Jonathan Banks first appeared in the episode: "Dead Heat" of the television detective series ‘Barnaby Jones’ in 1976. The following year, he was seen playing the role of ‘Buck’ in the American made-for-television drama film ‘The Night They Took Miss Beautiful,’ directed by Robert Michael Lewis. In 1978, he made his silver screen debut in the American romantic drama war film ‘Coming Home,’ directed by Hal Ashby. The film received mostly positive reviews from critics and was a major commercial success. He continued to star in films like ‘The Cheap Detective’ (1978), ‘The Rose’ (1979), ‘Airplane!’ (1980), ‘Gangster Wars’ (1981), ‘Frances’ (1982), ‘Gremlins’ (1984), ‘The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension’ (1984), ‘Beverly Hills Cop’ (1984), ‘Armed and Dangerous’ (1986), and ‘Cold Steel’ (1987). In 1987, he joined the main cast of the American crime drama television series ‘Wiseguy’ where he played the role of ‘Frank McPike.’ The show ran for 4 seasons and aired its final episode in 1990. Banks also received the ‘Primetime Emmy Award’ and ‘Viewers for Quality Television Award’ nominations for his performance in the series.
He continued to appear in television series and shows, such as ‘Star Trek: Deep Space Nine’ (1993), ‘Highlander: The Series’ (1994), Tales from the Crypt’ (1994), ‘Due South’ (1995), ‘Women of the House’ (1995), ‘Diagnosis: Murder’ (1996), ‘Fired Up’ (1997-1998), ‘Diagnosis: Murder’ (2000), ‘The District’ (2001), ‘Alias’ (2003), and ‘Strong Medicine’ (2003). In 2004, he joined the American procedural forensics crime drama television series ‘CSI: Crime Scene Investigation,’ created by Anthony E. Zuiker. He played the role of ‘Bobby Jensen’ and remained a part of the show until 2006. The following year, he appeared in the American military drama television series ‘E-Ring.’ He starred in 4 episodes of the series. Banks was next seen in ‘Without a Trace’ (2006), ‘Day Break’ (2006-2007), ‘Dexter’ (2007), ‘ER’ (2008), and ‘Cold Case’ (2009). In 2009, Banks starred in the American neo-Western crime drama television series ‘Breaking Bad.’ He played the role of ‘Mike Ehrmantraut,’ which earned him the ‘Saturn Award’ and ‘Screen Actors Guild Award’ (shared with the cast), and remained a part of the series until 2013.
After appearing in television series like ‘Modern Family’ (2011), ‘CSI: Miami’ (2011), ‘Ringer’ (2012), ‘Body of Proof’ (2013), ‘Axe Cop’ (2013-2015), and ‘Mike Tyson Mysteries’ (2014). In 2015, he reprised his role of ‘Mike Ehrmantraut’ in the American crime drama television series ‘Better Call Saul,’ created by Vince Gilligan and Peter Gould. The sixth and final season of the series will premiere in April 2022. Banks has also appeared in films like ‘Term Life’ (2016), ‘Mudbound’ (2017), ‘The Commuter’ (2018), ‘Incredibles 2’ (2018), and ‘El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie’ (2019). He was last seen voicing the ‘Black Mask’ in the 2022 American animated superhero film ‘Catwoman: Hunted,’ directed by Shinsuke Terasawa.
