Simmons already had connections with Sam Raimi when Spider-Man was in pre-production since he worked with the filmmaker on The Gift and For the Love of the Game just prior.
The actor had to prove it to Sony.
Some of the actors under consideration for J. Jonah Jameson at the time were House’s Hugh Laurie, Bill Paxton, Stan Lee and Michael Keaton – who would go on to play Vulture in 2017’s Spider-Man: Homecoming.