While The Legend of Korra follows the Avatar succeeding Aang, the series also looks at Aang’s family, including his three children and four grandchildren. Aang’s son Bumi has no bending abilities (until Season 3). His daughter Kya is a Waterbender like her mother—but it’s Aang’s son, Tenzin, who is burdened with being the only surviving Airbender after his father. He is also responsible for the future of the Air Nomad culture.
Tenzin is voiced by J.K. Simmons—an actor best known for his role as J. Jonah Jameson in the Spider-Man films and his role in Whiplash—which earned him the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. While Simmons is recognized for his many live-action roles, his unique voice has also made him a well-regarded voice actor who brought all types of characters to life. He voices Omni-Man in Amazon Prime’s Invincible, based on the comic book of the same name by Robert Kirkman. J.K. Simmons’ career is constantly growing, and there is no telling where he or his voice might pop up next.
10 Tenzin (The Legend Of Korra)
Tenzin is one of the main protagonists in The Legend of Korra. He is tasked with being Korra’s Airbending teacher and being the only surviving Airbender after his father, Aang, to carry on the Air Nomad culture.
Tenzin and his wife Pema have four children, and all but one is shown to be an Airbender. Tenzin, voiced by Simmons, narrates the opening sequence similar to his mother Katara—voiced by Mae Whitman—in Avatar: The Last Airbender.
9 Lenny Turtletaub (BoJack Horseman)
In the Netflix animated series BoJack Horseman, J.K. Simmons voices a big-shot "Hollywoob" producer named Lenny Turtletaub. He is an anthropomorphic turtle and, like the animal, is extremely old, often referencing deceased characters from the early 1900s that he used to work with.
The series as a whole is a commentary on the world of Hollywood and Turtletaub represents the old executives who are willing to do whatever it takes to make a buck.
8 J. Jonah Jameson (Spider Mam 2002)
J.K. Simmons has played the character of J. Jonah Jameson for over 19 years, debuting in Spider-Man (2002) alongside Toby Mcguire. Since then, he has revisited the role in two sequel films as well as voicing the character in video games and across several TV shows including, The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes, Avengers Assemble, Hulk and the Agents of S.M.A.S.H. and Ultimate Spider-Man.
Many fans think the casting of Simmons is perfect, similar to the casting of Patrick Stewart as Professor X and Robert Downey Jr. as Iron Man. In fact, Simmons has become so well known for the Marvel Cinematic Universe role brought him back to reprise the character in Spider-Man: Far From Home and is even set to return in the upcoming Spider-Man: No Way Home, scheduled for release on December 17, 2021.
7 General Wade Eiling (Justice League Unlimited)
General Wade Eiling is one of the recurring antagonists to the Justice League throughout the Justice League Unlimited animated series. He starts as both a U.S. Air Force General and a member of Project Cadmus, who is tasked with finding ways to defend the country if the Justice League should go rogue.
His paranoia gets the best of him, and in the Season 3 Episode, “Patriot Act,” he injects himself with Captain Nazi's super-soldier serum transforming into a monster strong enough to take down the Justice League. While the character only appears in a few episodes, the Oscar-winning actor's performance makes it one of the more compelling arcs throughout the series.
6 Klaus (Klaus)
Simmons starred in Netflix’s 2019 animated film, Klaus, alongside Jason Schwartzman and Rashida Jones. The film was a huge success, and it went on to be Netflix’s first animated film to be nominated for an Academy Award.
Simmons voiced Klaus, a version of Santa Claus depicted as a recluse woodsman who makes toys. Interestingly, while trying to start his acting career out of college, Simmons himself worked as a mall Santa.
5 Kai (Kung Fu Panda 3)
Kai is the main protagonist in Dreamworks’ Kung Fu Panda 3. About 500 years before the film's events, Kai was a general of an army alongside Oogway. But after he gained the ability to steal people’s chi, Oogway banished him to the Spirit Realm.
In the film, Kai is out for vengeance and comes for the students of Oogway, consisting of Po and the Furious Five.
4 Nolan Grayson / Omni-Man (Invincible)
Simmons's most recent role is as the Superman-like Omni-Man in Amazon Prime’s Invincible, based on the original comic book by Robert Kirkman, the creator of The Walking Dead. While the story focuses on Omni-Man’s son Mark Grayson a.k.a. Invincible, Nolan is one of the more interesting characters. He is actually an alien race called a Viltrumite and came to Earth to be its protector.
The series is currently airing its first season on Prime Video and, alongside Simmons, features an impressive cast including Sandra Oh (Killing Eve), Steven Yeun (The Walking Dead), Zazie Beetz (Deadpool 2), Zachary Quinto (Star Trek), and more.
3 Mayor Lionheart (Zootopia)
Kung Fu Panda 3 wasn’t the only animated film in 2016 to feature J.K. Simmons. He also voiced Mayor Lionheart in Disney’s Zootopia.
As “King of the Jungle,” it makes sense that a lion would be mayor of the anthropomorphic city. It’s actually Mayor Lionheart’s treatment of deputy mayor Bellwether that causes her to enact her plan to tarnish predators' image and take over as mayor.
2 Ford Pines (Gravity Falls)
J.K. Simmons voices Stanford Filbrick "Ford" Pines, the long-lost twin brother to Stan a.k.a. Grunkle Stan. It turns out that Ford was the mysterious author who wrote all three of the journals that Dipper and Mabel use to solve the local mysteries of Gravity Falls, Oregon.
Ford is mentioned throughout the series, but it’s not until the Episode "Not What He Seems" that he returns to Gravity Falls from an alternate dimension. While Ford and Stan are technically identical, there are some notable differences, specifically that Ford has six fingers on each hand.
1 White Knight (Generator Rex)
Generator Rex was a series created by Man of Action Entertainment, the studio behind Ben-10 and Big Hero 6: The Series. The show follows an organization called Providence who is tasked with saving people who are infected with nanites.
Although the show's main protagonist is Rex Salazar, Providence's leader is White Knight, the only known nanite-free person on the planet. This was the first of a consecutive voice-acting run for J.K. Simmons, which started with White Knight in 2010, Tenzin from The Legend of Korra in 2012, and Ford Pines from Gravity Falls in 2015.