Tomer Sisley (born Tomer Gazit; ; born 14 August 1974) is an Israeli and French actor and comedian.

Early and personal life

Born in

West Berlin West Berlin ( or , ) was a political enclave which comprised the western part of Berlin from 1948 until 1990, during the Cold War. Although West Berlin lacked any sovereignty and was under military occupation until German reunification in 1 ...

West Germany West Germany was the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) from its formation on 23 May 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with East Germany on 3 October 1990. It is sometimes known as the Bonn Republi ...

, to Israeli-born parents who had relocated for his father's job as a research scientist in

dermatology Dermatology is the branch of medicine dealing with the Human skin, skin.''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary.'' Random House, Inc. 2001. Page 537. . It is a speciality with both medical and surgical aspects. A List of dermatologists, ...

. His mother is also a dermatologist. His parents met as schoolmates 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 ...

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

, and were childhood sweethearts. His father's family has roots in

Lithuania Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania, is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, bordered by Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, P ...

and today's

Belarus Belarus, officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Russia to the east and northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Belarus spans an a ...

, while his mother is of Yemenite descent. His parents separated when he was five years old. At 9 years of age, he left Berlin to live with his father in

southern France Southern France, also known as the south of France or colloquially in French as , is a geographical area consisting of the regions of France that border the Atlantic Ocean south of the Marais Poitevin,Louis Papy, ''Le midi atlantique'', Atlas e ...

, where his father was offered a position. He is fluent in

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

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 ...

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

, and English. He attended an English-speaking school, and then attended the bi-lingual Centre international de Valbonne in

Sophia Antipolis Sophia Antipolis is a 2,400 hectare technology park in southeast France, and as of 2021 home to 2,500 companies, valued today at more than 5.6 billion euros and employing more than 38,000 people counting more than 80 nationalities. The park is ...

near

Nice, France Nice ( ; ) is a city in and the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes departments of France, department in France. The Nice urban unit, agglomeration extends far beyond the administrative city limits, with a population of nearly one million

. Sisley resides in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

with his family. He is an avid

horse The horse (''Equus ferus caballus'') is a domesticated, one-toed, hoofed mammal. It belongs to the taxonomic family Equidae and is one of two extant subspecies of ''Equus ferus''. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 mi ...

rider, as well as practitioner of

Krav Maga Krav Maga ( ; , ; ) is an Israeli Hand-to-hand combat, self-defence system. Developed for the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), it uses techniques derived from aikido, boxing, judo, karate and wrestling. It is known for its focus on real-world situat ...

jiujitsu Jujutsu ( , or ), also known as jiu-jitsu and ju-jitsu (both ), is a Japanese martial art and a system of close combat that can be used in a defensive or offensive manner to kill or subdue one or more weaponless or armed and armored opponent ...

and

boxing Boxing is a combat sport and martial art. Taking place in a boxing ring, it involves two people – usually wearing protective equipment, such as boxing glove, protective gloves, hand wraps, and mouthguards – throwing Punch (combat), punch ...

. He is a licensed

helicopter A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which Lift (force), lift and thrust are supplied by horizontally spinning Helicopter rotor, rotors. This allows the helicopter to VTOL, take off and land vertically, to hover (helicopter), hover, and ...

pilot, and has described himself as "

skydiving Parachuting and skydiving are methods of descending from a high point in an atmosphere to the ground or ocean surface with the aid of gravity, involving the control of speed during the descent using a parachute or multiple parachutes. For hu ...

paragliding Paragliding is the recreational and competitive adventure sport of flying paragliders: lightweight, free-flying, foot-launched glider aircraft with no rigid primary structure. The pilot sits in a harness or in a cocoon-like 'pod' suspended be ...

, and

extreme skiing Extreme skiing is a form of skiing performed on long, steep (typically from 45 to 60+ degrees, or grades of 100 to 170 percent) slopes in mountainous terrain. The French coined the term 'Le Ski Extreme' in the 1970s. The first practitioners incl ...

fan".

