InvincibleSeason 3 has presented a more grounded story for Mark Grayson (Steven Yeun), and while he’s currently in a dispute with GDA Director Cecil Stedman (Walton Goggins),his father, Omni-Man, voiced by Academy Award winnerJ.K. Simmons, is plotting his escape from the Viltrumite prison alongside Allen the Alien (Seth Rogen).
While the character of Omni-Man doesn’t appear on-screen as much this season, his presence still looms large over every episode, especially when it comes tohis half-Thraxan son Oliver(Christian Convery). It proves just how compelling of a character Omni-Man is, even when he’s not on-screen.
We were fortunate enough to sit down and talk with Simmons about the new season ofInvincible, his big moment with Allen the Alien in Episode 4, how he’d train Oliver differently, whether or not he’s seen all the Omni-Man memes, and much more. You can read our full conversation below.
How Would Omni-Man Train Oliver Differently Than Mark?
“It’s an interesting balance to consider. "
COLLIDER: Omni-Man has stayed in the shadows a lot in these first six episodes. He does get his big moment with Allen in Episode 4, but is there anything you can tease about what we see from him in the remaining two episodes?
J.K. SIMMONS: Well, it’s unexpected, I hope. And I always loathe to even get close to any spoilers, but I loved the whole third season, and exploring the relationship between Omni-Man and Allen the Alien that, you know, based on the first two seasons,there was a continuing surprise to me. And also getting to play scenes with Seth Rogen was, you know, even though we were never in the room at the same time, I did get to respond to what Seth had already laid down a few times.
Omni-Man’s presence is felt, especially with everything dealing with Oliver. And I’m curious, because we saw Omni-Man train Mark throughout Season 1, and he’s had this moral crisis since Season 2. How do you think he would train Oliver differently from how he trained Mark?
SIMMONS: That’s a really interesting question. I think, you know,Omni-Man, the Viltrumite, continues to be sort of surprised by these human aspects that seem to be sort of against his will, even kind of invading his being, you know, invading who he is. So, yeah, I do think there would be differences in the way he’s approaching Oliver as a mentor, as a father. And certainly, there are differences between Oliver and Mark that kind of almost were counter to that too. It’s an interesting balance to consider. And that’s honestly what I love about this whole ongoing story, is the ambiguity and, you know, those kinds of debates, inner debates and sort of worldwide debates that we get to explore.
J.K. Simmons Has Seen Your Omni-Man Memes
“My son going down the YouTube rabbit hole a little too far, you know, finding me.”
We talked a year ago about Season 2, and I remember you brought up that you have kids who are in their 20s. That’s close in age to what Mark is in the show. Are they fans ofInvincible? Do they watch it?
SIMMONS: Yeah, they are. And a lot of their peers are. And it’s, you know, finally, because a lot of the times when they were growing up, I would get an offer to do an animated show. And I would think, oh, the kids are going to love this. And then, you know, by the time the thing finally comes out two years later, the kids would be like, nah, that’s for little kids,' you know. So now I’m actually doing something that’s in their wheelhouse, which is nice.
There are a lot of internet memes with Omni-Man. Do they ever show you those?
SIMMONS: Yes, I have been. What are you, you’re assuming that I don’t just find those myself all the time?
I don’t know!
SIMMONS: [Laughs] No, they do. I have had those brought to my attention, yeah, by both of the kids. And sometimes, you know, one of their friends will send it. And sometimes it’s just, you know, my son going down the YouTube rabbit hole a little too far, you know, finding me.
You act a lot on set and you do a lot of voice acting. How do you approach voice acting in comparison to going on a set?
SIMMONS: Well, the simplicity of it is nice, you know, no time in the makeup chair and all that. But I’ve been working for years with the wonderful Billy West as the M&M’s. And he was the first guy that I heard refer to, you know, 20-some years ago as a theater of the mind, you know, because obviously, we have some visual reference to who these characters are. And we have a script and we know the story. But, you know, at the end of the day,it requires more investment of your imagination. And I often find myself closing my eyes in front of the microphone and, you know, visualizing the world and the situation and playing the character from that perspective, which is something it’s sort of frowned on, I guess, when you’re playing an on-camera with somebody.
Omni-Man Could Kick Homelander’s Ass, According to J.K. Simmons
“I think he’s got it coming.”
If you could have Omni-Man interact with any character outside of the show, who do you think would be the most interesting scene to interact with? And which of the iconic characters you’ve played in the past would you like to see Omni-Man meet?
SIMMONS: Well, I wouldn’t mind kicking Homelander’s ass. I think he’s got it coming. I’m not going to make any Wonder Woman jokes. Yeah, that would be it.
How do you think he would respond to Fletcher from Whiplash?
SIMMONS: Oh, I think that would be a love fest. Yeah, yeah. He’d be a big J. Jonah Jameson fan as well. [Laughs]
I’ve been asking everybody about their suit preference for this season because Mark shifts from his typical yellow and baby blue suit to this much darker suit. Do you have a preference about what suit you prefer?
SIMMONS: Yeah, I mean, I just like the idea that the show, the world, the characters continue to evolve, you know, so I think that’s a great, as you said, it’s darker, it sort of symbolizes, you know, where we are on the journey. So I like the idea of change, which is something now that I think of it, I need to incorporate more in my actual life. [Laughs] Embracing change.
“She’d Probably Want Her To Stay Very Far Away From Her”: ‘Invincible’s Steven Yeun and Gillian Jacobs Theorize What Would Happen If Mark & Eve Met Their Most Popular Characters
Yeun and Jacobs also talk about building Mark and Eve’s chemistry despite not recording together.
I think this season has been a lot more grounded than the last two seasons. It has a different feel to it. It’s obviously the same show. How do you think fans are going to react? Have your kids seen the new episodes yet?
SIMMONS: No, not Season 3. And yeah, I mean, I look, I think it’s important to, you know, obviously, stay true to the universe that you’ve created and the characters that you’ve created. But also, you know, as I was saying earlier, you know, let there be an evolution. I think, you know, most fans who are really into the show will appreciate the evolution and appreciate being surprised sometimes. And I’m sure as always, it’ll inspire some debate among, you know, somebody, ‘Oh, he would never do that,’ you know, that kind of thing. But you know, that kind of intelligent debate is one of the things that makes it fun.
I know that Steven [Yeun] had brought up that they bank a lot of episodes, and record them in advance. Have you already started work on Season 4?
SIMMONS: Oh, we’re on Season 12 already. I know it’s a spoiler, but sorry. [Laughs] Yeah, we actually have dipped our toes, or at least I have into the next season and looking forward to, I don’t know when in the next coming months, but looking forward to getting back in the studio again.
InvincibleSeason 3 is now streaming on Prime Video, with the final two episodes dropping on March 6 and March 13.
