From 'American Gigolo' to 'Punisher' and 'The Walking Dead,' Jon Bernthal's Net Worth Is Hard-Earned
Jon Bernthal's net worth is a reflection of decades of consistent and hard work on stages and screens, both big and small. The actor, who currently stars in the Showtime series American Gigolo, has been in some of the biggest blockbusters of the past decade, plus iconic TV shows like The Punisher and The Walking Dead.
Bernthal told The New York Times that he approaches all acting work as if he's part of an ensemble cast, explaining, “It’s such a collaborative art. The best thing you can do as an actor, whether you’re the lead of the show or you’re just coming in for a day, is to lift everybody up and try to be a great teammate.”
While he loves working with the likes of Leonardo DiCaprio and Emily Blunt, he said he's also happy to come on a set full of strangers for just a day or two, get the job done, and go home.
"My friend James Badge Dale and I talk about it like we get to be hired assassins: We go in, throw down and walk away," he said. "There’s something unbelievably liberating in that. My favorite thing in movies is when you see a character come and go, and you’re so curious where they go next."
With that sort of unrivaled work ethic, it's no surprise that acting—even in supporting roles—has made Bernthal a wealthy man.
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What made Jon Bernthal famous?
Bernthal began acting in the early 2000s after graduating from Harvard University's Institute for Advanced Theater Training.
He began with theater, appearing in more than 30 off-Broadway productions, then transitioned to screen work with roles in Law & Order: Criminal Intent in 2002 and the film adaptation of Tony and Tina's Wedding in 2004.
In 2006, he landed a regular role in the short-lived series The Class and a part in the film World Trade Center. With more small parts and walk-on roles in hit movies like Date Night and Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian, Bernthal finally achieved mainstream recognition in 2010 with his role of Shane on The Walking Dead.
What is Jon Bernthal's net worth?
Bernthal has an estimated net worth of $10 million.
What is Jon Bernthal's height?
Bernthal is 5'11" tall.
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How much does Jon Bernthal make per movie?
While Bernthal's salary per movie likely varies depending on the individual film's budget and the size of his role, we do know he made $1.6 million for Widows (2018). As such, we can assume much of his other supporting roles have paydays in the same ballpark.
“With a lot of the decisions I make, it’s never about the size of the role,” Bernthal told The New York Times. “Does the script move me? Does it scare me? The people involved, are they people that have affected me?”
What movies has Jon Bernthal played in?
Bernthal has been in more movies than you might realize—in part because his roles are often supporting, and in part because he disappears into his characters completely. Here are all of his movie roles to date:
Manny in Mary/Mary (2002)
Dominic in Tony & Tina's Wedding (2004)
Christopher Amoroso in World Trade Center (2006)
Interviewer in The Air I Breathe (2007)
Dixon in Day Zero (2007)
Donnie Pitron in Bar Starz (2008)
Banzai in A Line In the Sand (2008)
Al Capone in A Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian (2009)
Rick Ricardelli in The Ghost Writer (2010)
Young Man in Date Night (2010)
Jennings in Last Words (2011)
Dan Morone in Rampart (2011)
Muscle Bruce in Timmy Muldoon and the Search for the Shadoweyes Bandit (2013)
Daniel James in Snitch (2013)
Brad in The Wolf of Wall Street (2013)
Grady Travis in Fury (2014)
Mr. McCarthy in Me and Earl and the Dying Girl (2015)
Paige in We Are Your Friends (2015)
Ted in Sicario (2015)
Brax in The Accountant (2016)
Sam Rossi in Sweet Virginia (2017)
Griff in Baby Driver (2017)
The Mute in Pilgrimage (2017)
Matt in Wind River (2017)
Frank 'Shotgun' in Shot Caller (2017)
Florek in Widows (2018)
Mark in The Peanut Butter Falcon (2019)
Lee Iacocca in Ford v Ferrari (2019)
Monroe in Viena and the Fantomes (2020)
Ethan in Those That Wish Me Dead (2021)
Terrence Swano in Small Engine Repair (2021)
Johnny Soprano in The Many Saints of Newark (2021)
Rick Macci in King Richard (2021)
Blake in The Unforgivable (2021)
Josh in Sharp Stick (2022)
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What is Jon Bernthal most known for?
Bernthal is best known for playing Shane in AMC's The Walking Dead and for playing Frank Castle in Daredevil and The Punisher Netflix series (which have since moved to Disney+).
What all has Jon Bernthal been in?
