Jon-Paul Gates was born in Greenford, Middlesex. He spent most of his childhood in a village near Doncaster, South Yorkshire and aspired to becoming a professional footballer before his career was cut short through injury and so decided on a career 'treading the boards' instead.

He got his first break starring as Allan Hindle in the BBC's soap, "Eldorado". After various short films and a Channel 4 TV series, "Focus North", he starred in his first feature film "Coldfish" in 1999, playing the lead role of Alex. In 2001, he secured lead roles in Palm Tree's "The Hawk & the Dove" and played the antagonist 'Ida' in "Winter Warrior"; which entered the top 10 DVD films in Russia in 2004. From 2002 to 2006 he accumulated more films in Europe; "The Prodigal", "Red Rose", "Axeraiders" before trying his luck in the USA. After getting his big break in vampire flick "Revamped", he starred in The Asylum's Dragon, with Gary Busey in "Beyond the Ring" and Danny Trejo in "Dark Games". Travelling back and forth, he played the evil priest opposite Jeff Fahey and Martin Kove in "Messages", Peter in "Carmen's Kiss" with Hugo Speer and Bruce Payne. Gates has also worked with Bruce Payne on "Dance Star".

Jon-Paul Gates continues to work internationally. Recently he has starred in "Seven Crosses", playing the robotic uver voices in "Dark Side of Heaven"; an alcoholic in "Blood Forest", a futuristic soldier in "The Stone", a medium in "Haunted" and one of the journalists who perished in the 1958 Munich Air Disaster in "Theatre of Dreams".

Stephen Kral of Seventh Arts Realeasing thinks Gates is one for the future..."a method artist who would do Stanislavsky proud.."