Jonathan Togo was born in Rockland, Massachusetts, the son of Sheila, a store owner, and Michael Togo, a graphic designer. Togo's mother is of Italian and Irish descent and his father is Jewish, with the original family surname being "Tonkaviev". As a child, he attended a Hebrew school and graduated from Rockland High School in 1995, where he was a wrestler. He went on to attend Vassar College, graduating with an B.A in theater, and furthered his studies at the National Theater Institute of the Eugene O’Neill Theater. While at Vassar, he performed in a band named "The El Conquistadors" (originally named Skabba the Hut) with Sam Endicott and John Conway, both of whom are now members of the successful band The Bravery.

He appeared in productions of “Suburbia,” “Conduct of Life,” Romeo and Juliet,” and “Our Country’s Good,” for which he won the Margaret Thatcher Kazan Award.

Togo went on to make his television debut in 2001 with a recurring role on the sci-fi cop show, “Special Unit 2″ (UPN, 2001-02). He next appeared in the Sundance Director’s Lab short, “Up” (2002) and landed guest appearances on the television series “Judging Amy” (CBS, 1999-2005), “Law & Order” (NBC, 1990- ), and “Ed” (NBC, 2000-04). Making his feature film debut in 2003, Togo landed a small role opposite Sean Penn and Tim Robbins in the Clint Eastwood-directed drama “Mystic River.” After debuting in such an auspicious film, he went on to appear in his second short film, “Raccoon” (2004) as well as guest star on the short-lived FOX series, “The Jury” (2004).

By 2004, Togo landed his career-making part when he joined the cast of the hit CBS crime drama, “CSI: Miami” (2002- ) during its third season, portraying detective-turned-rookie crime scene investigator Ryan Wolfe.