Although still only in his twenties, German actor Jonas Nay caught the attention of the English-speaking world with, ironically, his role in Deutschland 83, a German-language television show developed internationally. Despite his youth, Nay’s got a number of acting credits to his name, many in television. This month, let’s practice German with the film and television works of Jonas Nay.
About Jonas Nay
Jonas Nay was born and grew up in the northern coastal city of Lübeck. As a teenager, Nay got his first television role. Using the stage name Jonas Friedebom, Nay portrayed Otti Sörensen on the show Vier gegen Z.
In addition to acting, Nay is also a musician. He played in his school’s big band group. And he founded the band Concerted with friends. In Concerted, Nay played guitar and piano in addition to singing and writing songs. More recently, he’s been playing with the band Pudeldame as a singer and keyboardist.
Homevideo
Nay grabbed attention with his starring role in the 2001 television movie Homevideo. High school student Jakob is quiet and shy. His life is challenging. His home life is in trouble as his parents are separating and aren’t supportive, and he isn’t popular with the girl of his dreams. Things seem to go from bad to worse for Jakob. The bullies at school get their hands on an inappropriate “home video” he made of himself. The film is intense and heartbreaking.
Actor Wotan Wilke Möhring portrays Jakob’s overly strict father.
Tannbach – Schicksal eines Dorfes
Told in three episodes, 2015’s Tannbach – Schicksal eines Dorfes tells the story of a fictitious small town in southern Germany along the border between Bavaria and Thuringia. The show focuses on the period of time as the village transitions from World War II to the Cold War. Nay stars as Friedrich Erler, a young man still enamored with the ideals of communism. The series also stars Heiner Lauterbach, Martina Gedeck and Ludwig Trepte.
Deutschland 83
Easily one of the best new television shows, if you ask me, Deutschland 83 is a collaboration between United States’ Sundance TV and Germany’s RTL. Set in 1983 Cold War-era Germany, the show follows Nay as an East German soldier that becomes a spy embedded in West Berlin. Ludwig Trepte also stars as the son of a West German general. The show is addictive: get ready to binge-watch. Stream it now immediately on Hulu.
Practice practice practice! Discover other great German language actors and actresses previously featured.
Top photo used courtesy of Pudeldame’s website. This post contains affiliate links.