You can find a full list of Bernthal's movie roles above. He's also appeared or starred in the following TV shows:
Lane Ruddock in Law & Order: Criminal Intent (2002)
Alex Genya in Without a Trace (2004)
Man in Office in Revenge of the Middle-Aged Woman (2004)
Greg in Dr. Vegas (2004)
Michael Shea in Boston Legal (2004)
Brett Parrish in Jonny Zero (2005)
Harry Klugman in CSI: Miami (2005)
Sherm Hempel in Law & Order: SVU (2005)
Carlos in How I Met Your Mother (2005)
Duncan Carmello in The Class (2006-2007)
Fackler in Courtroom K (2008)
Raymond Gardener in Eastwick (2009-2010)
Mike Nash in Numb3rs (2010)
Sgt. Manuel Rodriguez in The Pacific (2010)
Shane Walsh in The Walking Dead (2010-2012, 2018)
Lucas Trassino in Harry's Law (2012)
Joe Teague in Mob City (2013)
Michael H. Sussman in Show Me a Hero (2015)
Frank Castle/The Punisher in Daredevil (2016)
Shane Walsh/Hawkeye/Mayor of Des Moines in Robot Chicken (2012, 2017)
Rat-A-Pult in SuperMansion (2015, 2018)
Frank Castle/The Punisher in The Punisher (2017-2019)
Ilan/Mysterious Man in The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt (2018-2019)
Chase Milbrandt in The Premise (2021)
Sgt. Wayne Jenkins in We Own This City (2022)
Michael Berzatto in The Bear (2022)
Julian Kaye in American Gigolo (2022)
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How much was Jon Bernthal paid for Punisher?
Bernthal reportedly earned $350,000 per episode to play Frank Castle in Daredevil and The Punisher. He played the character for a total of 38 episodes, so if his salary was steady from season to season, he likely earned about $13,300,000 for the part.
How much does Jon Bernthal make per episode?
Bernthal reportedly earned $350,000 per episode to play Frank Castle in Daredevil and The Punisher. For his role of Shane Walsh on The Walking Dead, Bernthal made an estimated $80,000 per episode. His salary per episode of American Gigolo isn't publicly known, but it's likely closer to his range for The Punisher than for The Walking Dead because he's once more the title star.
How much money did Jon Bernthal make from The Walking Dead?
Bernthal made $80,000 per episode for playing deputy-turned-baddie Shane Walsh in The Walking Dead for later seasons; he likely earned less in the first episodes of the series. If we estimate the $80,000 for his entire tenure on the show, he would have made $1.68 million from The Walking Dead. However, combined with merchandise and convention appearances (which can earn bigger stars tens of thousands or more in a single day), he likely came out with significantly more wealth from the show.
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Did Jon Bernthal go to Harvard?
Bernthal attended Harvard University's Institute for Advanced Theater Training in Cambridge, Massachusetts. However, this was after he'd dropped out of undergraduate studies at Skidmore College.
Will Punisher be in MCU?
Thanks to Charlie Cox's return as Daredevil in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), there has been a slew of speculation over whether Bernthal will star as Punisher once more. Rosario Dawson said in August 2022 that he'd return but later recanted her statement.
"That character, in particular, has real, real, real deep, deep meaning for me and resonance in me. He's really in my heart, man. He's really in my bones. I'm enormously protective of that character," Bernthal told The Hollywood Reporter in December 2021. "So I was really grateful, respectful and wary of the places where that role took me and the world in which I had to live in."
However, he did express some ambivalence at the character potentially being watered down to better fit under Marvel's Disney branding.
"That being said, that's where that character needs to be. It needs to be a level of darkness. I think if there's any let up on that character, you do a disservice to the character, to every iteration of the character, to every comic book that’s come before, and to all of the unbelievable fans of the character," he said. "This character means so much to people in the military. So like I said before, it's not about whether you do the character; it's about whether you can do it right, and I'm only interested in doing it right."
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Does Jon Bernthal do his own stunts?
While he has stunt doubles for certain scenes in projects, Bernthal has also done his own stunts before, even breaking his hand filming Season 2 of The Punisher. Because he didn't initially reveal that he was injured, however, both he and his stunt coordinator at the time ended up being hospitalized! Watch him recall the incident below.
He's been open about his admiration for stunt performers in the past as well, telling Men's Health, "They're my brothers, they're the people I'm closest with on set. I think it's absolutely a crime there's not an Academy Award for stunt performers. The stunt community, they're the ones really putting it on the line. The creativity that comes out of the stunt community is mind-boggling."
He added, "I think nowadays, it's one of the key reasons why people go and seek out entertainment, because of how good the stunts are, and there are people actually doing that. I train with those guys every day, I try to go in full-out. It's kind of the mantra of a stunt guy, 'Do it hard, do it once.' Don't pull a punch, because then you're gonna have to do it 15 times. 'Just hit me, and do it once.' So we try to kind of live by that."
