J.K. Simmons and Tom Brittney Break Down How ‘The Westies’ Finale Changes Everything

Editor's note: The following contains spoilers for The Westies. Summary Eamon Sweeney and Jimmy Roarke's mentor-to-rival split felt inevitable, as old rules collided with new ambition. The warehouse talk crowns Jimmy's rise, as he takes a seat in Sweeney's chair, nervous about corrupting power. Sweeney's macho control meets Officer Keenan's push, as the two men constantly clash. The first season of the MGM+ series The Westies followed the rising tensions between Eamon Sweeney (J.K. Simmons), leader of the violent Irish gang, and Jimmy Roarke (Tom Brittney), a rising member of his crew. What started as a mentor-protégé relationship quickly evolved into something much more complex, over disagreements about the best way to run things. Ultimately, Jimmy’s growing ambition led him to make moves that pitted the old guard against the new and left both men wondering what comes next. During this interview with Collider, co-stars Simmons and Brittney discussed whether the clash between their characters was inevitable, the pissing contest between Sweeney and Officer Glenn Keenan (Titus Welliver), Sweeney and Jimmy’s finale clash in the warehouse, what being a leader could mean for Jimmy Roarke, what they’d each like to see in Season 2, and which of Simmons’ previous characters might rattle the otherwise unshakable Eamon Sweeney. Which of J.K. Simmons' Previous Characters Would Rattle ‘The Westies’ Eamon Sweeney? "I think Fletcher would probably scare him." Image via Sony Pictures Classics COLLIDER: J.K., I wanted to start with a fun, silly question for you. Not much in The Westies seems to shake or scare Sweeney, and it doesn’t seem like anyone really rattles him at all. Which of the past characters that you’ve played do you think would scare Eamon Sweeney, or at least give him a run for his money? Would any of your past characters rattle him at all? J.K. SIMMONS: Probably Fletcher from Whiplash because he would be like, “What is up with this guy and the jazz music? I don’t understand this level of vitriol coming off a guy.” Sweeney is obviously covering and keeping the cool, calm, macho exterior. John Gotti, who has 150 guys who would shoot [Sweeney] in the head if he asked him to, was threatening [him], and Sweeney had to be Mr. Cool, Calm, and Collected. I think Fletcher would probably scare him. Jimmy makes a decision on his own, very early on, that changes the course of things because it goes against Sweeney’s orders. Do each of you feel like the clash that really comes to a head by the end of the season was inevitable, or do you think Sweeney could have made different decisions that would have changed the course of where Jimmy ended up? TOM BRITTNEY: It’s hard because you’re defending your character in some ways, but I think there’s a decision that Sweeney makes incredibly early on that could have avoided everything. We’re thrust into this world in which the rules are changing, things are changing, and the decisions that people make are based on this rapidly evolving world, whether they’re right or wrong. And so, our characters just have to adapt very quickly. They’re having to work out how this new world order works. But I think you’re right, there’s an inevitability to it in some ways because of their core values of trying to keep themselves together. If feels like if you don’t pull the trigger on one person, it’ll happen eventually with somebody else. It seems inevitable in the world that these characters live in. SIMMONS: Triggers being pulled is definitely inevitable. J.K., there’s a moment in Episode 6 when you and Titus Welliver face off in a bar. You tell him that he’s a failure as a cop, a father, and as a man, which is the triple whammy. What was your reaction to that moment when you read it? How was it to share that moment with Titus? I would have loved even more moments of the two of you in each other’s faces. SIMMONS: Those scenes, throughout our first season, and hopefully in more, I always looked forward to playing those. That writing was so good. That line that you spoke of, just jumped off the page at me as such a brutal, emasculating line. Just based on the pilot episode, when I read it, I didn’t see Keenan the way Titus ends up playing Keenan, and the way that Keenan ends up evolving as a character and having more of a backbone and being the Marine and all the background stuff that we learn about him. What I love in those kinds of scenes, and the same with the scenes with Gotti, is that if there’s anything more than