Now that the nominations for the 87th Academy Awards have been announced, it’s time for an annual tradition here at The Back Row: “Before They Were Stars” clips for this year’s nominees! The odds-on-favourite for “Best Supporting Actor” this year is J.K. Simmons for his acclaimed performance in Whiplash and it would be pretty cool to see one of Hollywood’s top character actors get rewarded with an Oscar. In the 1990s, Simmons made the transition from Broadway to Hollywood and had a lot of minor supporting roles in films and TV shows, including this turn as an FBI agent in The Jackal. If nothing else, Simmons probably should have gotten some sort of award for being able to play this scene with a straight face while Richard Gere spoke with the worst Irish accent in the history of cinema.