Jonathan Ray Banks was born on the 31st January 1947, in Washington, D.C. USA, and is an award-winning film, television, and stage actor, probably best known to the world for the roles of Gunderson in “Airplane!” (1980), Franks McPike in “Wiseguy” (1987-1990), and Mike Ehrmantraut in “Breaking Bad” (2009-2012).
Have you ever wondered how rich Jonathan Banks is, as of early 2017? According to authoritative sources it has been estimated that Banks’ net worth is as high as $2.5 million, an amount earned through his successful career in the entertainment industry as an actor, during which he has made over 150 on-screen appearances.
Jonathan Banks Net Worth $2.5 Million
Jonathan’s mother Elena in the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and also worked as a professor at Indiana State University. He went to Indiana University, Bloomington, and attended the same classes as actor Kevin Kline. The two befriended, and together appeared in a production of “The Threepenny Opera”. However, Jonathan never finished his studies as he left with a touring company that performed “Hair”, as their stage manager in Australia, and continued to perform with the group.
His next life change happened in 1974 when he returned to the USA, this time settling in Los Angeles and working his way into the acting world. Before his on-screen debut, Jonathan featured in several theater productions, but his screen debut came later that year, in the short film “Linda’s Film on Menstruation”, directed by Linda Feferman. He spent the ’70s accepting every role he could, which resulted in one-time appearances in such TV series as “The Macahans” (1976), “Family” (1977), and “Carter Country” (1977) among many others.
He also made brief appearances in films including “The Girl in the Empty Grave” (1977), and “Coming Home” (1978), which won three Academy Awards starring Jane Fonda, Jon Voight, and Bruce Dern. He made his breakthrough in 1980 with the role of Gunderson in the film “Airplane!”, starring Leslie Nielsen, Julie Hagerty, and Robert Hays. In 1981 he portrayed Dutch Schultz in the TV series “Gangster Chronicles”, and the film “Gangster Wars”, and three years later he had the role of Zack in the Academy Award-nominated comedy “Beverly Hills Cop”, starring Eddie Murphy.
In 1987 he had a small role in the Golden Globe Award-winning TV series “Falcon Crest”, while the same year he was also selected for the role that would change the course of his career for good, as Frank McPike in the TV crime mystery series “Wiseguy” (1987-1990), for which he earned a Primetime Emmy Award nomination, and repeated the role in the made for TV film “Wiseguy” in 1996, all improving his net worth.
During the ‘90s Jonathan appeared in numerous low-budget films films, such as “Under Siege 2: Dark Territory” (1995) featuring Steve Seagal, “Dark Breed” (1996), with Jack Scalia and Cindy Ambuehl, ending the decade with the crime drama “Let the Devil Wear Black” (1999). Jonathan started the 2000s in the same way, however, some of the productions stand out, such as “R.S.V.P. (2002) and “Dark Blue” (2002) with Kurt Russell, Ving Rhames, and Scott Speedman.
In 2009 he was selected for the role of Mike Ehrmantraut in the highly-acclaimed TV drama series “Breaking Bad”, and through 2012 he appeared in 28 episodes of the Golden Globe, Primetime Emmy, and SAG Award-winning TV series, that had Bryan Cranston and Aaron Paul as its stars. In 2013 he starred in the drama film “Watercolor Postcards”, while in 2014 he had the role of Detective Hatcher in the crime comedy film “Horrible Bosses 2”, starring Jennifer Aniston, Jason Sudeikis, Jason Bateman, and Kevin Spacey.
Since 2015 he has been a star in the Netflix TV series about Saul, a character from “Breaking Bad” called “Better Call Saul” (2015-2017), starring Bob Odenkirk, for which he also received a Primetime Emmy Award nomination. Most recently, Jonathan appeared in the film “Mudbound”, and will feature in the films “The Damaged”, and “The Commuter”, the latter will be premiered in 2018. His consistent work has certainly benefited his net worth.
Regarding his personal life, has three children, twins, and a daughter, and has been married to his third wife, Gennera Banks, since 1990. Details of his first wife are unknown, and his second wife was Marine Fausch, with whom he was married from 1968 until 1970.
