Ran Danker ( he, רן דנקר; 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'' ( he, השיר שלנו, lit. ''Our Song'') was an Israeli daily comical musical telenovela starring Ninet Tayeb that took place for four seasons on the yes-5 Israeli Movie Channel (Arutz Ha'kolnoa Hayisraeli) and repeating o ...

'' (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 Intelligence agent Yaakov Lundin. Plot Season 1 Diana and Mickey Gordin immigrated ...

'' (2012–2015), '' Miguel'' (2018) and more. Danker received an

Ophir Award The Ophir Awards ( he, פרס אופיר), colloquially 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 Television. The award, named ...

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 Doubt is a mental state in which the mind remains suspended between two or more contradictory propositions, unable to be certain of any of them. Doubt on an emotional level is indecision between belief and disbelief. It may involve uncertainty ...

'' (2017).

Early life

Danker was born in

Norfolk, Virginia Norfolk ( ) is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. Incorporated in 1705, it had a population of 238,005 at the 2020 census, making it the third-most populous city in Virginia after neighboring Virginia Be ...

, United States, 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. He is the son of Israeli actor Eli Danker. He went to Israel with his mother when he was two years old after his parents' divorce. He grew up in the

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

neighborhood in

Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( he, תֵּל־אָבִיב-יָפוֹ, translit=Tēl-ʾĀvīv-Yāfō ; ar, تَلّ أَبِيب – يَافَا, translit=Tall ʾAbīb-Yāfā, links=no), often referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the G ...

. During that time he was a member of the Ha-Horesh tribe choir of the scouts youth movement. Towards his Junior High year, Ran and his mother moved to Poleg,

Netanya Netanya (also known as Natanya, he, נְתַנְיָה) is a city in the Northern Central District of Israel, and is the capital of the surrounding Sharon plain. It is north of Tel Aviv, and south of Haifa, between Poleg stream and Wingate I ...

. 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 ( he, בנק לאומי, lit. ''National Bank''; ar, بنك لئومي) 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 (Jüdische Kolonia ...

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

delivery boy Delivery is the process of transporting goods from a source location to a predefined destination. Cargo (physical goods) is primarily delivered via roads and railroads on land, shipping lanes on the sea, and airline networks in the air. Cer ...

for

Domino's Pizza Domino's Pizza, Inc., trading as Domino's, is an American multinational pizza restaurant chain founded in 1960 and led by CEO Russell Weiner. The corporation is Delaware domiciled and headquartered at the Domino's Farms Office Park in Ann Arbor ...

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

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 ...

Career

As well as acting and singing, Danker is a fashion model in Israel and has appeared 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 in the hit musical TV series ''

'' (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''. Se ...

'' in

and later

Haifa Haifa ( he, חֵיפָה ' ; ar, حَيْفَا ') is the 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 metropol ...

and the

Festigal Festigal ( he, פסטיגל) 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 perform ...

(an annual

Hanukkah or English translation: 'Establishing' or 'Dedication' (of the Temple in Jerusalem) , nickname = , observedby = Jews , begins = 25 Kislev , ends = 2 Tevet or 3 Tevet , celebrations = Lighting candles each night. ...

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 "Henny Penny", more commonly known in the United States as "Chicken Little" and sometimes as "Chicken Licken", is a European folk tale with a moral in the form of a cumulative tale about a chicken who believes that the world is coming to an end ...

'' for Israel's Hebrew-dubbed version. Readers of the popular "

Pnai Plus ''Pnai Plus'' ( he, פנאי פלוס, 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 celebri ...

" 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 ( he, זהר זלמן שטראוס; born 4 March 1972 in Haifa) is an Israeli theater, film, and television actor. Biography Strauss was born in Haifa, Israel, to a secular Jewish family of Ashkenazi Jewish descent. He wo ...

, 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 Israeli newspaper. It was founded in 1918, making it the longest running newspaper currently in print in Israel, and is now published in both Hebrew and English in the Berliner f ...

'' 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 From Middle English ''ligeaunce'' (see medieval Latin ''ligeantia'', "a liegance"). The ''al ...

'' (2015). In 2017 he received an

nomination for Best Actor for his role in ''

'' as a man that has to serve his community service by working with juvenile delinquents. In 2018, Danker began appearing in the

Hot Hot or the acronym HOT may refer to: Food and drink *Pungency, in food, a spicy or hot quality *Hot, a wine tasting descriptor Places * Hot district, a district of Chiang Mai province, Thailand **Hot subdistrict, a sub-district of Hot Distric ...

