re living in a universe where it’s pretty tough to be a badass compared to somebody like Batman, but in the universe of non-superheroes I like the idea of Commissioner Gordon as a guy that can take care of himself, a guy that’s a real partner to Batman, not just a guy that turns on the bat signal and goes, ‘Help! Help, Batman!’”

I can’t echo his sentiments enough. Even more so in recent years, Gordon has been portrayed a someone entirely capable of solving crimes and getting things done without the help of Batman, which makes their partnership even more potent. Hopefully, this is the Gordon we see on screen when Justice League hits theatres on November 17th, 2017.