Ran Danker (; born Khalil Yosef Danker on January 7, 1984) is an Israeli–American actor, singer and model. He starred in hit Israeli series such as ''

HaShir Shelanu ''HaShir Shelanu'' (, lit. ''Our Song'') was an Israeli daily comedy, comical musical telenovela starring Ninet Tayeb that took place for four seasons on the Yes (Israel), yes-5 Israeli Movie Channel (Arutz Ha'kolnoa Hayisraeli) and repeating on C ...

'' (2004–2007), ''

The Gordin Cell ''The Gordin Cell'' is an Israeli psychological thriller series. The series stars Ran Danker as Israeli Air Force officer Eyal Gordin and Mark Ivanir as Russian Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) agent Yaakov Lundin. Plot Season 1 Diana and ...

'' (2012–2015), ''

Miguel --> Miguel is a given name and surname, the Portuguese and Spanish form of the Hebrew name Michael. It may refer to: Places * Pedro Miguel, a parish in the municipality of Horta and the island of Faial in the Azores Islands *São Miguel (disamb ...

'' (2018) and more. Danker received an

Ophir Award The Ophir Awards (), full name: the Israel Film Academy Award, sometimes also known as the Israeli Oscars or the Israeli Academy Awards, are film awards for excellence in the Israeli film industry awarded by the Israeli Academy of Film and Tele ...

nomination for Best Supporting Actor for his role in '' Eyes Wide Open'' (2009). Danker was also nominated for an

for Best Actor for his role in '' Doubtful'' (2017).

Early life

Ran Danker was born in

Norfolk, Virginia Norfolk ( ) is an independent city (United States), independent city in the U.S. state of Virginia. It had a population of 238,005 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of cities in Virginia, third-most populous city ...

, United States, to a Jewish family. He is the son of Israeli actor

Eli Danker Eli Danker (; born 12 October 1948) is an Israeli actor who has appeared in many films and television series. He is also the father of the Israeli singer-actor Ran Danker. Career Danker made his professional television debut on the Israeli com ...

. He moved to Israel with his mother when he was two years old after his parents' divorce. He grew up in the

Bavli Bavli (), or Shikun Bavli, is a neighborhood in central Tel Aviv, Israel, named after the Babylonian Talmud, and bounded by Yarkon Park on the north, Ayalon highway to the east, Namir road to the west, and Park Tzameret to the south. History ...

neighborhood 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 sang in the choir of the

boy scouts Boy Scouts or Boy Scout may refer to: * Members, sections or organisations in the Scouting Movement ** Scout (Scouting), a boy or a girl participating in the worldwide Scouting movement ** Scouting America, formerly known as Boy Scouts of America ...

. When he was in junior high school, the family moved to Poleg,

Netanya Netanya () () or Natanya (), is a city in the "Planet Bekasi" Central District (Israel), Setanyahu of Israel, Israel BAB ih, and is the capital of the surrounding Sharon plain. It is north of Tel Aviv, and south of Haifa, between the Poleg stre ...

. Between high school and his army service, Ran participated in a few TV commercials: a promo of Channel 10; a commercial of

Bank Leumi Bank Leumi (, lit. ''National Bank''; ) is an Israeli bank. It was founded on February 27, 1902, in Jaffa as the ''Anglo Palestine Company'' as subsidiary of the Jewish Colonial Trust () Limited formed before in London by members of the Zionism, ...

; and the cell phone company Cellcom. As a teenager, Ran was a delivery boy for

Domino's Pizza Domino's Pizza, Inc., commonly referred to as Domino's, is an American multinational pizza restaurant chain founded in 1960 and led by CEO Russell Weiner. The corporation is Delaware General Corporation Law, Delaware-domiciled and headquartered ...

. He was a helicopter technician during his military service 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 ...

Career

In addition to his acting and singing career, Danker has appeared as a fashion model in campaigns for

Diadora Diadora is an Italian sportswear and footwear manufacturing company based in Caerano di San Marco (Veneto), subsidiary of Geox, founded in 1948. Diadora produces football boots and athletic shoes, as well as a range of apparel that includes ...

Film and television

In 2004, he landed a part of ''

'' (Our Song) that ran for four seasons. He was also in two children's shows, a musical production of ''

The Sound of Music ''The Sound of Music'' is a musical with music by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II, and a book by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse. It is based on the 1949 memoir of Maria von Trapp, '' The Story of the Trapp Family Singers''. ...

'' in

and later

Haifa Haifa ( ; , ; ) is the List of cities in Israel, third-largest city in Israel—after Jerusalem and Tel Aviv—with a population of in . The city of Haifa forms part of the Haifa metropolitan area, the third-most populous metropolitan area i ...

and the

Festigal Festigal () is an annual Israeli song and dance musical show for children. Festigal is held every year at Hanukkah time, during the school vacation. It began as a song contest but the format gradually changed to include performances by well-know ...

