Jonathan Banks

Jonathan Banks
Banks at the 2012 San Diego Comic-Con International
Born	Jonathan Ray Banks January 31, 1947 (age 71) Washington, D.C., U.S.
Alma mater	Indiana University Bloomington
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1974–present
Spouse(s)	Marnie Fausch (m. 1968; div. 1970) Gennera Banks (m. 1990)
Children	3

Jonathan Ray Banks^[1] (born January 31, 1947)^[2] is an American actor. His first notable film roles were in the films Airplane!, 48 Hrs., and Beverly Hills Cop. He has received critical acclaim for his role as former police officer turned hitman Mike Ehrmantraut in the television series Breaking Bad, and its spin-off Better Call Saul. Earlier he was well-reviewed as Frank McPike in Wiseguy.^[3] He has received five Primetime Emmy Award nominations for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series.

Early life and education

Banks was born in Washington, D.C. His mother was Elena (Adams) Banks (October 13, 1917 – September 16, 2012).^[4] He graduated from Northwood High School in Silver Spring, MD in 1965, and attended Indiana University Bloomington, where he was a classmate of actor Kevin Kline. During that time, they participated in a production of The Threepenny Opera together.^[1] Banks dropped out of the university to join a touring company of Hair as a stage manager.^[5] He toured Australia with the Hair company.

Career

In 1974, Banks moved to Los Angeles and performed on stage before picking up bit parts on television. He notably starred in the 1974 sex PSA Linda's Film on Menstruation, which was referenced by John Oliver in an episode of his show Last Week Tonight with John Oliver focusing on sex education. The episode aired on August 9, 2015, and Banks appeared at the end of the segment, ridiculing the content of said PSA.^[6][7][8] He co-starred in 48 Hrs. and Beverly Hills Cop, which are among his best known roles. Other film roles include appearances in Armed and Dangerous, Buckaroo Banzai, Freejack, Flipper, Airplane!, Gremlins, Murder Me, Murder You, Under Siege 2: Dark Territory, and Identity Thief.

Banks' big break on television came in 1987 with the series Wiseguy, in which he played Frank McPike for four years, a role which led to a Primetime Emmy Award nomination.^[9] Although his character was primarily the hero's mentor, stories occasionally featured McPike as hero. In 1981, he appeared as Dutch Schultz on the NBC series the Gangster Chronicles.^[10] He also starred on the short-lived science fiction series Otherworld, as Kommander Nuveen Kroll, and in the sitcom Fired Up.

In the second season of Breaking Bad, Banks appeared as Mike Ehrmantraut. He became a series regular for the third, fourth, and fifth seasons. For the fifth season, he received a Primetime Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series. He also made guest appearances on several TV shows. In 2014, he had a recurring role as Buzz Hickey in the fifth season of the NBC sitcom Community.^[11] Banks reprised his role as Mike Ehrmantraut as a regular in the Breaking Bad spinoff series Better Call Saul, for which he earned his third Emmy nomination in season 1.^[12] In April 2016, he was awarded an honorary doctoral degree from Indiana University.^[13]

He played the voice of James Gordon in the 2015 video game Batman: Arkham Knight.^[14] In 2015, Banks made a special guest appearance on the Mythbusters episode "Supernatural Shooters".

He also plays Walt in the 2018 thriller film The Commuter.

Personal life

Banks married his first wife in 1968. Together, they had one daughter. After his divorce in 1970, Banks married his second wife in 1990. From this marriage, they had fraternal twins. Banks also has a stepdaughter from this marriage.^[15][16]

Filmography

Awards and nominations

References

External links

• Jonathan Banks at AllMovie
• Jonathan Banks on IMDb