one-tenth of a percent of a hint of something actually getting to you, then you’re overacting and you’re trying to do too much. It’s just such a pissing contest between these two guys. From my perspective, Sweeney is the boss. It's like, “I’m the one in control. Why are you not backing down?” There’s a lot of really, really cool scenes to play. There’s another really interesting line in Episode 2 when Sweeney tells Jimmy, “The truth always comes out.” Do you think Sweeney even considered that he would be talking about himself by the end of the season? Because it really is all those truths that he was keeping a secret that are what bite him in the ass. SIMMONS: No. I love how portentous that line becomes and just how real and in the moment it is. He’s had 70 years on the planet, and that experience has led him to offer those words of wisdom to young Jimmy. That is another one of my favorite lines that you picked out there. In context, that whole moment is really allowed to breathe and to live with me. I love that little moment. Jimmy Roarke Earned His Final Confrontation With Eamon Sweeney in ‘The Westies’ Finale "I love that scene." Image via MGM+ Throughout the last episode, things get further and further out of control between these two guys. What was it like to have the moment between the two of you in the warehouse when you could actually have a conversation? It’s not a big shoot-out or action moment, but it’s a conversation between these two guys. What was it like to do that? BRITTNEY: I love that scene. Actually, I put a lot of pressure on myself when we were filming that to get it right. It was our last scene together of the season and I wanted to track from the confrontation he has in his office, where he’s very close to killing him. It’s a highly emotional one. And then, how does he speak to him when he’s had some time to cool off? What is he going to do to him? How does he confront this person, when he’s tied down and there’s nothing you can do? SIMMONS: I love that Jimmy earned that scene. Jimmy has spent the entire eight episodes building to earning that confrontation with Eamon. I thought in the writing and the acting, it paid off really well. Tom, what do you think Jimmy felt and thought in that moment when he sat in Sweeney’s chair in his office at the end? It’s that realization that now he is responsible for what happens next. co BRITTNEY: Yeah. It wasn’t something I think he actually ever thought that he would do. I genuinely don’t think that he thought that he would lead. Maybe he thought he’d take over at some point, but I don’t think he wanted to. I don’t think power was his objective. Now, he’s sat in the seat, and he’s seen what power did to Sweeney. It’s an absolute power corrupts kind of thing. I think he’s nervous. There’s a slight confidence of, “I can do it better than he did because I’ve seen what he did at the end of his reign,” but I think there are nerves about how that’s going to work because he’s also had to deal with all the chess playing that’s happened throughout the season. Now, he’s in control of that. I think that’s a terrifying prospect. J.K. Simmons and Tom Brittney Are Hopeful Viewers of ‘The Westies’ Will Want a Season 2 "It'll be an exciting prospect for people to see where it goes." It definitely feels like this season ends in a place that sets up Jimmy’s story for a second season. It sets up a lot of things for Season 2, and it feels like there’s still so much more story to tell. What would each of you like to see with your characters in another season? What are you most interested in seeing happen with them and to them? SIMMONS: I think we both have specific ideas that we don’t want to divulge. Obviously, we’re hoping there’s a second season, and hoping there’s more beyond that. I just want to keep it grounded and keep doing things that we have earned from the first season, and have the occasional surprise from outside come in and disrupt the world. BRITTNEY: I think the season ends in such a wonderful place. Hopefully, every audience member will go, “What happens to these characters?” Every single one has a thread that’s left open and that’s not closed. I think it’ll be an exciting prospect for people to see where it goes and what hijinks they get up to. As much as I enjoyed this season, I’m even more excited to see what would happen to all these characters after the events of this season. BRITTNEY: Right? That’s exactly what people will want. The Westies is available to stream on MGM+. Release Date July 12, 2026 Network MGM+ Showrunner Chris Brancato Directors Alan Taylor