Career

Comedy

Sisley performed

stand-up comedy Stand-up comedy is a performance directed to a live audience, where the performer stands on a stage (theatre), stage and delivers humour, humorous and satire, satirical monologues sometimes incorporating physical comedy, physical acts. These ...

for six years. In 2003 he was the first French stand-up comedian to win the Just for Laughs comedy festival in

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

, the largest comedy festival in the world.

Plagiarism scandal

In 2019, it was brought to light that Tomer was using material taken from American comedians. He admitted "having copied between '20-30 per cent' of his gags."

Film

Among his first films were the Tunisian fictional film '' Bedwin Hacker'' (2003), the comedy drama ''

Virgil Publius Vergilius Maro (; 15 October 70 BC21 September 19 BC), usually called Virgil or Vergil ( ) in English, was an ancient Rome, ancient Roman poet of the Augustan literature (ancient Rome), Augustan period. He composed three of the most fa ...

'' (2005), the French romantic comedy-drama '' Toi et moi'' (2006), the French crime film ''

Paris Lockdown ''Paris Lockdown'' () is a 2007 French crime film directed by Frédéric Schoendoerffer. Cast * Benoît Magimel - Franck * Philippe Caubère - Corti * Béatrice Dalle - Béatrice * Olivier Marchal - Jean-Guy * Mehdi Nebbou - Hicham * Tome ...

'' (2007), and the French action thriller ''

Largo Winch ''Largo Winch'' is a Belgian comic book series by Philippe Francq and Jean Van Hamme, published by Dupuis. It started as a series of novels by Van Hamme in the late 1970s, but stopped due to a lack of success and the huge amount of work Van Hamme ...

'' (2008). In 2009, Sisley won the Most Promising Newcomer title at the Étoiles d'or French awards for his acting in ''Largo Winch''. In 2011, Sisley accepted the leading part in a low-budget French thriller film '' Sleepless Night''. The movie was bought by

Tribeca Productions Tribeca Enterprises (former Tribeca Productions) is an American film and television production company co-founded in 1989 by actor Robert De Niro and producer Jane Rosenthal in the lower Manhattan neighborhood of Tribeca, which is where the com ...

Robert De Niro Robert Anthony De Niro ( , ; born August 17, 1943) is an American actor, director, and film producer. He is considered to be one of the greatest and most influential actors of his generation. De Niro is the recipient of List of awards and ...

's distribution company, and

Warner Brothers Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (WBEI), commonly known as Warner Bros. (WB), is an American filmed entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California and the main namesake subsidiary of Warner Bro ...

bought the rights for a remake. The film showed at the

Tribeca Film Festival The Tribeca Festival is an annual film festival organized by Tribeca Enterprises. It takes place each spring in New York City, showcasing a diverse selection of film, episodic, talks, music, games, art, and immersive programming. The festival ...

Toronto International Film Festival The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF, often stylized as tiff) is one of the most prestigious and largest publicly attended film festivals in the world. Founded in 1976, the festival takes place every year in early September. The organi ...

, and

Rome Film Festival International Rome Film Fest is a film festival that takes place in Rome during the month of October. The name in Italian is Festa del Cinema di Roma. From 2022, the festival was officially recognized as a competitive festival by the Internation ...

. In the French action thriller '' Largo Winch II'' (2011), Sisley performed a fight while skydiving from a plane without a parachute. He does all of his own stunts. Among his next films were the American comedy ''

We're the Millers ''We're the Millers'' is a 2013 American black comedy film directed by Rawson Marshall Thurber and starring Jennifer Aniston, Jason Sudeikis, Emma Roberts, Will Poulter, Nick Offerman, Kathryn Hahn, Molly Quinn, and Ed Helms. The film's scree ...

'' (2013), the French costume drama and adventure film '' Angélique'' (2013), and the Israeli-French docudrama political thriller '' Rabin, the Last Day'' (2015). In the American thriller web television series ''

Messiah In Abrahamic religions, a messiah or messias (; , ; , ; ) is a saviour or liberator of a group of people. The concepts of '' mashiach'', messianism, and of a Messianic Age originated in Judaism, and in the Hebrew Bible, in which a ''mashiach ...

