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 stage. He has received numerous accolades, including one

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 ...

and two nominations. A graduate of the

University of Leicester The University of Leicester ( ) is a public university, public research university based in Leicester, England. The main campus is south of the city centre, adjacent to Victoria Park, Leicester, Victoria Park. The university's predecessor, Univ ...

and the

Yoram Loewenstein Performing Arts Studio Yoram Loewenstein Performing Arts Studio () is an acting school, and a theater located in Hatikva Quarter, a neighbourhood of Tel Aviv in Israel. The vocational school was founded in 1988. History Prior to the establishment of the school in 1988, ...

, he has appeared in popular television dramas such as ''

Srugim ''Srugim'' (; literally, "knitted" or "crocheted") is an Israeli television drama that originally aired on Yes TV between 2008 and 2012. It was directed by Eliezer "Laizy" Shapiro, who co-created it with Havvah Deevon. The series depicted the live ...

'' and ''

Shtisel ''Shtisel'' () is an Israeli television drama series about a fictional Ashkenazi orthodox family living in Geula, Jerusalem. Created and written by Ori Elon and Yehonatan Indursky, the series premiered on 29 June 2013 on yes Oh. It commenced ...

'' (2013 - 2021). He has also had roles in critically-acclaimed films such as '' Beaufort'' (2007), ''

Lebanon Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south ...

'' (2009), '' Eyes Wide Open'' (2009) and '' The Cakemaker'' (2017).

Early life

Strauss was born in

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 ...

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 ...

, to a

secular Jewish Jewish secularism (Hebrew: יהדות חילונית) refers to secularism in a Jewish context, denoting the definition of Jewish identity with little or no attention given to its religious aspects. The concept of Jewish secularism first arose ...

family of

Ashkenazi Jewish Ashkenazi Jews ( ; also known as Ashkenazic Jews or Ashkenazim) form a distinct subgroup of the Jewish diaspora, that Ethnogenesis, emerged in the Holy Roman Empire around the end of the first millennium Common era, CE. They traditionally spe ...

descent. His mother is a

mathematics Mathematics is a field of study that discovers and organizes methods, Mathematical theory, theories and theorems that are developed and Mathematical proof, proved for the needs of empirical sciences and mathematics itself. There are many ar ...

teacher and his father is a doctor of

physics Physics is the scientific study of matter, its Elementary particle, fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge whi ...

. During his 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 ...

, Strauss was an instructor in the

Medical Corps A medical corps is generally a military branch or staff corps, officer corps responsible for medical care for serving military personnel. Such officers are typically military physicians. List of medical corps The following organizations are exam ...

. He studied a Bachelor's Degree in Law at the

in England. He later studied at Yoram Loewenstein Performing Arts Studio 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 ...

Career

In 2009, Strauss starred as a closeted

Haredi Haredi Judaism (, ) is a branch of Orthodox Judaism that is characterized by its strict interpretation of religious sources and its accepted (Jewish law) and traditions, in opposition to more accommodating values and practices. Its members are ...

husband and father that engages in an affair with a younger Haredi man (

Ran Danker 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'' (2004–2007), ''The Gordin Cell'' (2012–2015), ''Miguel (TV series), Migue ...

) in '' Eyes Wide Open''. He won the Award for Best Actor in the 2009

Jerusalem Film Festival The Jerusalem Film Festival (, ) is an international film festival held annually in Jerusalem, It was established in 1984 by the Director of the Jerusalem Cinematheque and Israeli Film Archive, Lia van Leer, Lia Van Leer, and has since become th ...

for his role.Ajami wins top prize at Jerusalem Film Festival
''Screen Daily''. 18 July 2019 The jury commended the film for its “sensitive and original treatment of male desire in the ultra-Orthodox world.” In the same year he won an

for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in the film ''

''. He was nominated for the same prize in 2006 and 2012, in recognition of his roles in ''Things Behind the Sun'' and ''Magic Men''. He also won the

ASSITEJ ASSITEJ, the International Association of Theatre for Children and Young People, () was established in 1965 as an international alliance of professionals involved in theatre for children and young people. There are 83 national centres globally. The ...

