Jimmi Simpson On Playing Different Versions Of Ryan, Working With Alice Braga, And More

Have you ever wondered what your life might look like if you’d made a series of different choices?

If Jimmi Simpson hadn’t pursued acting, for instance, he might have embarked on a career as an English teacher or sharpened his culinary skills and become a chef. But every decision in life led him to where he is now — starring in Apple TV‘s ambitious, thought-provoking sci-fi series Dark Matter, which thoroughly explores the road not taken.

Based on creator Blake Crouch’s bestselling novel, Dark Matter follows father, husband, and physics professor Jason Dessen (Joel Edgerton) who’s ripped from his world by another version of himself and forced to live in an alternate reality. Thanks to a large metal box and a drug that allows humans to achieve superposition and travel to parallel universes, Jason, his family, his best friend Ryan (Simpson), and other core characters explore various versions of their lives, taking viewers on a wild, mind-bending journey.

“It’s one of my favorite pieces I’ve ever been on. I love stories, books, movies, television shows that speak on the human condition and the struggle that it is to be a human. And Blake selecting this universal human wondering of ‘What if I did the other thing?’ is so close to my heart, and I think most people’s hearts,” Simpson shared while visiting DECIDER’s Midtown Manhattan studio. “The Twilight Zone and Black Mirror drop you into this world and say, ‘And you’re effed!’ With Dark Matter, it investigates it so clearly and with such generosity of exploration that you feel relaxed at the end of the investigation. It takes the sting off of this historically human fear: ‘Did I make the wrong choice?’”

In celebration of Dark Matter‘s highly anticipated Season 2 return, Simpson spoke with DECIDER about playing multiple versions of Ryan, working with Alice Braga and Dayo Okeniyi, being his own scene partner, other exciting projects he’s working on, and more.

When I spoke with Joel Edgerton last season, he said he felt like he needed “a PhD in something that didn’t exist” to play all the different versions of Jason. This season we get to see several more Ryans, so how challenging is it for you to distinguish those different versions of the character in your head as you play them? 

They’re all linked by a really strong sense of self; it’s just that each one of them has either been buoyed up into feeling like, “Oh, life is a little bit easier,” or smashed down into thinking, “No. It’s always going to be a struggle.” And one is just right there in between. So it’s fun to play the same human being affected by different circumstances. But Joel and the quantum physics behind it — I understand quantum physics so well while a quantum physicist is explaining it to me, and then it just goes off into another universe. We’re kind of [experts] because Blake Crouch and his partner Jacquelyn Ben-Zekry, who write the show, have researched it and are such huge, big brains. They have such powerful engines up there. So not only did Blake write the novel that’s a huge bestseller, he wrote every episode of the show, which is so rare. And he’s also the showrunner, so we’re the luckiest cast. 

Season 2 picked up right where Season 1 left off, with Ryan and Amanda meeting in Futuristic Chicago. What was it like working so closely with Alice Braga and developing that incredible chemistry this season?

It was such a pleasure, and there’s some weird little foreshadowing. We have a lot of friends in common, and towards the end of Season 1, we went out a couple of times to talk about the show and how grateful we are, and we did say, “Gosh, I just wish we had stuff together.” I don’t know if Blake was listening, because he wasn’t even in the restaurant, but somehow that message was heard, and we got our wish. She’s such a great performer. A wonderful human being. Great box partner.

I also also so captivated by your scenes with Dayo Okeniyi, who portrays different versions of Leighton Vance.

From the get-go, it was like D and I knew each other. He’s such a feet-on-the-ground actor, yet so gifted, which is such a combination. It was a treat to see him shine in every single one of those roles. But as soon as it wraps, he’s D again. Such a nice guy. 

I loved learning more about Ryan’s life in early Season 2 episodes. We meet his sister, Camilla (Tyler Meredith), in this new universe. Were you always aware of that Ryan lore, or did you have to adjust whatever backstory you had for him in Season 1?

I believe it probably existed in Blake’s mind. His brain is so expansive and sees everything. But for me, it was wonderful to have a little familial tether for Ryan, because the Ryan we get to know the most in Season 1 is very, very independent, and very capable of taking care of himself. And then to give him another person to fold into his world fleshed him out even more.

In Episode 3, Ryan and Amanda return to his original universe and meet the Ryan that Jason 2 snatched from his world. Have you seen you act opposite yourself in those final cuts yet?

