Sasson Gabai (or Gabay; he, ששון גבאי; born ) is an Israeli actor. He is the winner of 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 ...

Asia Pacific Screen Award The Asia Pacific Screen Awards (APSA) is an international cultural initiative overseen by the Asia Pacific Screen Academy and headquartered in Australia. In order to realise UNESCO's goals of promoting and preserving the different cultures t ...

(nominated),

European Film Awards The European Film Awards (or European Film Academy Awards) have been presented annually since 1988 by the European Film Academy to recognize excellence in European cinematic achievements. The awards are given in 19 categories, of which the most ...

and

Jerusalem Film Festival The Jerusalem Film Festival ( he, פסטיבל הקולנוע ירושלים, ar, مهرجان القدس السينمائي) is an international film festival held annually in Jerusalem, It was established in 1984 by the Director of the Jerusal ...

in 2007 as Best Actor in the highly acclaimed Israeli film ''

The Band's Visit ''The Band's Visit'' ( he, ביקור התזמורת, Bikur Ha-Tizmoret) is a 2007 comedy-drama film, directed and written by Eran Kolirin, and starring Saleh Bakri, Ronit Elkabetz, Sasson Gabai and Uri Gavriel. It is an international co-pro ...

''.

Biography

Gabai was born in 1947 in

Baghdad Baghdad (; ar, بَغْدَاد , ) is the capital of Iraq and the second-largest city in the Arab world after Cairo. It is located on the Tigris near the ruins of the ancient city of Babylon and the Sassanid Persian capital of Ctesiphon ...

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

, to a

Baghdadi Jewish The former communities of Jewish migrants and their descendants from Baghdad and elsewhere in the Middle East are traditionally called Baghdadi Jews or Iraqi Jews. They settled primarily in the ports and along the trade routes around the Indian ...

family. During his childhood he

immigrated Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not natives or where they do not possess citizenship in order to settle as permanent residents or naturalized citizens. Commuters, tourists, and ...

together with his family to

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

. After serving his mandatory 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 ...

, he studied

theater Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actor, actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The p ...

and

psychology Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Psychology includes the study of conscious and unconscious phenomena, including feelings and thoughts. It is an academic discipline of immense scope, crossing the boundaries betwe ...

at the

Tel Aviv University Tel Aviv University (TAU) ( he, אוּנִיבֶרְסִיטַת תֵּל אָבִיב, ''Universitat Tel Aviv'') is a public research university in Tel Aviv, Israel. With over 30,000 students, it is the largest university in the country. Locate ...

. After graduating, he began playing in the Khan Theater in Michael Alfreds group. Afterwards, he played in several stage productions at the Hacameri Theater, the Be'er Sheva Theater and the Beit Lessin Theater. He is one of the permanent staff members at the Beit Lessin Theater. Among the many plays he participated in were ''

Servant of Two Masters A domestic worker or domestic servant is a person who works within the scope of a residence. The term "domestic service" applies to the equivalent occupational category. In traditional English contexts, such a person was said to be "in service ...

'', ''

Catch-22 ''Catch-22'' is a satirical war novel by American author Joseph Heller. He began writing it in 1953; the novel was first published in 1961. Often cited as one of the most significant novels of the twentieth century, it uses a distinctive non-chr ...

'', ''

Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? ''Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?'' is a play by Edward Albee first staged in October 1962. It examines the complexities of the marriage of a middle-aged couple, Martha and George. Late one evening, after a university faculty party, they receive ...

'', and ''

Rain Man ''Rain Man'' is a 1988 American road movie, road Drama (film and television), drama film directed by Barry Levinson and written by Barry Morrow and Ronald Bass. It tells the story of abrasive, selfish young wikt:wheeler-dealer, wheeler-dealer C ...

''. Gabai also played in the 1989 children's musical ''

Peter Pan Peter Pan is a fictional character created by List of Scottish novelists, Scottish novelist and playwright J. M. Barrie. A free-spirited and mischievous young boy who can fly and Puer aeternus, never grows up, Peter Pan spends his never-ending ...

'' as

Captain Hook Captain James Hook is a fictional character and the main antagonist of J. M. Barrie's 1904 play ''Peter Pan; or, the Boy Who Wouldn't Grow Up'' and its various adaptations, in which he is Peter Pan's archenemy. The character is a pirate captain ...

. Through the years, Gabai played in various Israeli and international films: ''Sipurei Tel-Aviv'';''Time for Cherries'', for which he won an Ophir award; ''

Rambo III ''Rambo III'' is a 1988 American action film directed by Peter MacDonald and co-written by Sylvester Stallone, who also reprises his role as Vietnam War veteran John Rambo. A sequel to '' Rambo: First Blood Part II'' (1985), it is the third in ...

