List of Israeli Actors

The National Library of Israel describes actors as important contributors to the country’s culture through theater, film, and television. Its account traces theater in the land from school plays and communal performances in the late nineteenth century to a varied contemporary scene, but it does not provide a comprehensive roster.[1]

The sources likewise establish no uniform test for inclusion as an “Israeli actor.” Some identify performers by nationality, while others emphasize birthplace, residence, family background, or work in Israeli productions. A Ynet feature explicitly asks whether performers who lived only briefly in Israel or spent most of their lives in the United States belong in the category.[2] This article therefore presents documented examples rather than an exhaustive list or a ruling on national identity.

The examples encompass theater specialists, film and television actors, and performers who also directed, wrote, sang, or worked in other creative fields. Labels such as Israeli American and Israeli Palestinian are retained where the sources use them rather than treated as interchangeable.

Hanna Rovina (1888–1980) was a founding member of the Habimah Theater Company. Her performance as Leah in the 1922 Hebrew production of An-ski’s The Dybbuk brought her fame, and after arriving in Palestine with Habimah in 1928 she became known as a leading actress.[3] Rovina received the 1956 Israel Prize for Theater Arts; the Jewish Women’s Archive calls her the “High Priestess of the Hebrew theater” and records that she performed almost exclusively with Habimah.[5]

Aharon Meskin (1898–1974), another Habimah founder, joined its Moscow studio after learning of its establishment in 1917. His first major role was the Golem in H. Leivick’s play in 1924. He later played roles including Othello and Shylock and received the Israel Prize in 1960.[6] Hanna Meron began performing at four, immigrated to Palestine in 1933, and joined the Cameri Theater in 1945. She participated in its management and repertory decisions and continued acting, editing, and directing into her eighties.[7]

Yossi Banai studied at the Habima acting school, performed in major Israeli theaters, cinema, and television, and founded the Seasons Theater with Avner Hezkyahu and Nissim Aloni.[8] Shmuel Segal’s five-decade career included theater, television, film, narration, singing, and hosting.[9] Dina Doronne began acting as a child at Habima, studied at the Actors Studio under Lee Strasberg, appeared on Broadway in The Diary of Anne Frank, and returned to Israel in 1958.[10]

Chaim Topol (1935–2023), born in Tel Aviv, began performing during his military service and helped found the Haifa Municipal Theater.[11] He played Sallah Shabati onstage in five sketches from 1954 to 1960; the original Nahal troupe skit was performed more than 500 times.[12] The 1964 film became a major Israeli success, won a Golden Globe, and received an Academy Award nomination for Best Foreign Film.[13][4] Topol later played Tevye in the 1967 London production and the 1971 film adaptation of Fiddler on the Roof.[11]

Gila Almagor made her Habima debut at seventeen, joined the Cameri Theater in 1958, and moved into film in 1960.[14] Her roles included a young widow in Siege, a street prostitute in The Highway Queen, and the mother character in The Summer of Avia. She adapted that semiautobiographical novel into a play and film, which won the Silver Bear at the 1989 Berlin Film Festival and best-film prizes at Belgrade and Valladolid.[15] Almagor received an Israeli Film Academy lifetime-achievement award in 1997 and the Israel Prize in 2004.[14]

Assi Dayan (1945–2014) worked as an actor, director, screenwriter, writer, painter, poet, and publicist. His acting credits included Operation Thunderbolt, Beyond the Walls, Time of Favor, and Campfire.[16][17] His directing work included Giv’at Halfon Eina Ona, Life According to Agfa, and Mr. Baum; Life According to Agfa won the Israeli Academy’s best-picture award, and Dayan was voted best director.[16][17]

Shaike Ophir, a Palmach veteran of the War of Independence, starred in almost thirty films, including The Policeman; the Ophir Awards were named for him.[18][4] Oded Kotler won the Cannes Best Actor award in 1967 for Three Days and a Child, while Hanna Laslo won Best Actress at the 58th Cannes Film Festival for Free Zone.[4][19] EDB also records performers including three-time Ophir winner Amos Lavi and Israel “Poli” Poliakov of HaGashash HaHiver.[20]