'' (2020) Sisley plays Israeli

Shin Bet The Israel Security Agency (ISA; , (GSS); ), better known by the Hebrew acronyms, acronyms Shabak (; ; ) or Shin Bet (from the abbreviation of , "Security Service"), is Israel's internal Security agency, security service. Its motto is "''Magen ...

intelligence officer Aviram Dahan.John Anderson (December 31, 2019)
"‘Messiah’ Review: What Is His Mission?,"
''The Wall Street Journal''.

Filmography

*1996 : '' Highlander: The Series'' (TV) as Reza *1996 : ''Studio Sud'' (TV) as Nico *1999 : '' Highlander: The Raven'' (TV) as Felix *2003 : ''Dédales'' by René Manzor as Malik *2003 : '' Bedwin Hacker'' by Nadia el Fani as Chams, a Tunisian-French journalist *2005 : ''

'' by Mabrouk el Mechri as Dino Taliori *2006 : '' Toi et moi'' by

Julie Lopes-Curval Julie Lopes-Curval is a French film director, screenwriter, theatre director, and playwright. Her directorial debut ''Seaside (film), Seaside'' was showcased in the Directors' Fortnight section at the 2002 Cannes Film Festival, where it won the C ...

as Farid *2006 : ''

The Nativity Story ''The Nativity Story'' is a 2006 American biblical drama film based on the nativity of Jesus and directed by Catherine Hardwicke. The film stars Keisha Castle-Hughes, Oscar Isaac, Hiam Abbass, Shaun Toub, Alexander Siddig, Ciarán Hinds, a ...

'' by

Catherine Hardwicke Catherine Hardwicke is an American film director, production designer, and screenwriter. Her directorial work includes '' Thirteen'' (2003), which she co-wrote with Nikki Reed, the film's co-star, '' Lords of Dogtown'' (2005), '' The Nativity ...

as Tax Collector *2007 : ''

'' by

Frédéric Schoendoerffer Frédéric Schoendoerffer (1962) is a French film director and screenwriter. Background Frédéric Schoendoerffer was born on October 3, 1962. He is the son of Pierre Schoendoerffer and wife Patricia. His brother is director, producer, and a ...

as Larbi, a Moroccan gangster *2008 : ''

'' by

Jérôme Salle Jérôme Salle (born 1971) is a French film director and screenwriter. Salle is known for directing the films '' Anthony Zimmer'', the Belgian comic book adaptation '' Largo Winch'', and its sequel '' Largo Winch II''. His 2013 film '' Zulu'' wa ...

as Largo Winch *2011 : '' Largo Winch II'' by

as Largo Winch *2011 : '' Sleepless Night'' by

Frédéric Jardin Frédéric Jardin (born 18 May 1968) is a French film director. Early Life Frédéric Jardin born May 24, 1968 in Neuilly-sur-Seine, Frédéric Jardin trained on set, becoming an assistant director and shooting short films in Super 8. He direct ...

as Vincent, a police detective *2013 : ''

'' by

Rawson Marshall Thurber Rawson Marshall Thurber (born February 9, 1975) is an American filmmaker and actor. He is best known for writing and directing the 2004 comedy film ''Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story''. Early life Thurber was born in San Francisco, California ...

as Pablo Chacón, a Mexican drug lord *2013 : ''

Kidon The Institute for Intelligence and Special Operations (), popularly known as Mossad ( , ), is the national intelligence agency of the State of Israel. It is one of the main entities in the Israeli Intelligence Community, along with Aman (mi ...

'' by Emmanuel Naccache as Daniel *2013 : '' Angélique'' by

Ariel Zeitoun Ariel Zeitoun (born 26 September 1949) is a French director, producer, and screenwriter. Zeitoun started as a producer in 1979 with '. Later, he wrote the script for and directed '' Souvenirs, souvenirs''. In 2013 Zeitoun directed the historic ...

as Marquis de Plessis-Bellière, a French aristocrat *2015 : '' Rabin, the Last Day'' by

Amos Gitai Amos Gitai () is an artist and an Israelis, Israeli filmmaker, born 11 October 1950 in Haifa, Israel. Gitai's work was presented in several major retrospectives in Pompidou Center in Paris, the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) and Lincoln Center for ...

as Rabin's driver *2018-2019 : ''Philharmonia'' (TV) as Rafaël Crozes *2018-2023 : ''

Balthazar Balthazar, Balthasar, Baltasar, or Baltazar may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * Balthazar (novel), ''Balthazar'' (novel), by Lawrence Durrell, 1958 * ''Balthasar'', an 1889 book by Anatole France * ''Professor Balthazar'', a Croatian a ...

