Jonathan was born on June 29, 1980 in Toronto, Canada. As the son of two school teachers, he was raised with a love of travel, adventure, sports and the outdoors. After high school, he moved to Waterloo, Ontario to study computer engineering at the University of Waterloo and graduated in 2004 with an honors degree. He then worked as a hardware design engineer, both in Waterloo and in Silicon Valley.

After a few years working as an engineer, he changed careers to become a professional online poker player to follow his passion for the game. He has played professionally since 2007. He now resides in sunny and scenic Malta, a rapidly growing Mediterranean film destination. He loves acting in films and advertisements. His first major movie role came when he was cast as a CIA operative in Michael Bay's movie 13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi. He plans to pursue more acting opportunities, both in Malta and abroad, which suits his desire to see the world and have new experiences.