The sources use several identity descriptions for performers connected to Israel. Mira Awad is described as an Arab Christian from the Galilee and as a singer and actress. In 2009 she performed at Eurovision with Achinoam Nini, becoming the first Arab and Christian to represent Israel at the contest; she also acted in Arab Labor. The same profile states that she identifies as Palestinian and Israeli.[21]

Makram Jamil Khoury, born in Jerusalem in 1945, is described as an Israeli Palestinian actor who has performed in Arabic, Hebrew, and English. He studied theater in England, worked with the Cameri and Haifa Municipal theaters, and appeared in productions including Wedding in Galilee, The Syrian Bride, and Munich. Khoury received the Israel Prize for dramatic arts in 1987 and was its first Arab recipient.[22]

Accounts of Israeli cinema also identify Mohammad Bakri in Beyond the Walls, Salim Daw in Avanti Popolo, Makram and Clara Khoury in The Syrian Bride, and Hiam Abbass as an international television star.[4] These examples illustrate the participation of Arab and Palestinian performers in Israeli film and television without implying a single uncontested interpretation of their identities.

Ronit Elkabetz (1964–2016), who grew up in Kiryat Yam after her parents immigrated from Morocco, became one of Israeli cinema’s leading actors despite having no formal acting education. Her films included Sh’chur, Late Marriage, Or, My Treasure, and The Band’s Visit. With her brother Shlomi, she directed To Take a Wife, The Seven Days, and Gett: The Trial of Viviane Amsalem.[23] The Jewish Women’s Archive interprets the trilogy as addressing the oppression of Mizrahi women in the name of Jewish religion.[23]

The sources do not provide a settled rule for inclusion as an Israeli actor. A Ynet feature asks whether performers such as Theodore Bikel and Nehemiah Persoff, who lived briefly in Israel or spent most of their lives in the United States, should count.[2] Such examples show differing selection criteria rather than establishing a definitive roster.

The Center for Israel Education reports controversy over the autobiographical presentation of Gila Almagor’s mother in The Summer of Avia, stating that her mother was a German emigrant but not a Holocaust survivor as presented in the book. Encyclopedia.com describes the film’s Holocaust-survivor character as based on Almagor’s mother.[14][15] The available sources do not resolve that disagreement.

A Ynet account reports that several Israeli actors played terrorists or other Arab characters in foreign action films and presents actor Yigal Naor’s objection to stereotyped terrorist roles.[24] Juliano Mer-Khamis, described as an Israeli actor and leftist activist, ran a theater and acting school in the Jenin refugee camp. He was shot and killed near the theater on April 4, 2011; the cited account did not identify the perpetrator or motive.[25]

Selective accounts of Israeli performers in international productions name Natalie Portman, Ayelet Zurer, Mili Avital, Lior Ashkenazi, Alon Abutbul, Moran Atias, Ori Pfeffer, Odeya Rush, Angel Bonanni, and Shira Haas. These are examples rather than complete or interchangeable lists.[26][27]

Natalie Portman, born in Jerusalem in 1981, is described as an Israeli American actress. Her first film role was in Léon; she later played Padmé Amidala in the Star Wars prequels and won the 2011 Academy Award for best actress for Black Swan.[28] Ayelet Zurer, born in Tel Aviv in 1969, worked in Israeli theater, film, and television before appearing in productions including Munich, Angels & Demons, and Man of Steel. Her role in Betipul won an Israeli Television Academy award.[29]

Mili Avital moved from Israeli theater and film to roles in Stargate, Dead Man, and the television series Prisoners of War.[26][2] Lior Ashkenazi’s major films include Late Marriage, Walk on Water, and Footnote; in Walk on Water he plays a Mossad agent.[26][4] Alon Abutbul’s international work included Body of Lies and The Dark Knight Rises.[26]

