Jonathan Pienaar

Jonathan Pienaar (16 September 1962 – 10 November 2025) was a South African actor, writer and comedian who was active for over 20 years.

Life and career Pienaar was born in South Africa on 16 September 1962. He attended high school at the Marist Brothers College (now Sacred Heart College) in Observatory, Johannesburg. Pienaar took a drama course at Technikon Pretoria.

He appeared in both South African and international films and television shows including Skin, Black Venus, Fried Barry, and To the Ends of the Earth, Cape Town, Troy: Fall of a City, and Deutschland 86.

Pienaar died on 10 November 2025, at the age of 63.

Filmography Film Year Title Role Notes 1985 Wild Maneuvres "Turk" 1987 American Ninja 2: The Confrontation Taylor 1987 You Must Be Joking Too! Camp Boy 1988 'n Wêreld Sonder Grense Gus 1988 Scavengers Punk 1988 Dune Surfer Gar 1989 The Tattoo Chase Tony Ferrucci 1990 Impact Ronnie 1991 Crazy Safari Pilot 1993 The Visual Bible: Matthew Thaddeus 1994 Kalahari Harry Williams 1998 The First Christmas Voice role 1999 Husk Stokkie Short film 1999 The All New Adventures of Laurel & Hardy in For Love or Mummy Young Henry Covington 1999 Pirates of the Plain Jesse 2001 Lyklollery Skroef 2005 Blue Valentine Him Short film 2005 Dollar$ + White Pipes Bernard Farber 2006 A Lotto Madness Short film 2006 Catch a Fire The Mechanic 2006 Blood Diamond Cameraman 2008 Skin Van Niekerk 2009 The Three Investigators and the Secret of Terror Castle Sheriff Hanson 2009 A Life with Less Meaning Leonard Short film 2010 Fast and Frantic Solly Van Der Merwe 2010 In a Time Without Love Nikolai Short film 2010 Black Venus Alexander Dunlop 2011 Ek Lief Jou Chris de Wet 2011 Inside Story Scout 2012 Soldier of Destiny J.J. Dunlop 2013 Shotgun Garfunkel Mr. Snyman 2013 Bustin' Chops: The Movie Johnny 2014 A Night to Remember Eugene Short film 2015 Assignment Chris Sebastian 2016 Lord Jones is Dead Clive 2016 PG Dad Short film 2016 Snaaks Genoeg Farmer 2016 Resilient Redwood 2017 Broken Darkness Robert 2017 The Killing Floor Melvin Poon 2018 Cowboy Dan "Killer" Miller Short film 2019 Either Way Short film 2019 Monster Island Captain Mato 2020 Fried Barry Dad 2020 The Verdict Axel Short film 2020 The Last Days of American Crime Randy Hickey 2021 The Ring of Beasts Nero Short film

Television Year Title Role Notes 1990 Young Survivors Petersen Television film 1993 Sentinel Jack Croucher Television film 1994–1997 Triptiek Pietman Bothma Main role 1995 Danger Coast Pieterson Miniseries 1995 The Syndicate Maimer 1997 Mandela and de Klerk Lieutenant Breevoort Television film 1997 The Principal Isak Stander Miniseries 1997 The Legend of the Hidden City Series 2 1997–1998 The Adventures of Sinbad Tarsus / Xantax 2 episodes 1999 CI5: The New Professionals Geary Episode: "Tusk Force" 2001 Onder Draai die Duiwel Rond Venter Season 2 2001–2004 Yizo Yizo De Villiers Recurring role (seasons 2–3) 2005 To the Ends of the Earth Smiles Miniseries 2006–2008 The Lab Chris Barlow Recurring role 2006 Heartlines: The Miners Johnny Meyer Anthology 2006 Forsthaus Falkenau Julius Episode: "Entscheidung in der Savanne" 2007 Wild at Heart Hunter Episode: "The Wedding Reception" 2007 One Way Ian Episode: "Violent Delights" 2008 Crusoe Captain Lynch 2 episodes 2008–2012 On the Couch Dr. J.T. Main role 2008 The Devil's Whore Gaoler 1 episode 2009 Hopeville Fred Palmer Main role 2010 The Lost Future Gagen Television film 2012 Vloeksteen Dick Van Veen Recurring role (season 1) 2014 Task Force Mike Rabie 2014 Pawnshop Stories Jellie Labuschagne 2014 Aalwyntyd Dad Television film 2015 Binnelanders Leon Recurring role (season 11) 2016 Cape Town Oliver Nienaber Miniseries; 4 episodes 2016 Roots Carrington Miniseries; Part 1 2017 Empire of the Sharks Mason Scrim Television film 2018 Troy: Fall of a City Priest Litos Miniseries; 4 episodes 2018 6-Headed Shark Attack Duke Television film 2018 Deutschland 86 Gary Banks 5 episodes 2019 Warrior Lem Episode: "The Blood and the Sh*t" 2020 The Queen Arno Theron Season 4 2020 Queen Sono Hendrikus Strydom Episode: "I Am Queen Sono" 2020 Vagrant Queen Episode: "Sunshine Express Yourself' 2020 Legacy Andy Episode: "Shock" 2020 Unmarried Viktor Recurring role (season 2) 2020–2021 The Watch Sergeant Swires 2 episodes

Stage Year Title Role Notes 1994 My Fat Friend 2016 Kuele Producer, director POPArt Theatre, Johannesburg

Awards and nominations Year Award Category Work Result Ref. 2006 South African Film and Television Awards Best Actor in a Supporting Role – Feature Film Dollar$ + White Pipes