(an annual

Hanukkah Hanukkah (, ; ''Ḥănukkā'' ) is a Jewish holidays, Jewish festival commemorating the recovery of Jerusalem and subsequent rededication of the Second Temple at the beginning of the Maccabean Revolt against the Seleucid Empire in the 2nd ce ...

song festival) in 2004 and 2005. He has also appeared in the 2021 edition. In December 2005, Ran won the Gold Screen Award as the best actor, for his role in Our Song. In January 2006, he won the Kids Channel Award, for the same category. Danker also contributed his voice to the main character of Walt Disney's animated movie '' Chicken Little'' for Israel's Hebrew-dubbed version. Readers of the popular "

Pnai Plus ''Pnai Plus'' (, lit. ''Leisure Plus''), or ''Pplus'', is one of the major Israeli magazines published weekly that covers the world of entertainment and television worldwide as well as the local Israeli television and celebrities scene. Created in ...

" TV digest awarded him actor of the year in 2006. In 2008, he began appearing as the titular character in the musical daily drama ''Danny Hollywood''. He plays, with the actor

Zohar Strauss Zohar Zalman Strauss (; born 4 March 1972) is an Israeli theater, film, and television actor. Regarded as one of the best performers of his generation in Israel, he is recognized for his versatile work across independent films, television and the ...

, the main role, as a gay lover, in the 2009 Israeli drama film '' Eyes Wide Open''. Danker received an

nomination as Best Supporting Actor for his role. Between 2012 and 2015, he appeared in the TV drama '' Gordin Cell'' playing the main character, Eyal "Alik" Gordin. ''

Haaretz ''Haaretz'' (; originally ''Ḥadshot Haaretz'' – , , ) is an List of newspapers in Israel, Israeli newspaper. It was founded in 1918, making it the longest running newspaper currently in print in Israel. The paper is published in Hebrew lan ...

'' praised the show as "among the world's best suspense shows". It was also remade in the United States as ''

Allegiance An allegiance is a duty of fidelity said to be owed, or freely committed, by the people, subjects or citizens to their state or sovereign. Etymology The word ''allegiance'' comes from Middle English ' (see Medieval Latin ', "a liegance"). The ...

'' (2015). In 2017, he received an

nomination for Best Actor for his role in '' Doubtful'' as a man that has to serve his community service by working with juvenile delinquents. In 2018, Danker began appearing in ''

,'' playing a gay man who is determined to fulfil his dream of adopting a child. The series received its world premiere at the first ever Canneseries festival. ''Miguel'' won the special performance prize for best ensemble cast at Canneseries. In 2020, Danker stars in ''Honeymood'', a new romantic comedy by

Talya Lavie Talya Lavie (; born on 27 April 1978) is an Israeli filmmaker best known for her 2014 debut feature, '' Zero Motivation''. Early life Lavie attended the Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design as well as the Sam Spiegel Film and Television School in ...

, director of '' Zero Motivation''.

Stage

In ''The Sound of Music'' he played Rolf the

Nazi Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...

postman who fell in love with Liesl, the oldest daughter of the von Trapp family. Ran performed in 40 shows until he left for Festigal 2005. In 2015, he played the German lawyer,

Hans Litten Hans Achim Litten (19 June 1903 – 5 February 1938) was a German lawyer who represented opponents of the Nazi Party, Nazis at important political trials between 1929 and 1932, defending the rights of workers during the Weimar Republic. During o ...

in the

Habima Theatre The Habima Theatre ( ''Te'atron HaBima'', lit. "The Stage Theatre") is the List of national theatres, national theatre of Israel and one of the first Hebrew language theatres. It is located in Habima Square in the center of Tel Aviv. History ...

production of ''

Taken at Midnight ''Taken At Midnight'' is a 2014 play by Mark Hayhurst on the life of Hans Litten, his cross-examination of Adolf Hitler in court in 1931 and his mother's attempts to secure his release after his arrest by the Nazis in 1933. Hayhurst also produced ...

''. Danker plays a lawyer who represented opponents of the Nazis at important political trials between 1929 and 1932, defending the rights of workers during the

Weimar Republic The Weimar Republic, officially known as the German Reich, was the German Reich, German state from 1918 to 1933, during which it was a constitutional republic for the first time in history; hence it is also referred to, and unofficially proclai ...

. In 2017,, he returned to Habima Theatre to play Che in the Israeli production of the hit musical, '' Evita''.

Music

In 2007, Danker released his debut album, '' Shavim'' (

Hebrew Hebrew (; ''ʿÎbrit'') is a Northwest Semitic languages, Northwest Semitic language within the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family. A regional dialect of the Canaanite languages, it was natively spoken by the Israelites and ...

