Jon Bernthal is more than the Punisher, but fans will be forgiven for associating him strongly with the comic book antihero. He’ll reprise his role as Frank Castle in the upcoming Spider-Man: Brand New Day — Tom Holland’s fourth solo outing as the famed web-slinger — which also stars Zendaya, Mark Ruffalo, and Sadie Sink. Although Bernthal’s been playing the character for a decade, his portfolio stretches far beyond Marvel.
Bernthal’s career began in the 2000s with guest stints on series like Without a Trace and How I Met Your Mother, as well as movies like Day Zero and Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian. He got his big break when he was cast as Rick Grimes’s bestie, Shane Walsh, in The Walking Dead (more on that below), and he quickly became an in-demand action and drama star, taking on movies like Fury, Sicario, Baby Driver, Ford v. Ferrari, and The Accountant and its sequel. In 2016, he joined Charlie Cox in Daredevil as the vengeance-obsessed Punisher, and played the character again in an eponymous series, as well as Daredevil: Born Again. His other work includes guest roles in Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt and The Bear, the latter of which saw him nominated for an Emmy. Keep reading to learn more about Bernthal’s performances on Netflix.
Based on Alice Feeney’s novel of the same name, His & Hers stars Bernthal and Tessa Thompson (Passing) as estranged spouses Jack and Anna, who find themselves at the center of a mystery in their small Georgia hometown. Anna is an accomplished news anchor who’s been struggling with her mental health, so when she catches wind of a potential murder, she jumps at the chance to report the story. But Jack, a local detective, is suspicious of her involvement in the case. Will either party survive their game of cat and mouse when they finally collide? This limited series also stars Pablo Schreiber (Halo), Crystal Fox (Tyler Perry’s A Fall from Grace), Sunita Mani (GLOW), Rebecca Rittenhouse (Good on Paper), and Marin Ireland (Sneaky Pete).
Ruth Slater (Sandra Bullock) re-enters society after serving 20 years in prison for a violent crime. The people and community she once knew refuse to forgive her, but she’s determined to win back a relationship with her estranged younger sister, Katie, who was raised by an adoptive family after the incident. As Ruth works to make a life for herself — working two thankless jobs and managing her parole officer’s (Rob Morgan) expectations — she fights against a system that seems primed to mistrust her. Bernthal plays Blake, a man Ruth connects with while working at a fish-packing facility. Vincent D’Onofrio (Caught Stealing), Richard Thomas (The Waltons), Linda Emond (The Patient), Aisling Franciosi (The Abandons), and Viola Davis (Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom) also star.
In the final days of World War II, a US Army sergeant, Don “Wardaddy” Collier (Brad Pitt), leads his small squad and a single Sherman tank through war-tattered Germany. When one of them is killed, the higher-ups send a former typist clerk, Norman Ellison (Logan Lerman), to replace him. Wardaddy’s remaining soldiers — Boyd “Bible” Swan (Shia LaBeouf), Grady “Coon-Ass” Travis (Bernthal), and Trini “Gordo” Garcia (Michael Peña) — are less than thrilled at being saddled with a newbie this late in the war effort. But when orders come in for one final push behind enemy lines, the team is forced to work together in order to help defeat the Nazi forces on a life-or-death mission. This war drama, written and directed by David Ayer (Bright), also stars Jason Isaacs (Operation Mincemeat) and Scott Eastwood (Wrath of Man).
This drama, based on John Pollono’s play of the same name, follows three lifelong friends, Frankie (Pollono), Swaino (Bernthal), and Packie (Shea Whigham), who have stuck with each other through thick and thin. Swaino and Packie see Frank’s teenage daughter, Crystal (Ciara Bravo), as their own, and all three men would do anything to protect her. When the trio reunites after a long stint away from each other, their evening takes an unexpectedly dark turn when a young man (Spencer House) arrives and breaks up their celebratory evening. Jordana Spiro (Trespass) also stars.
This crime thriller, directed by Denis Villeneuve (Dune) and written by Taylor Sheridan (Yellowstone), follows FBI special agent Kate Macer (Emily Blunt), who’s chosen to join a secretive task force charged with taking down a major drug cartel. Led by the mysterious CIA agent Matt Graver (Josh Brolin) and Alejandro Gillick (Benicio del Toro), a former Mexican prosecutor turned assassin, the team crisscrosses the US-Mexico border, using increasingly important cartel bosses to hunt down the others. Bernthal plays Ted, a Phoenix police officer who connects with Kate during a job. Sicario, which was chosen to compete for the Palme d’Or at Cannes and nominated for three Academy Awards, also stars Daniel Kaluuya (Black Mirror), Victor Garber (The Flash), and Jeffrey Donovan (Honest Thief).
Jeremy Renner (The Hurt Locker) and Elizabeth Olsen (His Three Daughters) co-star in this crime mystery written and directed by Sheridan (The Madison). While patrolling the Wind River Indian Reservation, US Fish and Wildlife Service agent Cory Lambert (Renner) finds the frozen body of an 18-year-old girl, Natalie Hanson (Kelsey Asbille). He begins investigating the case with FBI agent Jane Banner (Olsen) and the local police chief, Ben Shoyo (Graham Greene). But few people in and around the reservation are willing to talk about the circumstances that led to Natalie’s death, and the investigators find themselves caught in a cover-up that goes deeper than they could have anticipated. Bernthal plays Matt Rayburn, Natalie’s boyfriend, who works as a security guard at an oil-drilling site. Gil Birmingham (Yellowstone) also stars in this movie, which won the Un Certain Regard award for Best Director at Cannes.
The Walking Dead, which ran for 12 years, from 2010 to 2022, is an 11-season horror juggernaut that launched spin-off series, novels, video games, and more than a few careers. Based on the graphic novels by Robert Kirkman, Tony Moore, and Charlie Adlard, it follows a group of survivors, led by sheriff's deputy Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln), in the aftermath of the zombie apocalypse. Together, this found family — including Rick’s son, Carl (Chandler Riggs), Daryl Dixon (Norman Reedus), Glenn Rhee (Steven Yeun), Carol Peletier (Melissa McBride), Maggie Greene (Lauren Cohan), and Michonne (Danai Gurira) — fights to survive another day and maybe reclaim a version of their former world. Bernthal plays Shane Walsh, Rick’s former partner who helps his family survive the initial zombie fallout.
