Jon Bernthal

Jon Bernthal

Jon Bernthal portrayed Frank Castle/Punisher in Daredevil, The Punisher and Daredevil: Born Again.

Significant roles

• Dominic in Tony 'n' Tina's Wedding (2004)
• Harry Klugman in CSI: Miami (2005)
• Duncan Carmello in The Class (2006-2007)
• Al Capone in Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian (2009)
• Raymond Gardener in Eastwick (2009-2010)
• Rick Ricardelli in The Ghost Writer (2010)
• Mike Nash in Numb3rs (2010)
• Sgt. Manuel Rodriguez in The Pacific (2010)
• Shane Walsh in The Walking Dead (2010-2012)
• Dan Morone in Rampart (2011)
• Hawkeye in Robot Chicken (2012)
• Daniel James in Snitch (2013)
• B.J. in Grudge Match (2013)
• Brad in The Wolf of Wall Street (2013)
• Joe Teague in Mob City (2013)
• Grady "Coon-Ass" Travis in Fury (2014)
• Ted in Sicario (2015)
• Michael H. Sussman in Show Me a Hero (2015)

Quotes

• "Look, outside of my family, there's nobody in this world I love like Norman Reedus, I love that dude with everything I got. But his Punisher couldn't touch my Punisher."
• "Oh man, it’s just a huge honor to play the part and that’s all I can say about that. I’m very thrilled and we haven’t started yet, but I’m very much looking forward to it."
• "I'm extremely honored and grateful, and I know the character has a ton of fans out there. I give every single one of them my word that I'm going to give it my all."
• "People have been coming up to me on the streets of New York saying, ‘Do not mess this up’."
• "This character has resonated with law enforcement and military. He’s brought the war home with him in the worst possible way. And the best thing about him is that if he offends you, he just doesn’t care."
• "There are a lot of iterations of this character and in all of them it’s a man who’s gone through this unbelievable trauma and what’s interesting about our take on him is how this trauma reshapes his own philosophy."
• "I think once you see these characters collide, it’s tremendously interesting and emotionally gripping as well. It’s going to be a special season. If you thought last season of Daredevil was dark, we’re going to a whole new place."
• "I think any time that you play a character, you can't think about it in those terms. I think what attracted to me so much about this show in the first place was Season One when Charlie was able to accomplish... it's not a superhero show. It's a show about a human being going through unbelievable circumstances. He created a completely nuanced and rich character. I think that was my job here, was to try to get to the bottom of why this man is on the mission that he is on, and to delve into that as fully as I possibly could."
• "Look, Garth Ennis and the Punisher MAX series was huge for me. That's just in my line of what I dig, and that's the iteration of the character that resonated the most with me. But I've got to tell you, I think that being a father and a husband was sort of all the -- that's the major preparation. I think this guy lives in a world of darkness that no other person in this universe can compare with that. My goal here was to put myself in that darkness and bring it up and again, to never pull punches. To never do half measures. To never be apologetic. To never pursue likability at all. To be completely unapologetic at all times because this is a highly personal mission that this man is on, and I think that this show, I'm not just whistling dixie, I think that this show and what they accomplished with last season is a perfect fertile ground to bring a character like that to light. It's not a superhero show. It's a human show."
• "I really don't. I really go into this just kind of looking at the job at hand. I mean, I'll tell you that, again, this whole company here shrouded into secrecy. I don't look at that, at first, where it was frustrating, I look at it now as: I love it. I love it. I don't have to concern myself with it. It's not my business. My business is the task at hand. But I will say, this is a character that resonates deeply with me. Like Frank Castle, I stand ready at attention."
• "We're the last to know about these things. But this guy is burned into my heart and soul. I think about him all the time. And I look at it the same way Frank would look at it. I'm a soldier, man. If they call on me, I'll stand to attention, and I'll be ready."
• "I've got to work with some wonderful people in this business, but as a young man, he is so wise, so genuine. He comes from a good family. He's a good, kind, unbelievably hard-working blue collar actor I think he's going to crush it on that part."
• "The problem is schedule. You're against the clock all the time in television. You got to get it right. That stunt team, they're one of the best fight teams in the world. They're super-ambitious, we go for it -- it's an honor to roll with those guys."
• "I wasn’t desperately trying to get into the comic book world. [laughs] For me, it’s about the human being. He has no superpower. His superpower is his humanity. It’s his drive, his rage, and his loss. I could never have played this part if I weren’t a husband or father. Until you really understand what it’s like to love somebody more than yourself and to willingly give your life for them, only then can you understand what it would mean if they were taken from you."
• "I think when you’re talking about characters like these, the way they fight, what’s motivating the fight is very important. Beating someone up to drag them into jail is different than someone who is exercising his rage on people. The Frank Castle you find in this story is not The Punisher. He’s reeling from the loss of his family. He’s driven by rage and is on a singular mission to find these people who took his family from him, and do it as brutally as possible."
• "A big part of this guy is a guy searching for himself. He’s got pain, regret and remorse. There’s the graveyard scene where he opens up. He delivers this scene where he explains what it’s like to come home and see his daughter. It was such a gift from John C. Kelley. I had been away from my kids for three months, and I was at the crux of my own torture, going through that....He’s in an unbelievably amount of pain. That speech was the anchor of the season for me."
• "I’m tremendously excited about it. I look at it as a real joy and a real responsibility and a real honor to play Frank Castle. I feel like he’s in my bones now and he’s in my heart. I’m ready to keep going with him. As far as what this show’s going to be, and what it’s going to be about, and when it’s going to shoot, and where it’s going to shoot and all that, unfortunately I don’t know anything. It’s kind of part and parcel with the way that Marvel works. Information is definitely on a need to know basis. I am nervous, and I just want to do this character and this world justice."
• "I've said it before; I know how much he means to you guys. I take that with me every day and I know how much this character matters. I know how much he means to members of the military, law enforcement and I take it as an enormous responsibility and enormous honor and I'm eternally grateful."
• "I watch everything. I read everything. Anything you can get your hands on. I love Dirty Laundry. You see that one? Once you devour and eat up and much as you can, my way is to make it as personal as possible. It was a great pleasure to watch all of those."
• "I’m working on The Punisher now. You know, this whole superhero-comic-book thing is something I had zero interest in being a part of. The guys that I really, really respect as actors seem to have kind of purposely stayed away from that. I don’t mean that I’m above that or anything, just that it was not for me. But then when I got to know a little bit about this character… He ain’t got a [frick]ing cape. He ain’t got any superpowers. He’s a [frick]ing tortured, angry father and husband who’s living in this unbelievable world of darkness and loss and torment. Frank Castle resonates with me. And comic-book fans are the greatest fans on earth. It’s not like their insane fervor isn’t based on anything. This is a super-intelligent fan base, because reading a comic book requires you to do a lot of work. You’ve got to fill in all these [frick]ing gaps. I’m respectful of that. These characters exist in their minds and hearts."