March 12--Timothy Simons, who has made his name playing the lanky political hack and creepo supreme Jonah on HBO's "Veep," has been cast in the new Melissa McCarthy comedy "Michelle Darnell."
McCarthy co-wrote the script with husband Ben Falcone (who is directing) in which she plays a "titan of industry who is sent to prison after she's caught for insider trading. When she finally gets out from behind bars and tries to reinvent her life, not everyone she screwed over is so quick to forgive and forget," according to the Hollywood Reporter.
There have been some rumblings that the movie may shoot in Chicago for a day or two in late May, though nothing has been confirmed.
A native of Maine, Simons (who also appears in "Inherent Vice" and the upcoming adaptation of "Goosebumps") launched his acting career in Chicago theater straight out of college.
"Going through theater school," he told me in an interview last year, "you see the original cast listed in the front of Samuel French (the publisher of most play scripts), and at the beginning it says, 'This play was first performed at this theater' -- and so many of those plays were workshopped and performed in Chicago. That's what I wanted to be a part of. The creation of new stuff. That's why I moved there."
Though he is an ace at playing odious characters, I can report that he happens to be a swell guy in real life.
Simons also has a role in "Digging for Fire" from Chicago-based filmmaker Joe Swanberg. (The indie debuted to strong reviews at Sundance.)
McCarthy, who grew up in Plainfield, is keeping busy in film but she will remain a fixture on TV for at least another year; CBS just renewed her sitcom "Mike Molly."
nmetz@tribpub.com
