Saputra was born on 24 February 1984 in Jakarta, Indonesia, to Horst Schbring, a German father, and an Indonesian-Javanese mother from Yogyakarta.

[4] After graduating from SMA Negeri 8 Jakarta high school, Saputra continued his study in University of Indonesia.

[6][7] Saputra started his career in fashion industry as a runway model and has appeared in magazine's covers when he was in high school.

[9] An inexperienced actor without any history in the entertainment industry, Saputra landed the lead role at his very first audition at age 17, to play in Rudy Soedjarwo's cult classic romance blockbuster Ada Apa dengan Cinta?

[12]In 2003, Saputra was cast as a violinist in Biola Tak Berdawai, written and directed by Sekar Ayu Asmara.

[18] Saputra made his first television appearances on Channel V Asia, hosting such segments as The Ticket and Screentime in 2007,[19] and became the co-presenter at the 2007 Asian Film Awards alongside Lee Byung Hun and Daniel Wu.

[27] Saputra embarked on the film production for the first time as an executive producer alongside director Riri Riza in 2013 for Sokola Rimba, which tells the story of activist Butet Manurung who teaches Orang Rimba people, based on a book with the same title.

[30] Saputra acted in his first action film Pendekar Tongkat Emas in 2014 alongside Christine Hakim, where he played a mysterious warrior, Elang, a role that also involved heavily choreographed fight sequences.

2014 one-episode drama, a spin-off of the 2002 original title which was initiated by LINE and released through YouTube channel in November 2014.

[34][35] A story about rekindled lovers, it was released in March 2015 and aired weekly on Thursday and Friday through mobile phone.

Saputra next co-produced, narrated and appeared in Save Our Forest Giants, a short documentary film to raise awareness about elephant conservation, in collaboration with the European Union Delegation to Indonesia.

[45][46][47] In early 2018, Saputra was appointed as the jury member for South-east Asian film maker competition in the 2nd HOOQ Filmmakers Guild.

[51] Saputra closed the 2018 by leading in all three omnibus episodes of Asian Three-Fold Mirror 2018: The Journey (The Sea, Hekishu, and Variable No.3), directed by Japan’s Daichi Matsunaga, Indonesia’s Edwin and China’s Degena Yun.

[52][53] The following year, Saputra co-starred in the Filipino-Malaysian joint production horror film Motel Acacia.

[54] Allan Hunter of Screen Daily wrote, "[c]harismatic Nicholas Saputra making the biggest impression as a former accountant trying to survive his ordeal in the cursed motel.

"[57] In December 2019, he joined UNICEF campaigns to drive awareness of the need to improve water and sanitation services, as well as basic hygiene practices.

[64] Saputra next is set to portray Aquanus in the Bumilangit Cinematic Universe based on the comic book superhero character created by Wid N. S. in 1968.

Saputra has been a part of The Nature Conservancy (TNC) since 2008, during which he introduced classrooms and a travelling library to the area of Raja Ampat, Papua.

[76] In 2017, he collaborated with artist Angki Purbandono to hold an art installation, titled "Post Jungle-Tangkahan" about the life of Sumatran elephant.

[77][78][79] In addition to being a dedicated environmentalist and active in conservation campaigns,[80][81] Saputra built an eco friendly lodge on the border of Mount Leuser National Park in Tangkahan, North Sumatra, to support the local's ecotourism.