Characters on “The Simpsons” are rarely as grounded as Grimes. When “The Simpsons” first began in 1989, it received a lot of critical praise for how its characters were relatably grounded. “The Simpsons” served as a deconstruction of classic, squeaky-clean sitcom tropes, presenting a counterpoint of ignorant, bickersome, sloppy human beings. Between “The Simpsons,” “Married… with Children,” and “Seinfeld,” American sitcoms were being actively torn to shreds. 

As time passed, however, “The Simpsons” became recognizably broad, and the situations became increasingly cartoony. One could only say it was to the show’s benefit. Hence why Grimes was brought in. Grimes still had his feet on the ground. He was pathetic in a way even the Simpsons weren’t. This provided Hank Azaria with a wonderful acting opportunity. He wasn’t playing a broad type or providing a silly voice. He had to play a terrified, outraged human being for the first time. 

When asked what his favorite one-off characters were, Azaria wrote: 

“By far my favorite one-off was Frank Grimes. It was supposed to be William H. Macy and I filled in as best I could, and I really love how the episode came out … it was a rare opportunity to do an emotional performance on the show.” 

Grimes was, the writers have said, inspired by Michael Douglas’ character from Joel Schumacher’s I’m-mad-as-Hell-and-I’m-not-going-to-take-this-anymore epic “Falling Down.” Azaria was likely imitating Macy’s performance from the 1996 film “Fargo,” which was released only a few months earlier. 

Curiously, Frank Grimes would, in turn, serve as the inspiration for the portrayal of M.O.D.O.K. (Corey Stoll) in the superhero flick “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania.” That character, though, was more driven by self-pity than the knowledge that he is smarter than his boobish assistant.