Johnathan Tchaikovsky was born and raised in New York City. While pursuing a career in comic-book illustration, an appreciation for poetry led to studying the works of William Shakespeare at HB Studio. The teachers there encouraged him to study acting as a professional pursuit, leading to his first theatrical experience, opposite Faye Dunaway, in The Actor's Studio's production of "Etudes: Master Class Studies." This led to guest starring in hit shows like FX's "Rescue Me" opposite Dennis Leary, CBS's "Cold Case" opposite Tessa Thompson, NBC's "Law & Order", "The Slap" opposite Thandie Newton, and "Timeless" opposite Abigail Spencer. Notable feature film works include James Ponsoldt's "Off the Black" (Sundance 2006), Stacie Passon's "Concussion" (Sundance 2013), Martin Scorsese's "The Wolf of Wall Street," and the Tribeca 2017 best film/best director winner; Rachel Israel's "Keep The Change." Upcoming features include; Steve Balderson's "Short Straw" in the title role opposite Elaine Hendrix, Kat Moon's "Yellow Fever" opposite Jenna Ushkowitz, and Heidi Phillipsen's "Darcy" opposite Gus Birney.