Jonas Nay Biography: Age, Career, Height, Net Worth, Parents, Siblings, Movies, Songs

Jonas Nay, is a dynamic German actor and musician whose breakthrough role as the reluctant East German spy Martin Rauch in Deutschland 83 catapulted him to international acclaim in 2015.

He first drew notice in the mid-2000s through the children’s series Vier gegen Z, using the pseudonym Jonas Friedebom to shield his privacy, before evolving into a versatile performer tackling historical dramas and intimate character studies.

Nay’s film credits span Homevideo (2011), where he earned Grimme and German Television Awards for portraying a troubled teen, and Persian Lessons (2020), blending raw intensity with subtle vulnerability.

Paralleling his acting, he composes evocative scores for projects like Der Club der singenden Metzger (2019), fusing jazz piano influences with cinematic tension.

Profile

• Full Name: Jonas Nay
• Stage Name: Jonas Nay
• Born: September 20, 1990
• Age: 35 years old
• Birthplace: Lübeck, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany
• Nationality: German
• Occupation: Actor, Musician / Composer
• Height: 1.76m
• Parents: Mr. Nay and Mrs. Nay
• Siblings: 2
• Spouse: None
• Children: None
• Relationship: Single
• Net Worth: $3 million

Early Life and Education

Jonas Nay was born on September 20, 1990 in Lübeck, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, as the middle child of Mr. Nay, a bank clerk, and Mrs. Nay, a nurse.

He has an older sister and younger brother.

Nay attended the Johanneum zu Lübeck, a gymnasium specializing in music, where he played in the school’s big band and formed early creative bonds.

Later, he pursued distance studies in film composition and jazz piano, blending these disciplines to fuel his dual passions.

He is of German ethnicity and keeps his religious beliefs private.

Career

Jonas Nay ignited his professional path at age 14 by answering a newspaper ad for young actors, landing the role of Otti Sörensen in the NDR children’s series Vier gegen Z (2005–2007) under the stage name Jonas Friedebom to protect his anonymity.

This debut honed his on-screen poise amid ensemble dynamics, while school theater and big band performances at Johanneum zu Lübeck nurtured his musical ear.

Minor TV spots on ARD and ZDF followed, building resilience through quick character turns. By 2011, Nay’s lead portrayal of a vulnerable teen in the telefilm Homevideo marked his first major acclaim, securing a Grimme-Preis and German Television Award for raw emotional depth.

Nay’s trajectory surged in the mid-2010s with dual breakthroughs in historical narratives, showcasing his command of moral ambiguity and period nuance.

As devoted communist Wilhelm in the ARD miniseries Tannbach – Schicksal eines Dorfes (2015), he navigated postwar village fractures, earning a Bavarian Television Award nomination for embodying ideological fervor amid personal loss.

Simultaneously, his titular turn as Martin Rauch in Deutschland 83 (2015)—the first German-language series aired on U.S. television—propelled global recognition, with the reluctant Stasi spy’s arc blending espionage thrills and human frailty to win him another German Television Award, a Grimme-Preis, and Monte-Carlo Festival honors.

He reprised Rauch across sequels Deutschland 86 (2018) and Deutschland 89 (2020), deepening the character’s evolution through Cold War chaos.

Jonas Nay commands a multifaceted presence across contemporary cinema and sound design, channeling lived intensity into roles that probe identity and redemption.

In Persian Lessons (2020), he chillingly embodied SS officer Klaus Koch, a sadistic linguist in a WWII camp, earning praise for linguistic precision and veiled menace opposite Nahuel Pérez Biscayart.

He anchored the ensemble in Transatlantic (2022) as Thomas Mann, capturing the author’s exile amid Nazi rise, before leading A Thousand Lines (2022) as fabricated journalist David Mayer, a Relotius-inspired figure unraveling under ethical collapse.

Recent turns include the relational tangle of The Four of Us (2021) and the taut Auschwitz drama The Tattooist of Auschwitz (2024), where Heinrich balances bureaucratic horror with fractured humanity.

Social Media

• Instagram Handle: @jonas_nay
• Facebook Handle: Unknown
• Twitter Handle: @nay_jonas

Personal Life

Jonas Nay keeps romantic details firmly private, with no confirmed girlfriends, spouses, or children in public records.

Nay divides time between Berlin’s creative buzz and hometown retreats, pursuing cycling, piano improvisation, and choral singing—echoes of his boys’ choir youth.

Filmography

• Vier gegen Z (2005–2007)
• Homevideo (2011)
• Tatort: Die Ballade von Cenk und Valerie (2012)
• Hirngespinster (2013)
• Tannbach – Schicksal eines Dorfes (2015)
• Deutschland 83 (2015)
• Line of Separation (2015)
• We Are Young. We Are Strong (2015)
• Schweigeminute (2016)
• Deutschland 86 (2018)
• Persian Lessons (2020)
• Deutschland 89 (2020)
• The Four of Us (2021)
• A Thousand Lines (2022)
• Transatlantic (2022)
• The Tattooist of Auschwitz (2024)

Discography

• Concerted (band album, 2013)
• Der Club der singenden Metzger (Original Soundtrack, 2019)
• Delphine & Fidelis Theme (single, 2020)
• Ghostdance (single, 2021)
• The Butcher Waltz (single, 2021)

Net Worth

Jonas Nay has an estimated net worth of $3 million. Core earnings derive from high-profile series like the Deutschland trilogy, which garnered syndication deals and awards-circuit boosts. Film salaries from international releases such as Persian Lessons, coupled with composition royalties from soundtracks and band gigs, bolster his financial base.