'' (TV) as Raphaël Balthazar, a forensic pathologist *2019 : ''

Lucky Day Lucky Day may refer to: Music Albums * Lucky Day (album), ''Lucky Day'' (album), a 2002 album by Shaggy, or the title song * ''Lucky Day'', an album by Jonathan Edwards (musician), Jonathan Edwards Songs * Lucky Day (1926 song), "Lucky Day" (1926 ...

'' by

Roger Avary Roger Roberts Avary (born August 23, 1965) is a Canadian-American film director, screenwriter and producer. He is best known for his work with Quentin Tarantino on the script for ''Pulp Fiction'' (1994), for which they won Best Original Screenpla ...

as Jean-Jacques *2020 : ''

'' (TV) by

James McTeigue James McTeigue (born 29 December 1967) is an Australian film and television director. He has been an assistant director on many films, including ''Dark City (1998 film), Dark City'' (1998), the The Matrix (franchise)#Films, ''Matrix'' trilogy ( ...

and

Kate Woods Kate Woods is an Australian film and television director who has directed and produced mini series, television shows, pilots and feature films. Career In 1984, Woods became the first female to direct for the Australian Broadcasting Corporati ...

as Aviram Dahan, an Israeli

officer *2021: ''

Don't Look Up ''Don't Look Up'' is a 2021 American political satire black comedy film written, co-produced, and directed by Adam McKay from a story he co-wrote with David Sirota. It stars an ensemble cast featuring Leonardo DiCaprio, Jennifer Lawrence, R ...

'' by

Adam McKay Adam McKay (born April 17, 1968) is an American screenwriter, producer, and director. McKay began his career as a head writer for the NBC sketch comedy show ''Saturday Night Live'' (''SNL'') from 1995 to 2001. After leaving ''SNL'', McKay co-w ...

as Adul Grelio *2023: ''Vortex'' (TV) as Ludovic Béguin *2023: ''BDE'' by

Michaël Youn Michaël Benayoun (; born 1973), known professionally as Michaël Youn, is a French actor, singer, comedian and television personality. Life and career Youn was born Michaël Benayoun in Suresnes, France, to a family of Hungarian, Italian ...

as Dany Frydman *2023: ''Comme mon fils'' by Franck Brett as Victor *2024: '' The Price of Money: A Largo Winch Adventure'' by

Olivier Masset-Depasse Olivier Masset-Depasse is a Belgian film director and screenwriter. He made his feature-length debut in 2006 with ''Cages''. In 2010, he wrote and directed '' Illegal'', which premiered at the 2010 Cannes Film Festival and was nominated for eight M ...

as Largo Winch *2024: ''Notre histoire de France'' (TV documentary) as the narrator

Awards

Wins

* 2009: Étoiles d'Or Awards for Best Male Newcomer for his role in ''

.'' * 2009: Rémy Julienne Award of Valenciennes International Festival of Action and Adventure Films.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Sisley, Tomer 1974 births Israeli emigrants to France Living people French male film actors French male television actors French people of Yemeni descent Israeli people of Yemeni descent Israeli male film actors Israeli male television actors Jewish French male actors French people of Israeli descent French people of Belarusian-Jewish descent French people of Lithuanian-Jewish descent French people of Yemeni-Jewish descent Israeli people of Belarusian-Jewish descent Israeli people of Lithuanian-Jewish descent Israeli people of Yemeni-Jewish descent West German emigrants Immigrants to France Male actors from Berlin 20th-century French male actors 21st-century French male actors French humorists French film directors French male screenwriters French screenwriters 20th-century Israeli male actors 21st-century Israeli male actors Israeli humorists Israeli film directors Israeli male screenwriters Comedians from Berlin French male comedians Israeli male comedians Male actors from Paris Comedians from Paris