-Israel Award for Best Actor for the 2009/10 theater season. He debuted on the stage of the

Herzliya Herzliya ( ; , / ) is an affluent List of Israeli cities, city in the Israeli coastal plain, central coast of Israel, at the northern part of the Tel Aviv District, known for its robust start-up and entrepreneurial culture. In it had a populatio ...

Ensemble Theater and also performed in

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 ...

. He won praise in 2010, when the

Be'er Sheva Beersheba ( / ; ), officially Be'er-Sheva, is the largest city in the Negev desert of southern Israel. Often referred to as the "Capital of the Negev", it is the centre of the fourth-most populous metropolitan area in Israel, the eighth-most po ...

Theater's staging of ''

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest may refer to: * ''One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest'' (novel), a 1962 novel by Ken Kesey * ''One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest'' (play), a 1963 stage adaptation of the novel starring Kirk Douglas * ''One Flew Over the ...

'', at which he portrayed

Randle McMurphy Randle Patrick "Mac" McMurphy (also known as R.P. McMurphy) is the protagonist of Ken Kesey's novel '' One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest'' (1962). He appears in the stage and film adaptations of the novel as well. Jack Nicholson portrayed Randle Pa ...

, won the Israel Theater Award. He also appeared in a variety of film and television productions, including '' Beaufort'', ''

Jellyfish Jellyfish, also known as sea jellies or simply jellies, are the #Life cycle, medusa-phase of certain gelatinous members of the subphylum Medusozoa, which is a major part of the phylum Cnidaria. Jellyfish are mainly free-swimming marine animal ...

'', '' Kirot'', ''

'', and '' Zaguri Imperia''. Strauss portrayed ultra-Orthodox husband, father, gentle-spirit, and conflicted soul Lippe Weiss in the award-winning Israeli drama ''

'', which is available in the United States on

Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...

. The series premiered in 2013, with the third season broadcast in 2021. In 2018, Strauss appeared as

John the Apostle John the Apostle (; ; ), also known as Saint John the Beloved and, in Eastern Orthodox Christianity, Saint John the Theologian, was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus according to the New Testament. Generally listed as the youngest apostle, he ...

alongside

Rooney Mara Rooney Mara Phoenix ( ; born Patricia Rooney Mara; April 17, 1985) is an American actress. Her accolades include nominations for two Academy Awards, two Golden Globe Awards and a British Academy Film Award. Born into the Rooney and Mara fam ...

and

Joaquin Phoenix Joaquin Rafael Phoenix ( ; ; born October 28, 1974) is an American actor. Widely described as one of the most preeminent actors of his generation and known for Joaquin Phoenix filmography, his roles as dark, unconventional and eccentric charact ...

in ''

Mary Magdalene Mary Magdalene (sometimes called Mary of Magdala, or simply the Magdalene or the Madeleine) was a woman who, according to the four canonical gospels, traveled with Jesus as one of his followers and was a witness to crucifixion of Jesus, his cr ...

''. In 2024, he appeared as Amir Levy, ex-husband of Amalia (

Ayelet Zurer Ayelet Zurer (; born ) is an Israeli TV and film actress. She began her career on the Israeli teen drama '' Inyan Shel Zman'' and has starred in numerous Israeli TV and film roles. She received awards for Best Actress at the Israeli Academy Awa ...

) in the acclaimed television drama, ''The Best Worst Thing'' on

Keshet 12 Keshet 12 () is an Israeli free-to-air television channel owned by Keshet Media Group. It launched on 1 November 2017 as one of two replacements for the outgoing Channel 2. History Israel's Channel 2 was operated by the Second Authority for ...

.Suspenseful cop show, a soothing soap, and 'Table for Eight'
''The Jerusalem Post''. 29 February 2024

Selected filmography

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Strauss, Zohar 1972 births Living people Israeli male stage actors Israeli male film actors Israeli male television actors Survivor (Israeli TV series) contestants Male actors from Haifa Ophir Award winners Jewish Israeli male actors Actors from Haifa Alumni of the University of Leicester Yoram Loewenstein Performing Arts Studio alumni