Aaron Cohen (born 28 February 1976) is an

Israeli-American , native_name_lang = , image = , caption = , population = 110,000–150,000 , popplace = New York metropolitan area, Los Angeles metropolitan area, Miami metropolitan area, and other large metropolitan are ...

writer, director, actor, author and former

Duvdevan Unit 217, frequently called Duvdevan ( he, דובדבן, lit=cherry), is a ''mistaʽaravim'' unit in the Commando Brigade of the Israel Defense Forces. It is notable for its undercover operations in urban areas, during which its operators of ...

Special Forces Special forces and special operations forces (SOF) are military units trained to conduct special operations. NATO has defined special operations as "military activities conducted by specially designated, organized, selected, trained and equip ...

soldier specializing in

counter-terrorism Counterterrorism (also spelled counter-terrorism), also known as anti-terrorism, incorporates the practices, military tactics, techniques, and strategies that governments, law enforcement, business, and intelligence agencies use to combat or el ...

. He wrote the memoir ''

Brotherhood of Warriors Brotherhood or The Brotherhood may refer to: Family, relationships, and organizations * Fraternity (philosophy) or brotherhood, an ethical relationship between people, which is based on love and solidarity * Fraternity or brotherhood, a male ...

''. In 2022 Cohen wrote, directed, and co-starred in the short action war film, ''Overwatch'', a war drama about soldiers deployed overseas struggling to maintain their relationships back home. The film was officially selected for the 2022 NoHo CineFest Film Festival.

Early life and education

Cohen was born to a

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

family in

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

, Quebec.''Brotherhood of Warriors''
By Aaron Cohen and Douglas Century Harpercollins.comy His parents divorced when he was young and the family moved to Miami and settled in Los Angeles. He then spent the next several years shuttling between California, Canada, and Florida. For secondary school he attended the

Robert Land Academy Robert Land Academy (RLA) is Canada's only non-university level private military academy. Located in the township of West Lincoln on the north shores of the Welland River five kilometres west of the hamlet of Wellandport, the Academy began to ac ...

, a military academy in Canada, and graduated

Beverly Hills High School Beverly Hills High School (usually abbreviated as Beverly or as BHHS) is the only major public high school in Beverly Hills, California. The other public high school in Beverly Hills, Moreno High School, is a small alternative school located on B ...

in 1995. He is the stepson of the American filmmaker

Abby Mann Abby Mann (December 1, 1927 – March 25, 2008) was an American film writer and producer. Life and career The son of Russian-Jewish immigrants, Mann was born as Abraham Goodman in Philadelphia. He grew up in East Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. D ...

Military service

After high school, Cohen moved to Israel and volunteered and was selected to serve in an elite

Israel Defense Forces The Israel Defense Forces (IDF; he, צְבָא הַהֲגָנָה לְיִשְׂרָאֵל , ), alternatively referred to by the Hebrew-language acronym (), is the national military of the Israel, State of Israel. It consists of three servic ...

special operations unit.

Post-military

After his service, Cohen returned to Los Angeles and founded IMS Security Consultants, Inc., a Hollywood VIP protection service that has done security work for Hollywood actors, VIPs, rock stars and dignitaries, as well as providing tactical counter-terrorist and "active shooter" training to vetted members of local, State and Federal

law enforcement Law enforcement is the activity of some members of government who act in an organized manner to enforce the law by discovering, deterring, rehabilitating, or punishing people who violate the rules and norms governing that society. The term en ...

as well as police

SWAT In the United States, a SWAT team (special weapons and tactics, originally special weapons assault team) is a police tactical unit that uses specialized or military equipment and tactics. Although they were first created in the 1960s to ...

teams and the U.S. military

Film and television

Cohen got his Hollywood start tech advising for numerous films including Steven Soderbergh's '' Haywire'' and providing tactical training for actors including ''

Keanu Reeves Keanu Charles Reeves ( ; born September 2, 1964) is a Canadian actor. Born in Beirut and raised in Toronto, Reeves began acting in theatre productions and in television films before making his feature film debut in '' Youngblood'' (1986). ...

'' for the ''

John Wick ''John Wick'' is an American action thriller media franchise created by Derek Kolstad and centering around John Wick, a former hitman who is forced back into the criminal underworld he had abandoned. The franchise began with the release of ''J ...

'' franchise, and quickly transitioned into acting, supporting in various film and TV projects including ''

211 Year 211 ( CCXI) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Julian calendar. At the time, in the Roman Empire it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Terentius and Bassus (or, less frequently, year 964 ''Ab urbe condita''). The denomin ...

with ''

Nicolas Cage Nicolas Kim Coppola (born January 7, 1964), known professionally as Nicolas Cage, is an American actor and film producer. Born into the Coppola family, he is the recipient of various accolades, including an Academy Award, a Screen Actors Gu ...

'', Rambo 5: Last Blood'' with

Sylvester Stallone Sylvester Enzio Stallone (; born Michael Sylvester Gardenzio Stallone, ) is an American actor and filmmaker. After his beginnings as a struggling actor for a number of years upon arriving to New York City in 1969 and later Hollywood in 1974, h ...

and a recurring role on the Netflix series Luis Miguel. Cohen just wrapped filming a strong supporting role in the upcoming crime thriller The Enforcer starring

Antonio Banderas José Antonio Domínguez Bandera (born 10 August 1960), known professionally as Antonio Banderas, is a Spanish actor and singer. Known for his work in films of several genres, he has received List of awards and nominations received by Antonio Ba ...

expected out summer of 2022

Publications

References

External links

Cherries Counter-Terror School
*
KFI Guest Host Aaron Cohen
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cohen, Aaron 1976 births Living people American emigrants to Israel Businesspeople from Los Angeles Businesspeople from Montreal Canadian emigrants to the United States Israeli Jews Israeli soldiers Israeli writers Jewish American writers Jewish Canadian writers Writers from Los Angeles Writers from Montreal 21st-century American Jews