Baftas 2015: JK Simmons wins Best Supporting Actor for Whiplash

Simmons beat Edward Norton, Ethan Hawke, Steve Carell and Mark Ruffalo to claim the accolade

J.K. Simmons celebrates after winning best supporting actor for "Whiplash" at the BAFTA awards ceremony (REUTERS/Suzanne Plunkett )

JK Simmons has won the Bafta for Best Supporting Actor for his role in jazz thriller Whiplash.

The 60-year-old, who plays an abusive conductor in the film, has previously won a Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild award for his performance, and was the firm favourite to win Best Supporting Actor at the Baftas.

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On red carpet, Simmons told The Independent that he related to his character's passion and creative drive but "not his methods".

Simmons beat Edward Norton (Birdman), Ethan Hawke (Boyhood), Mark Ruffalo (Foxcatcher) and Steve Carell (Foxcatcher) to win the award.

Whiplash sees Simmons play Fletcher, an abusive jazz conductor at the top repertory in the US who terrorises young drumming student Andrew (Miles Teller).

Backstage at the ceremony, Simmons said of his next move following his win: "There are more interesting offers coming my way, I'm looking for things that are different, I'm not looking for another Fletcher.

"Many films that are thinking outside the box are getting a lot of awards attention recently. Making a movie is pretty easy compared to getting a movie made, so hopefully this will open the doors for other interesting films," he said.

The indie favourite, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January last year, has been nominated for a Bafta in the Best Original Screenplay and Best Sound categories.

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Miles Teller is also up for the EE Rising Star Award voted for by the public for his performance as the 19-year-old aspiring drummer.

Simmons now stands in pole position to win Best Supporting Actor at the Oscars later this month.

Whiplash is nominated in the Best Picture category at the Oscars, alongside American Sniper, Birdman, The Grand Budapest Hotel, The Imitation Game, Selma, The Theory of Everything and Boyhood.