The Jerusalem Post’s 2018 selection describes Atias’s work in Italian film and the series Crash and Tyrant, Pfeffer’s appearances in Munich and Hacksaw Ridge, Rush’s roles in The Giver and Lady Bird, Bonanni’s role as Yoni Netanyahu in Entebbe, and Haas’s appearances in Shtisel, A Tale of Love and Darkness, and The Zookeeper’s Wife.[27]

Aharon Ipalé grew up in Jaffa and built a career spanning Israeli film, London, and Hollywood.[2] Mark Ivanir immigrated from Ukraine at seven, performed at the Cameri, Israeli Opera, and Gesher Theatre, and broke through internationally as Marcel Goldberg in Schindler’s List. His later work included a Robert De Niro film, The Blacklist, 24, and Monk.[30]

Gal Gadot, born in Rosh HaAyin in 1985, is an Israeli actress and producer. She won the Miss Israel title at eighteen, served in the military, and worked as a model before gaining international recognition through the Fast & Furious franchise and her portrayal of Wonder Woman.[31][21] A commentary article also discusses a short video in which she explained Hebrew slang, including “ḥavlaz,” a shortened form of “ḥaval al ha-z’man.”[32]

Shuli Rand is described as an iconic Israeli actor and the star of Ushpizin.[33] He co-wrote the film and later co-wrote the animated Agadat Hurban with Gidi Dar. The latter draws on accounts of the destruction of the Second Temple in Josephus and Talmudic aggadot.[34] Rand also played Yaakov Cohen in The Unorthodox, a fictionalized history of the grassroots movement that led to the founding of Shas.[33]

Uri Zohar was a comedian, director, and movie star before leaving his former life in 1977 to study and teach Torah. A Sapir Journal commentary presents his transformation as part of a wider trend in which Israeli entertainers produced work reflecting spiritual journeys.[35]

Landmark productions connect Israeli performers across generations. Sallah Shabati became Israel’s first nominee in the Academy Awards’ foreign-language-film category; Shaike Ophir starred in the Oscar-nominated The Policeman; and Oded Kotler won the 1967 Cannes Best Actor award for Three Days and a Child.[4]

Later ensemble films included Dizengoff 99, with Gidi Gov and Gali Atari; Operation Thunderbolt, with Yehoram Gaon as Yoni Netanyahu; Beyond the Walls, with Arnon Zadok, Mohammad Bakri, and Assi Dayan; and Avanti Popolo, starring Salim Daw.[4] Late Marriage paired Lior Ashkenazi and Ronit Elkabetz, while Eytan Fox’s films featured performers including Ashkenazi, Joy Rieger, Liraz Charhi, and Neta Garty.[4]

Elkabetz’s collaborations with her brother Shlomi extended across To Take a Wife, The Seven Days—also known as Shiva—and Gett.[23][4] Such projects show how actors also contributed through directing and writing, while ensemble productions linked performers from different linguistic, ethnic, and theatrical backgrounds.

Roy Assaf is identified as the leading actor in Wounded Land, which screened at an Institute for National Security Studies event in Ramat Hasharon on February 16, 2016, followed by a discussion with Assaf and director Erez Tadmor.[36] Aki Avni is identified as an Israeli actor in an account of filming Free Zone beside Jerusalem’s Western Wall, where worshippers objected to an on-camera kiss with Natalie Portman and police intervened.[37]

Chaya Hararit, born in Haifa and trained at the Cameri Theatre studio, appeared in Hill 24 Doesn’t Answer, signed a four-year MGM contract, and became best known internationally for the female lead opposite Charlton Heston in Ben-Hur.[2]

Ohad Knoller performed throughout the 1990s before his breakthrough in Yossi & Jagger, which brought him a Best Actor award at the Tribeca Film Festival. His other work included The Bubble and the television series Srugim.[38] Together with the historical and international examples above, these careers demonstrate the variety of paths encompassed by the category of Israeli actor.