Tim Simons: From Cyrus Theatre to the Cinema

Tim Simons, a 2001 University of Maine graduate with a bachelor’s degree in theatre, is a long way from his childhood home in Readfield, Maine. He now stars as White House liaison Jonah Ryan on the Emmy-winning HBO series “Veep” alongside Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Tony Hale and Anna Chlumsky. Simons also has starred in several movies, including “Beneath the Harvest Sky,” “The Interview” and the Oscar-nominated “Inherent Vice.”

Simons credits UMaine for his success and shares memories of when he was a student.

Catching the acting bug
The honest answer to why I chose UMaine may not be one UMaine would advertise with, but it may have been the only school I was accepted to. I wanted nothing more than to get out of the state. Unfortunately I wasn’t a very good high school student. At least I was when I applied myself, which wasn’t often.

That being said, going to UMaine was ultimately how I found my way to the job I love, and friends I still keep in touch with. I loved every second of my time at UMaine.

I became interested in acting when I was a freshman. Students in the Introduction to Directing Class in the Theatre Department had to direct 10-minute plays and I auditioned for them. I caught the bug and stuck with it.

I decided I was going to pursue acting professionally during my sophomore year after my first big show and with a lot of prodding from one of the graduate students — Claude Giroux. He was the one who put the thought in my mind that I could make a living in theatre.

Learning the hard way
Sandra Hardy was my first acting teacher at UMaine. She was harsh, but that’s how she should be. Nothing was ever really good enough. She hammered the basics into us. There are still things she taught me that I think about whenever I get a job.

My classmates and I were never fancy, we weren’t known the country over, but we worked hard, and we had talented people. We poured everything we had into the shows we did. We learned how to be professional.

One thing Maine teaches you is that you aren’t bigger than anything. Winter comes in, and it’s cold — everyone gets cold the same.

If I knew then what I know now, I would have done more, written more, created more work and put on more shows instead of waiting for the work to come to me. That’s something I still struggle with. I wish I had set up those habits then, maybe I’d be better at that now.

Performing on campus
I have far too many memorable UMaine moments to count, but one that sticks out is coming back to school early one fall to rehearse for “Glengarry Glen Ross.” Campus was empty, and only the cast was there. It felt really cool.

The Cyrus Pavilion Theatre was my favorite place on campus. It’s still one of the best spaces I’ve ever performed in. I loved it.

Life beyond Maine
Moving to Chicago and getting cast in my first play there were big professional milestones for me after graduating from UMaine. I also booked my first commercial gig in Chicago, which was for KFC. I was also an extra on the movie “Stranger than Fiction” and even though I got cut, it made me want to do more film work, and spurred my move to Los Angeles.

Although I took some improvisation classes at Second City Chicago, the majority of my improv training comes from Upright Citizens Brigade in LA. I love their training because it seems to be less about making a funny joke and more about making a strong scene. The training is applicable to all performance, not just comedy. It’s also been a huge help with the improvisational elements of ‘Veep.’

Now that I have kids, I keep looking for things in Los Angeles that remind me of my childhood in Maine that I can show them, but there aren’t a lot of streams, creeks and forests to run around in out here. I’m trying to figure out how they can have a small-town experience, but it’s not without challenges.

I love LA though; it’s a city that doesn’t get a lot of love from New York or Chicago, but it’s amazing. People should give it more credit.

It can’t get any better
Working on ‘Veep’ is fantastic. I love the job, and I love the people I work with. It’s a job that artistically satisfies me and let’s me support my family. It literally can’t get better than that.

My character Jonah Ryan is a guy that likes being close to power and likes having an important job at an important address. I think there is a shallowness and selfishness that people in this world have that is very directly relatable to Los Angeles.

I’m working on my dream role right now. As far as future plans go, I just hope to continue to get work.

I’ve always been a big fan of character actors who can jump from genre to genre, and I’d love to be able to do that. Steve Buscemi is an example. He can seamlessly play any genre — from leading man to bit part — and it’s always memorable.

The importance of failing
The advice I would give UMaine acting students is to create your own work and fail repeatedly. Also, get used to the word ‘no;’ you will hear it for years and years — more often than you will hear the word ‘yes.’