: , "equal"), with guitarist Ilai Botner. Danker released a new Hebrew-language album, "Something Different" in 2018. In March 2021, He released " Beit Meshugaim" (In Hebrew: ""), that stayed the most stream Spotify song in Israel for 3.5 months in a row. On top of that, it stayed at the top of the

Galgalatz Galgalatz or GLGLZ (), also rendered in English as "Army Radio on Wheels", is an Israeli radio station, operated by the Israel Defense Forces. It is broadcast on transmitters across the country and features pop and rock music in English and Hebre ...

chart for 8 weeks in a row, breaking the record for the most weeks in first place. This was followed in October 2021 by "Hasimla hadasha sheli" (in Hebrew: meaning "My new dress") produced by DEGO. On July 14, 2022, he performed the song " Lu Yehi" at

Beit HaNassi The President's House, known in Hebrew as Beit HaNassi (בֵּית הַנָּשִׂיא) and Mishkan HaNassi (מִשְׁכָּן הַנָּשִׂיא), is the official residence of the President of Israel. It is located in the Talbiya neighborhoo ...

, alongside the singer Yuval Dayan, in front of President

Joe Biden Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. (born November 20, 1942) is an American politician who was the 46th president of the United States from 2021 to 2025. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he served as the 47th vice p ...

during his visit to Israel.

Personal life

Danker was previously in a high-profile relationship with fellow ''

'' star,

Ninet Tayeb Ninet Nati Tayeb (; born 21 October 1983), professionally known as Ninet, is an Israeli musician, singer-songwriter, composer, DJ, model, actress, and reality television judge on ''Rising Star (Israeli TV series), Rising Star: Israel''. She is reg ...

. Israeli media labelled the pair "Raninet". Following the break up he was named the most eligible bachelor in 2007 by "

". He also reportedly dated his other ''HaShir Shelanu'' co-star,

Ania Bukstein Ania Bukstein (; Russian: Аня Букштейн, ''Anya Bukshteyn''; born 7 June 1982) is an Israeli actress, singer and pianist, performing in Hebrew, Russian, French, and English. Early life Bukstein was born as an only child in Moscow, USS ...

as well as the supermodel,

Bar Refaeli Bar Refaeli (; born ) is an Israeli model, actress, and businesswoman. She is among the most internationally successful models to come from Israel, appearing on the cover of the 2009 ''Sports Illustrated'' Swimsuit Issue, and being voted No. 1 ...

. Danker and Refaeli's mothers are close friends. Danker and Tayeb remain friends and when asked in a 2019

Ynet Ynet (stylized in all lowercase) is an Israeli news and general-content website, and the online outlet for the '' Yedioth Ahronoth'' newspaper. History Ynet launched on June 6, 2000, in Hebrew, following other Hebrew outlet's website launches ...

interview about his former partner, Danker said that they will soon be in touch and will collaborate. The pair performed together in September 2019.Ran Danker and Ninet Tayeb performing together
Instagram. September 13, 2019 In July 2015, Danker came out as bisexual. He also stated that he has been in a relationship with a man for three years. In an interview Danker said "I simply fell in love, what's more surprising to me than being in a relationship with a man is that I've been in any relationship for three years. Period". He continued to say that "sexuality is another way for the soul to define itself, it's complicated and combines many components. The total of people is the total of sexual possibilities. I'm attracted to both women and men. Why should we narrow ourselves into a definition? I don't want to define myself". He is one of the most talked-about male stars in Israel.

Ynetnews Ynet (stylized in all lowercase) is an Israeli news and general-content website, and the online outlet for the '' Yedioth Ahronoth'' newspaper. History Ynet launched on June 6, 2000, in Hebrew, following other Hebrew outlet's website launches i ...

, July 2, 2006

Filmography

Discography

Albums

* '' Shavim'' (

: , meaning "Equal") (2007) (joint with Elai Butner) * ''Something Different'' (

: ) (2018)

Soundtrack

* ''Our Song'' (

: ) - Double album

Singles

* "Shavim" (

: ) (2007) * "Bo'i Nazov" (

: , meaning "Let's leave") (2007) * "Ani Esh" (

: , meaning "I am fire") (2007) * "Beit Meshugaim" (

: , meaning "Madhouse") (2021) * "Hasimila Hadasha Shelly" (

: , meaning "My new dress") (2021)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Danker, Ran 1984 births 20th-century Israeli male actors 21st-century Israeli LGBTQ people 21st-century Israeli male actors 21st-century Israeli male singers American bisexual male actors American emigrants to Israel Bisexual Jews Bisexual male models Bisexual male singers Israeli bisexual men Israeli LGBTQ actors Israeli LGBTQ models Israeli LGBTQ singers Israeli male film actors Israeli male models Israeli male television actors Israeli pop singers Jewish Israeli singers Jewish male models Living people Musicians from Tel Aviv People from Netanya