Jonas Nay

Jonas Nay is a German actor and musician. He is widely recognized for his leading role as Martin Rauch, an East German spy, in the Cold War thriller series Deutschland 83 and its subsequent sequels, Deutschland 86 and Deutschland 89.

Nay was born in Lübeck in September 1990, just days prior to the reunification of Germany. Growing up as an active child who rarely watched television, he focused his leisure time on sports and music. He completed his secondary education at the Johanneum zu Lübeck, a selective Gymnasium school specializing in music, where he also performed in the school band.

Driven by an interest in theatre, Nay responded to a newspaper casting call in 2004 and secured a role in the NDR children's series Vier gegen Z. Performing under the stage name Jonas Friedebom, he portrayed the character Otti Sörensen during the show's first two seasons. Over the next several years, he appeared in minor roles across various television productions for German networks ARD and ZDF.

After completing his schooling, Nay landed the lead role in the television drama Homevideo, portraying a teenage boy targeted by school bullies. Following this performance, he secured additional leading roles in TV movies. In 2012, he appeared in the Tatort episode Die Ballade von Cenk und Valerie. He later starred as the son of a schizophrenic individual in the 2013 film Hirngespinster. Rather than undertaking military service, Nay opted for Zivildienst, working alongside people with disabilities, and subsequently turned his focus toward film scoring.

In 2015, Nay achieved international prominence starring in Deutschland 83, which marked the first German-language television series to be broadcast on American television. He reprised his role in its sequels, Deutschland 86 in 2018 and Deutschland 89 in 2020. His work on the series led to interviews with various media outlets across the United States and the United Kingdom. In February 2021, it was announced that Nay was cast alongside Elyas M'Barek in the thriller film 1000 Zeilen, a project centered on the 2018 Claas Relotius media scandal based on a book by Juan Moreno.

Alongside his acting work, Nay has pursued a musical career. While at school, he founded the band Concerted alongside fellow students, contributing vocals, guitar, piano, and songwriting. The group worked on music for Stephan Rick's film The Good Neighbour in 2013, which led to the formation of the band Northern Lights. Nay also serves as a vocalist and keyboardist for the band Pudeldame.

Throughout his career, Nay has earned multiple recognitions for his screen performances. The TV film Homevideo received Best TV Film at the 2011 German Television Awards, where Nay earned an individual German Television Award, followed by a 2012 Grimme-Preis Award. He was also honored with the Bavarian Film Award for Best Newcomer in 2013 for his work in Hirngespinster.