It seemed inevitable, and there were some other great contenders, but J.K. Simmons has been awarded the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor at the 2015 Academy Awards. Simmons took home the statue for his fantastic, unnerving role as Fletcher, the intimidating band instructor in Whiplash.

Simmons beat out a solid list of contenders for the Best Supporting Actor award, including Ethan Hawke for Boyhood, Robert Duvall for The Judge, Mark Ruffalo for Foxcatcher and Edward Norton for Birdman. Following his Golden Globe win for Best Supporting Actor in Whiplash, it was all but guaranteed that Simmons would win the Oscar as well.

Simmons has enjoyed a long, wonderful career as a character actor, but it wasn’t until his incredible performance in last year’s Whiplash that the world — and the Academy — really sat up to take notice. Although his fellow nominees all delivered great performances in their respective films last year, Simmons truly deserved this more than any other.

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