Doron Ben-David (; born 30 September 1980) is an Israeli actor. He is best known for playing Steve in the Israeli television series, ''

Fauda ''Fauda'' (, from ''fawḍā'', meaning "chaos" or "mess") is an Israeli television series developed by Lior Raz and Avi Issacharoff drawing on their experiences in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). It tells the story of Doron, a commander in ...

''."Suddenly you walk in the house and you want to break things. It's a bomb in your face."
''Mako''. 18 January 2024

Early life

Ben-David was born in

Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( or , ; ), sometimes rendered as Tel Aviv-Jaffa, and usually referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the Gush Dan metropolitan area of Israel. Located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline and with a popula ...

and was mostly raised by his mother in the Ramat Hanasi neighborhood in

Bat Yam Bat Yam ( ) is a city on Israel's Mediterranean Sea coast, on the Central Coastal Plain just south of Tel Aviv. It is part of the Gush Dan metropolitan area and the Tel Aviv District. In , it had a population of . History British Mandate Bat Y ...

. He was six-years-old when it was revealed that his father was leading a double life and had another family. Ben-David has six half-siblings from his father's relationship with another woman. He studied at Ort Melton High School in Bat Yam. As a conscript in the

Israel Defense Forces The Israel Defense Forces (IDF; , ), alternatively referred to by the Hebrew-language acronym (), is the national military of the State of Israel. It consists of three service branches: the Israeli Ground Forces, the Israeli Air Force, and ...

, he was stationed at the Erez Crossing as an inspector. He had to leave the army early after one year to work and support his family. He later studied acting at the

Beit Zvi Beit Zvi School for the Performing Arts, and Theater () is a school of acting and theatre arts, located in the Tel Aviv District city of Ramat Gan, Israel, established in 1950, and is named after Zvi Klir, who fell in the War of Independence. The ...

performing arts school in

Ramat Gan Ramat Gan (, ) is a city in the Tel Aviv District of Israel, located east of the municipality of Tel Aviv, and is part of the Gush Dan, Gush Dan metropolitan area. It is home to a Diamond Exchange District (one of the world's major diamond exch ...

Career

Since 2015, Ben-David has been a series regular, alongside Lior Raz in the Israeli thriller television series, ''

''. In the series, he plays Steve, a

Mista'arvim ''Mista‘arvim'' (; , ), also spelled ''mista‘aravim'', is the name given to certain units in the Israel Defense Forces, Israel Border Police, and Israel Police that assimilate into local Arab populations to operate undercover while gathering ...

operative. In 2016, he appeared in a stage production of

Sami Michael Sami Michael (, ; 15 August 1926 – 1 April 2024) was an Israeli Iraqi author, having migrated from Iraq to Israel at the age of 23. From 2001, Michael was the President of The Association for Civil Rights in Israel (ACRI). Michael was among ...

's novel, '' A Trumpet in the Wadi'' at

Haifa Theatre The Haifa Theatre (; ''Teat'ron Kheifa'') is the first municipal theater company of Haifa, Israel. Background Haifa Theater, Israel's first municipal theater, was established by Haifa mayor Abba Hushi. Together with the support of the Haifa City ...

. Since 2020, he has starred in three seasons of the Israeli television

police procedural The police procedural, police show, or police crime drama is a subgenre of procedural drama and detective fiction that emphasises the investigative procedure of police officers, police detectives, or law enforcement agency, law enforcement agencies ...

series, ''

Manayek ''Manayek'' () is an Israeli television police procedural series. It is broadcast by Israel's public broadcaster, Kan 11, with three seasons airing since 2020. Plot Izzy Bachar is an ex-policeman who works for the internal police investigations ...

'' on

Kan 11 Kan 11 ( ) is an Israeli state-owned free-to-air television channel. Operated by the Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation (IPBC), it launched on 15 May 2017, replacing Channel 1 after the closure of the Israel Broadcasting Authority. It is ...

. In 2022, Ben-David played the protagonist, Amir Halevi in the acclaimed Israeli drama series, ''

The Lesson ''The Lesson'' () is a one-act play by French-Romanian playwright Eugène Ionesco. It was first performed in 1951 in a production directed by Marcel Cuvelier (who also played the Professor). Since 1957 it has been in permanent showing at Pari ...

''. The series was inspired by the much-publicized case of a civics teacher in

Rishon LeZion Rishon LeZion ( , "First to Zion") is a city in Israel, located along the central Israeli coastal plain south of Tel Aviv. It is part of the Gush Dan metropolitan area. Founded in 1882 by Jewish immigrants from the Russian Empire who were ...

in 2020. In addition to acting, he teaches acting classes and models, appearing in fashion campaigns for Factory 54.

Personal life

Ben-David is married to Mittal, a yoga instructor, with whom he has three children. He lives with his family in

Holon Holon (, ) is a city in the Tel Aviv District of Israel, located south of Tel Aviv. Holon is part of the Gush Dan, Gush Dan metropolitan area. In , it had a population of , making it the List of cities in Israel, tenth most populous city in Isra ...

. He has spoken openly about experiencing

anxiety Anxiety is an emotion characterised by an unpleasant state of inner wikt:turmoil, turmoil and includes feelings of dread over Anticipation, anticipated events. Anxiety is different from fear in that fear is defined as the emotional response ...

and starting

therapy A therapy or medical treatment is the attempted remediation of a health problem, usually following a medical diagnosis. Both words, ''treatment'' and ''therapy'', are often abbreviated tx, Tx, or Tx. As a rule, each therapy has indications a ...

at the age of 40."I thought everyone needed therapy and I was fine - until I had an anxiety attack at the age of 40"
''Ynet''. 7 January 2022 In the wake of the

7 October Hamas-led attack on Israel On October 7, 2023, Hamas and several other Palestinian militant groups launched coordinated armed incursions from the Gaza Strip into the Gaza envelope of southern Israel, the first invasion of Israeli territory since the 1948 Arab–Israeli ...

, Ben-David has volunteered. He prepared food and with other actors put on improvised shows for Israelis evacuated from border communities.

Filmography

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ben-David, Doron 1980 births Living people People from Bat Yam Beit Zvi School for the Performing Arts alumni Israeli male film actors Israeli male television actors Israeli male stage actors Jewish Israeli male actors 21st-century Israeli male actors 21st-century Israeli Jews