Born in Alabama and raised in Texas, Johnny Simmons grew up a long way away from Hollywood. Like many others, he moved to Los Angeles to pursue his dream of making it big in acting. His first official gig (other than the obligatory shorts) was playing the bit part of Matt McCrary on a 2006 episode of Numb3rs, an important gig that landed him a manager and more gigs. He made his big-screen debut playing Dylan Baxter in Evan Almighty (2007) with Steve Carell and Lauren Graham. A steady stream of movie credits followed, not a big surprise considering Johnny’s good-guy good looks. (Seriously, how cute is he?) He was Paul in Boogeyman 2 (2007), the young spirit in Frank Miller’s The Spirit (2008) with Scarlett Johansson, Dave in Hotel for Dogs (2009) with Emma Roberts, Ryan Brewer in The Greatest (2009) with Pierce Brosnana and Carey Mulligan, Chip Dove in the Diablo Cody-written Jennifer’s Body (2009) with Megan Fox, and young Neil in Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (2010) with Michael Cera. He swung by to star in Brie Larson’s music video “ Black Sheep” back in 2010 when she dabbled in music before becoming Room famous, then played John Surratt in Robert Redford’s The Conspirator (2010) with James McAvoy. You’ve also caught him in the HBO movie Cinema Verite (2011) with Diane Lane and James Gandolfini, playing Billiam Willingham in 21 Jump Street (2012) with Channing Tatum, and as Brad in The Perks of Being a Wallflower (2012) with Ezra Miller and Emma Watson. He was in Drake’s video for “Hold On, We’re Going Home,” playing Cameron in The To Do List (2013) with Aubrey Plaza, and was GJ in Frank and Cindy (2015) with Rene Russo. As Peter Newmans in Kevin Pollak’s The Late Bloomer (2016), he loses his shirt and we get a lovely look at his lean and toned frame, including several inches below his belly button as his pants hang low (sweatpants are a gift). Mr. Man could go on and on about the primo projects Johnny choses to appear in, but he’s busy hitting the rewind button. Sorry, not sorry.