It’s pretty surreal. I have a little bit of experience from the last Black Mirror I did. I got to do a lot of split-screen stuff. It’s great. I feel like that was able to give me a little bit of context, not just for the human element, but for the technical element. And the team on Dark Matter is so professional, so prepared; they’re such a blessing. Apple has done such a great job of supporting their creatives, so they knew what they were going to do, and they made it as easy technically as possible for me. I was actually just able to see those scenes recently, and it’s a beautiful thing to see Blake’s words come together with the post-production, forming this idea that he dreamed of that’s now tactile. 

I often catch myself thinking how ambitious this show is continuity-wise in terms of wardrobe, makeup, and hair, too.

Yeah, like for the action sequence that follows Ryan meeting Jason 2, you do it, and then normally the action sequence is done. But then you trade outfits, and you do it again. It really doesn’t even hold a candle to what Joel and Jennifer have to do, though. Joel is like the sorcerer’s apprentice. There’s like a hundred of him at all times. I have no idea how he does it. His work schedule is so packed. And he shows up every scene as if he’s fresh as a daisy. He’s a godlike actor to me. 

I’m holding all the Season 4 spoilers we discussed for later episodes. So we’re going to have some fun now. If you could go into the box and walk into the world of any other television show, what would you do for a crossover? 

If it were any other universe, because we’re in New York City right now, I would go into a universe where New York City apartments have closet space. 

Ambitious. 

It’s clearly sci-fi and not a reality. [Laughs] Going into any other TV world, I think Ryan would have a lot of fun walking through the door with some kind of physical comedy into Seinfeld’s apartment. He’d go to Monk’s Café, and they’d all have a tuna on toast, and it would just be delightful. 

You have more than 100 IMDb credits, which is incredible. At this point in your career, what does a project like Dark Matter mean to you? 

It’s one of my favorite pieces I’ve ever been on. I love stories, books, movies, television shows that speak on the human condition and the struggle that it is to be a human. And Blake selecting this universal human wondering of “What if I did the other thing?” is so close to my heart, and I think most people’s hearts. What I think Blake and now Jackie do so beautifully is investigate it and unpack it. And the reveal is that wherever you are is where you should be. Twilight Zone and Black Mirror drop you into this world and say, “And you’re effed!” With Dark Matter, it investigates it so clearly and with such generosity of exploration that you feel relaxed at the end of the investigation. It takes the sting off of this historically human fear: “Did I make the wrong choice?”

While I’m watching, I often think of alternate paths my life could have taken. So if you weren’t an actor, was there another career you dreamed of?

I was going to be an English teacher. And then I had this idea of being a chef, but that was kind of out of my family’s budget. Speaking of the road that you didn’t choose, what we don’t consider is all the negatives that would come along with that other choice. We’re only able to fantasize, but [other things] would have fallen apart, and this thing that’s so lovely, you wouldn’t have. So Dark Matter approaches that with such a loving look at our experience. 

I want to ask about a few non-Dark Matter projects. You’re on the current season of The Walking Dead: Dead City. What’s it like slaying zombies with Jeffrey Dean Morgan, and how did that role come about? 

It’s glorious to spend any time with Jeffrey Dean Morgan. We had this weird little connection 20 years ago and weren’t able to develop it, but we worked together briefly. So when we got to the set of Dead City, it was like, “You!” and then hugs. And that instant friendship really compounded the on-screen friendship and made the whole shoot a joy. People seem to be really loving Dillard and Negan, too. So that’s a pleasure. Rarely do you enjoy yourselves on set and then people really enjoy watching it. So it’s a wonderful conflation of so many good things. And I was always a little gorehound. I loved Friday the 13th. I love anything horror with a little sense of humor, and Dead City — and Dillard in particular — lands right there in that sweet spot.

You’re also in It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia Season 18. What keeps you coming back after all these years, and are you impressed by the ways they continue to amp up the McPoyle creepiness? 

Charlie [Day]’s been one of my best friends since 1998 or so at Williamstown Theatre Festival. We would shoot little silly videos together with people with no real morals. And he’s turned it into this beautiful, longest-running show of all time. And we write scripts together, not Sunny scripts. But any time I get to go hang out with Charlie and Rob and Glenn and Kaitlin is a joy. You throw in Guillermo del Toro as my dad, and you couldn’t stop me from being there, and Nate Mooney, who’s one of my closest friends in the world, plays Ryan McPoyle. So you got Ryan, Nate, myself, and Guillermo all coming back for a pretty epic episode set at a Ren Faire. I’ll just say, you guys like the eye play? Well, get ready for some more.