;'' the ''Escape from Saudi Arabia''; ''

Made in Israel ''Made in Israel'' is a 2001 Israeli drama film directed by Ari Folman. Cast * Menashe Noy - Eddie Zanzury * Jenya Dodina - Dodo * Jürgen Holtz - Egon Schultz * Sasson Gabai - Perach * Dror Keren - Tiktak * Igor Mirkurbanov Igor Vitalievic ...

''; ''

Aviva, My Love ''Aviva, My Love'' ( he, אביבה אהובתי) is a 2006 Israeli drama film directed by Shemi Zarhin. Cast * Asi Levi – Aviva Cohen * – Anita * Levana Finkelstein – Violette * – Moni Cohen * Sasson Gabai – Oded Zar Soundtrack ...

'' and many others. Gabai has also been on Israeli television in series ''The Haim Neighborhood'' (שכונת חיים), ''Siton'' (סיטון), ''Late Night Stories'' (סיפורים לשעת לילה מאוחרת), and in the drama series ''The Kastner Trial'' (משפט קסטנר) in which he played Rudolf Kastner. He was a host in the comedy series ''

Zehu Ze! ''Zehu Ze!'' ( he, זהו זה!, lit. ''This is it!'') is a long-running Israeli entertainment television program, originally produced by Israeli Educational Television (IETV), and broadcast on the Israeli Channel 1 (until 1994) and on Channel ...

'', and played a cameo role in the popular comedy series '' Krovim Krovim'', in addition to many other productions.

Career highlights

*In 2007 Gabai starred in the critically acclaimed film ''

'', a role for which he won an

and a European Film Award. *In 2008 he played the role of

Ahmed Hassan al-Bakr Ahmed Hassan al-Bakr ' (1 July 1914 – 4 October 1982) was the fourth president of Iraq, from 17 July 1968 to 16 July 1979. He was a leading member of the revolutionary Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party and later the Baghdad-based Ba'ath Party and i ...

in the American TV mini-series ''

House of Saddam ''House of Saddam'' is a 2008 British docudrama television miniseries that charted the rise and fall of Saddam Hussein. A co-production between BBC Television and HBO Films, the series was first broadcast on BBC Two (in the United Kingdom) in fo ...

''. *In 2009 Gabai began to play the lead role in the TV series ''Polishuk'', a role for which he won an Israeli Television Academy Award in the category of best actor in a comedy series. *In 2011 he played the lead role in a film ''

Restoration Restoration is the act of restoring something to its original state and may refer to: * Conservation and restoration of cultural heritage ** Audio restoration ** Film restoration ** Image restoration ** Textile restoration * Restoration ecology ...

'', a role for which he was nominated for an Ophir Award. He won the IFFI Best Actor Award (Male) at the

42nd International Film Festival of India The 42nd International Film Festival of India was held on 23 to 30 November 2011 in Goa. The International competition (Feature) was chaired by Adoor Gopalakrishnan, and Short film competition was chaired by Basu Bhattacharya. For the first time ...

. * Gabai also played one of the leading roles in the highly acclaimed Israeli TV series ''

Shtisel ''Shtisel'' () is an Israeli television drama series about a fictional Haredi ("ultra-Orthodox" Jewish) 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 ...

'', which to date, has run for three seasons (2013-2021). Gabai played the role of Nuchem Shtisel, the paternal uncle of the main protagonist, Akiva Shtisel. Nuchem is also the brother of Shulem Shtisel and father of Libbi Shtisel, Akiva's first cousin, and love interest. Nuchem is an Antwerp-based travel agent who shows up at Shulem's apartment with his daughter Libbi, at the beginning of Season 2. One of Nuchem's first lines in the show is when he explains why he is late, blaming the immigration/custom officials at Ben Gurion airport, and calling them Reshaim Arrurim (Yiddish vernacular for "accursed evil people"). Reshaim Arrurim is a line Nuchem reprises to great comedic effect, at the slightest perceived slight, throughout the season. * It was initially announced on 28 February 2018 that Gabai would reprise his role as Tewfiq in the Broadway adaptation of ''

'' in the summer of 2018. The lead producer of ''The Band's Visit'', Orin Wolf, confirmed the news in a press conference on 10 June, following the 72nd Annual Tony Awards (in which ''The Band's Visit'' won ten awards, including Best Musical). The news was later confirmed by Broadway.com. He has acted in at least five different languages: Hebrew, Yiddish, Arabic, English and French.

Filmography

Family

Gabai resides in Tel Aviv, is married and has five children.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gabai, Sasson 1947 births Living people Israeli male stage actors Israeli male film actors Israeli male television actors Israeli film directors Iraqi emigrants to Israel Israeli Sephardi Jews Israeli Mizrahi Jews Iraqi Jews Israeli people of Iraqi-Jewish descent European Film Award for Best Actor winners Tel Aviv University alumni IFFI Best Actor (Male) winners