TV series, '' Miguel''. Danker plays 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 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 Jerusalem. Whi ...

, director of ''

Zero Motivation ''Zero Motivation'' (Hebrew title: אפס ביחסי אנוש, ''Zero on Interpersonal Relations'') is a 2014 Israeli black comedy film directed by Talya Lavie. The film premiered at the 2014 Tribeca Film Festival where it received two awards. It ...

''.

Stage

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

Nazi Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in ...

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 Nazis at important political trials between 1929 and 1932, defending the rights of workers during the Weimar Republic. During one trial i ...

in the

Habima Theatre The Habima Theatre ( he, תיאטרון הבימה ''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 ce ...

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 (german: link=no, Weimarer Republik ), officially named the German Reich, was the government of Germany from 1918 to 1933, during which it was a constitutional federal republic for the first time in history; hence it is al ...

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

Evita Evita may refer to: Arts * Evita (1996 film), ''Evita'' (1996 film), a 1996 American musical drama film based on the 1976 concept album of the same name * Evita (2008 film), ''Evita'' (2008 film), a documentary about Eva Péron * Evita (album), ''E ...

''.

Music

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

Hebrew Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...

: שווים, "equal"), with guitarist Ilai Botner. Danker released a new Hebrew-language album, "Something Different" in 2018. In March 2021, He released the hit song " Beit Meshugaim" (In Hebrew: " בית משוגעים"), 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 ( he, גלגלצ) is an Israeli radio station, operated by Israel Defense Forces Radio. This is the second of two Israel Defense Forces-operated stations, while the first one is Israel Defense Forces Radio/Galatz. The station ...

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: השמלה החדשה שלי meaning "My new dress") produced by DEGO.

Personal life

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

'' star,

Ninet Tayeb Nati Ninet Tayeb ( he, נינט טייב; born October 21, 1983), commonly known as Ninet, is an Israeli musician, singer-songwriter, composer, DJ, model, actress, and a reality television program judge in '' Rising Star: Israel''. She is conside ...

. 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 ( he, אניה בוקשטיין; russian: link=no, 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 ...

as well as the supermodel,

Bar Refaeli Bar Refaeli ( he, בר רפאלי; born ) is an Israeli model, television host, businesswoman and actress. She is among the most internationally successful models to come from Israel, appearing on the cover of the 2009 ''Sports Illustrated'' Sw ...

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

Ynet Ynet (stylized as ynet) is one of the major Israeli news and general-content websites, and is the online outlet for the '' Yedioth Ahronot'' newspaper. However, most of Ynet's content is original work, published exclusively on the website and wri ...

interview about his former partner, Danker said that they will soon be in touch and will collaborate. The pair performed together in September 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 has been described as a "heart-throb",Celebrity Grapevine

Jerusalem Post ''The Jerusalem Post'' is a broadsheet newspaper based in Jerusalem, founded in 1932 during the British Mandate of Palestine by Gershon Agron as ''The Palestine Post''. In 1950, it changed its name to ''The Jerusalem Post''. In 2004, the paper w ...

, Greer Fay Cashman, March 5, 2006 and as one of the most talked-about male stars in Israel.Ran and Yehuda: An unavoidable war, Raviv Golan

Ynetnews Ynet (stylized as ynet) is one of the major Israeli news and general-content websites, and is the online outlet for the '' Yedioth Ahronot'' newspaper. However, most of Ynet's content is original work, published exclusively on the website and wri ...

, July 2, 2006

Filmography

Discography

Albums

* '' Shavim'' (

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

: משהו אחר) (2018)

Soundtrack

* ''Our Song'' (

: השיר שלנו) - Double album

Singles

*"Shavim" (

: שווים) (2007) * "Bo'i Nazov" (

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

: אני אש Meaning I am on fire) (2007) *"Beit Meshugaim" (

: בית משוגעים) (2021) *"Hasimila Hadasha Shelly" (

: השמלה החדשה שלי) (2021)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Danker, Ran 1984 births Israeli male film actors Israeli male models 21st-century Israeli male singers Israeli pop singers Israeli male television actors Jewish male models Jewish singers Living people People from Netanya Musicians from Tel Aviv Israeli people of Lithuanian-Jewish descent Israeli people of Iraqi-Jewish descent Israeli people of Turkish-Jewish descent Bisexual male actors LGBT actors from Israel LGBT Jews LGBT models LGBT musicians from Israel LGBT singers from Israel 20th-century Israeli male actors 21st-century Israeli male actors American emigrants to Israel