‘The Westies’ Interview: J. K. Simmons and Titus Welliver

(L to R) J. K. Simmons and Titus Welliver star in ‘The Westies’.

The new crime drama ‘The Westies’, which stars Oscar winner J.K. Simmons (‘Whiplash’) and Titus Welliver (‘Bosch’), premieres July 12th on MGM+.

Air Date: July 12th, 2026

In addition to Simmons and Welliver, the series also stars Tom Brittney (‘Greyhound’), Jessica Frances Dukes (‘Ozark’), Stanley Morgan (‘Argylle’), Sarah Bolger (‘The Lightkeeper’), and Hamish Allan-Headley (‘Daredevil: Born Again’) as John Gotti.

Moviefone recently had the pleasure of speaking with J. K. Simmons, Titus Welliver, Tom Brittney and Jessica Frances Dukes about their work on ‘The Westies’, the true story it is based on, creating their characters and their relationships, and working with the all-star cast.

Related Article: Titus Welliver Talks ‘Bosch: Legacy’ Season 3 and Ending the Series

J. K. Simmons in ‘The Westies’. Photo: MGM+.

MF: To begin with, J.K., can you talk about the initial pitch you received for the series and what excited you about exploring this character on screen?

J. K. Simmons: I mean, the initial pitch to me is always just the script and my agent sent me the script. They were interested in talking to me about playing Eamon Sweeney. I read the script and fell in love with the character, the complexity, the layers, the subtleties, and all the characters that are introduced miraculously, so cleverly by Chris Brancato and Michael Panes in our first episode. That was all I needed. We went and we had lunch, we did the let’s sit down, let’s talk, and decide if each other are just such jerks that we can’t work together. Turns out I fooled them and that was not the case and we ended up working together. We had a great mix on set of so many more established actors and younger actors, and the hunger, the passion, the energy, every day on set was a new and fun experience.

MF: Titus, after spending over a decade playing the same character on ‘Bosch’ and ‘Bosch: Legacy’, what was it like for you as an actor to step into a new series, with new writers and a new cast to create a new character that is completely different from Harry Bosch?

Titus Welliver: It was and continues to be just a great experience. I mean, all characters are different, but this character, like you said, after a decade of Harry Bosch, these characters are completely opposite. The opportunity to work with my dear friends, Chris Brancato and Michael Panes, it’s like the best summer camp you could ever have and getting to work with actors who I had not worked with before. I was a huge fan of Jessica, and J.K., and they just amass this kind of perfect storm of people together. It was a gas. I mean, it was a lot of fun.

(L to R) J. K. Simmons and Tom Brittney star in ‘The Westies’.

MF: Tom, can you talk about Jimmy’s relationship to Sweeney, his loyalty to him and how that is tested this season?

Tom Brittney: Well, Jimmy is, I guess, one of Sweeney’s lieutenants in some way and kind of a surrogate son in another because the relationship they’ve had has gone through most of his life. He’s plucked him off the street at quite a young age and taught him the ways of the world and the ways of the business that they’re in. So, he’s been fiercely loyal to him. He looks up to him and he is his leader. But as you’ll see in the season, very quickly that gets tested. Then it becomes a season about Jimmy growing up and seeing beyond this father figure and the place that that person has in his life.

MF: Tom, what was it like creating that relationship on screen with J.K.?

TB: We get along great, and he was just amazing. It’s a very nerve-wracking experience working with someone of his caliber. So, you come onto set every day and you want to bring your A-game, so you don’t get on the wrong side of him because we’ve seen the terrifying side on screen.

(L to R) Stanley Morgan and Tom Brittney in ‘The Westies’. Photo: MGM+.

MF: Tom, can you also talk about working on the accent and did you do any research into New York in the early 1980s that really helped and informed your performance?

TB: Well, I played a lot of Americans and there’s this thing that we as Brits look at as this general American kind of thing, whether it exists or not. But then this is such a specific accent and a historical accent as well that maybe doesn’t exist in the same way anymore. So, it was important to get that right and then hopefully the rest follows. There was a lot of listening to people speak back then. Adam Bergquist was our dialect coach, and he was great, especially at providing those historical samples. Then, just watching as much stuff as I could that was made in that era to feel like I could get it into my memory. But once you were on set, there was so much that was built that went out the window. It was there in front of you. Once you had that cast, everyone was pulling together and trying to create this world that it felt like a real living, breathing world that we were in with real people.

(L to R) Jessica Frances Dukes and Titus Welliver star in ‘The Westies’.

MF: Jessica, can you talk about Agent Polk’s unlikely alliance with Keenan, and does she trust him or is she just using him to get to Sweeney?

Jessica Frances Dukes: I don’t think it’s a trust factor here. I also don’t know if she’s necessarily just using him. He is a piece in the puzzle. He’s a piece of the game that she needs to move, but he is so qualified for the job. The Marine in him, the cop he was, heavily decorated. He could be a high-ranking detective right now. There’s something in that that I think she knows, or thinks is going to pop out and help her win this case. I don’t think she trusts him. I think she must play with him, and whatever game it is, I think it’s his decision, but she’s got all the cards, if that makes sense.

MF: Jessica, what was it like creating that relationship on screen with Titus?

JFD: I had a ball. It was an absolute joy to be with someone who plays. There were no decisions being made. There was no, “This is how we’re going to do this.” It was two actors that were creating these people that came together and said, “Let’s dance.” We did multiple different dances. We did tango, we did the waltz, we did so many different dances depending on what game they’re playing at that moment.

(L to R) Jessica Frances Dukes and Titus Welliver in ‘The Westies’. Photo: MGM+.

MF: J.K., can you talk about Sweeney’s history with Keenan and acting opposite Titus? Had you ever met him before?

JKS: We’d never met, no. I’d been a fan from a distance. I didn’t know that Titus was going to be playing Keenan when I first met with the guys. Then of course, after I decided to come on board and the grownups were hammering out all the details, one by one they would say, “Oh, this actor is interested in playing this character, or this actor might be playing that character.” As Tom and Titus and other actor names were starting to be bounced around, it was fun to watch the whole company get assembled. Then to think about Titus and I are having, in the first episode, a little toe to toe that continues throughout the series and throughout the first eight episodes.

MF: Finally, Titus, how would you describe Keenan and Sweeney’s relationship and what was your experience like finally working with J.K.?

Titus Welliver: It’s true, we’d never met, and we have so many friends in common, it’s ridiculous. Yet we just kind of landed. But we worked the same way and we just rolled up and did it. I think we both just intuitively understood the nature. J.K.’s not originally from New York, I am, but J.K. might’ve lived in New York longer, so he’s no stranger and has a deep understanding of New York and its history. That relationship just seemed to happen organically. I felt like we did that first scene, and with these guys had that familiarity, and we had just met the day before and then boom, we were in it. I think it was very funny. Because we have somewhat similar voices, one of the sound guys said that when J.K. and I did scenes together, “It’s kind of like listening to Mongolian throat singers.” I can’t help myself and I started to talk like J.K. I would sneak up and do it to other actors sometimes just to see if they were paying attention. So that was kind of my little secret weapon.

(L to R) Titus Welliver and J. K. Simmons in ‘The Westies’. Photo: MGM+.

What is the plot of ‘The Westies’?

In 1980s Hell’s Kitchen, New York, two men (J. K. Simmons and Titus Welliver) who knew each other from childhood take differing paths in life with one a police officer and the other a member of the Westies criminal gang.