Aki Avni

Avni was born in Rehovot, Israel, on April 27, 1967.[1] He served in the Israel Defense Forces, spending most of his service in an Air Force intelligence unit; in his third year, he transferred to another role after his medical profile was lowered.[5] His military service also included work as a photographer.[3]

He studied at the performing arts studio founded by Yoram Loewenstein and graduated from it, later also training at Ivona Chabic Studio.[3] Avni recalled spending an additional year developing his craft with Rina Yerushalmi’s young actors’ group.[6] His early professional work included commercials and children’s programs, and he later taught at Loewenstein’s studio in Tel Aviv.[3]

Avni’s early stage roles included Tony in West Side Story at the Israeli National Theatre, Danny Zuko in Grease, John Wilkes Booth in Assassins at Bait Lasin Theatre, and Gerald Croft in An Inspector Calls at the Kameri Theatre.[3] He recalled performing in West Side Story and The Inspector before moving into television, including the youth programs Tosess and Stutz.[6] His screen credits include Tosess in 1990–1993, Amazing Grace in 1992, and Licking the Strawberry in 1993.[2] He also worked as a television host on Stutz, also known as Fling, Pachot o Yoter (More or Less), and Kdam Erovizion.[3]

From 1998 to 2001, Avni portrayed company commander Ido in Tironoot, broadcast by Reshet on Channel 2.[5] The series followed young men who enlisted in the IDF and became an infantry company.[5] To prepare for the role, he sought instruction from Givati company commander Oren Zini, whose command style inspired his portrayal.[7] Avni joined soldiers on marches and lived alongside them at their base, wearing a uniform, carrying a weapon, sleeping in tents, and sharing their showers and mess hall.[7] He described spending much of the day in the dust as part of this immersion in military life.[7]

Avni said that Tironoot advanced his career and that he understood the responsibility involved in portraying commanders who could become role models.[5] He later avoided some television projects because he did not want to undertake work he considered inferior to the series.[5] His performance brought him Israeli Ami Awards in three consecutive years, 1999, 2000, and 2001.[3]

In Joseph Cedar’s Time of Favor (Ha-Hesder, 2000), Avni played Menachem, a military commander whose friendship with Pini deteriorates over Michal, the daughter of Rabbi Meltzer.[8] After Michal rejects Pini, he channels his frustration into an act of terrorism.[8] The film’s plot involves a plan to destroy the Aqsa mosque, which Avni’s character discovers.[9] Avni received the Israel Film Academy best actor award for his performance, while the film won seven Israeli Academy Awards.[3][9] Also in 2000, he played Lieutenant Micha Shtein in Haboleshet Hokeret (The Investigation Must Go On), receiving a best supporting actor nomination.[3]

The acclaim for Time of Favor brought Hollywood offers, and Avni moved to Los Angeles with his then-wife, actress and model Sendi Bar.[9][10] They married on March 15, 2001.[3] In a 2002 interview, he described his first American television role as Mohsen, an Arab interrogator hired by terrorists, in episodes nine and ten of the second season of 24.[10] He discussed the adjustments required by Hollywood auditions and acting in English, presenting the move as an opportunity to pursue international work beyond the limited Hebrew-language market.[10]

His American television appearances included 24 in 2003, JAG and Huff in 2004, Standoff in 2006, and The Unit in 2007.[3] His roles included Tariq Farad, Ari, Dr. Ephraim Khoury, and Colonel Ben Dov.[3] Other film work included Dr. Ben Rubin in Ha-Shiva MeHodu (Open Heart or Return from India, 2002), Julio in Free Zone, and Agent Randle in More Than You Know (Homeland Security, 2007).[3] His filmography also includes Salt of the Earth in 2006.[2]

Avni returned to Israel in 2008 after taking small parts in American television series and films.[9] Earlier that year, before the move was completed, he said that the birth of his son Liam had made returning more pressing and that he wanted his son to grow up in Israel.[11] His work around this period included the television series Maybe This Time and the film Black Light.[11] He later appeared in The Fifth Heaven in 2011.[2]

His subsequent theater work included Cabaret and Frost/Nixon at the Cameri Theater.[6] In 2015, he starred opposite Osnat Fishman in Habima’s production of Fatal Attraction.[5] Describing the demands of live performance, he said, “Onstage, you’re naked.”[9] He and Fishman approached their characters’ relationship as a love story rather than simply a confrontation between a victim and a “psycho”; Avni argued that the events of the play depended on the characters falling in love.[9]

By 2015, Avni had a daughter with American fashion designer Nicole Miller, who had spent her high-school years in Israel.[9] At that time, he had recently finished filming the espionage drama Damascus Cover in Morocco, was working on the television series Hamidrasha, and was developing a film and a one-man stage show through his production company.[9] Damascus Cover also featured Israeli actors Tsahi Halevi and Igal Naor and was filmed in Israel and Morocco.[12] Set in 1989, its story follows a veteran spy sent undercover into Syria to extract a chemical-weapons scientist and his family from Damascus.[12] Avni traveled from Israel to the Moroccan shoot as needed; his filmography lists the film among his 2017 credits.[2][12]

Alongside his acting, Avni participated in public diplomacy.[13] In 2012, he joined an eight-person delegation to Ireland organized as part of a Public Diplomacy and Diaspora Affairs Ministry campaign during Israeli Apartheid Week.[13] The delegation visited Dublin universities, participated in debates, and gave interviews to local media, although some scheduled interviews were cancelled.[13] Avni said the purpose was to present another perspective on the conflict rather than to secure support for government policy, and he called on citizens to contribute to public diplomacy.[13]

His later television credits include Mekif Milano in 2020, Sissu VeSimchu in 2022, and The Beauty Queen of Jerusalem in 2023, while his film work includes Full Speed in 2021.[2] In Checkout, he played Felix, one of the film’s Mossad agents.[14]

In 2023, Avni made his first film as a director, Everyone’s Waiting for Me, also acting, co-producing, and editing the script.[2][4] Director Doron Eran encouraged him to take on directing.[4] Avni described the challenges as including responsibility for the budget and directing actors who were also his friends.[4] The cast included Itzik Cohen, Tzachi Halevy, Maor Schwitzer, and Dana Frider, with cinematography by Barry Markowitz.[4] In a 2023 interview, Avni reported festival recognition that included a commendation in Hollywood, a film-of-the-year award in Houston, and a director-of-the-year award at an international film festival in Istanbul.[4]

Avni’s portrayal of Ido in Tironoot connected his television career with the public image of military service.[5][7] The series was intended to improve Givati’s image among recruits, and former company commander Oren Zini credited Avni with contributing to increased recruitment to the brigade.[7] Avni also recalled meeting a captain who told him that his performance had inspired him to join Givati.[7]

His three consecutive Ami Awards for Tironoot and best actor award for Time of Favor marked recognition in both television and film.[3] By the early 2000s, he had become one of Israel’s best-known young actors and was regarded as a heartthrob.[9] His later work extended from American television appearances and Israeli stage productions to directing and producing his own feature film.[3][2]

In February 2005, filming for Free Zone beside Jerusalem’s Western Wall prompted a confrontation when Avni and Natalie Portman embraced and kissed for a scene.[15] Worshippers objected, shouting “immoral, immoral,” and police intervened.[15] The objections concerned the filming of the scene at the religiously sensitive location.[15]