Age: 79
male
Jonathan Banks (born January 31, 1947) is an American character actor in film and television. Banks dropped out of Indiana University to join a touring company as a stage manager. He went to Australia with the company and stayed on working in theatre there. In 1974, he moved to Los Angeles and performed on stage before picking up bit parts on television. Probably his best-known movie roles are in two films starring Eddie Murphy: 48 Hrs. and Beverly Hills Cop. In 48 Hrs. he plays a character who is a friend of the lead and is killed by the villain, beginning the lead characters' story. In Beverly Hills Cop, he plays a villain who kills the lead characters' friend and begins his story. Other movie roles include appearances in Armed and Dangerous, Freejack, Flipper, Airplane!, Gremlins, Murder Me, Murder You, and Under Siege 2: Dark Territory. His biggest break on television, came with the series Wiseguy, in which he played Frank McPike for four years, a role which led to an Emmy award nomination. 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. He also starred on the short-lived science fiction TV series Otherworld, as Kommander Neveen Kroll and in the sitcom Fired Up. Banks has also made guest appearances on TV shows including Alias, CSI, Day Break, Highlander: The Series, Matlock, SeaQuest DSV, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Women of the House and Walker Texas Ranger. Most recently, Banks appeared in the final Season Two episodes of Dexter, and in episodes of ER, Cold Case, and Shark, Modern Family. In the second season finale of Breaking Bad, Banks appeared as a mysterious character named Mike. Banks was made a series regular for the third season.
The series takes place in a fictional world that is reminiscent of medieval Europe called the Circle of the World. The action, for the most part, takes place in or regards people from the central realm the Union. The Union is beset upon on all sides by savages from the North, the mighty Gurkish Empire to the south, mercenary bands from the continent of Styria to the east, and the machinations of the crumbling Old Empire in the west. The Union appears to be maneuvered into a state of near-perpetual war by an uncompromisingly proud foreign policy, while the dysfunctional government, nobles and merchants fight amongst themselves. This is a world filled with bad people who do the right thing, good people who do the wrong thing, stupid people who do the stupid thing and, well, pretty much any combination of those. Survival is no mean feat, and at the end of the day, dumb luck might be more of an asset than any amount of planning, skill, or noble intention. The original trilogy comprises the novels The Blade Itself (2006), Before They Are Hanged (2007) and Last Argument of Kings (2008). It follows the interweaving viewpoints of Logen Ninefingers, Jezal dan Luthar, Sand dan Glokta, Ferro Maljinn, the Dogman, and Collem West. Each is drawn in the plan of Bayaz, a wizard from an older time, to save the world -http://firstlaw.wikia.com
