| Norman Issa | |
| Birth Date: | 1967 6, df=yes |
| Birth Place: | Haifa, Israel |
| Occupation: | Actor |
| Yearsactive: | 1998–present |
| Spouse: | Gidona Raz |
| Children: | 3, including Lear Issa, Shon Issa |
Norman Issa (ar|نورمان عيسى, he|נורמן עיסא; born 17 June 1967) is an Arab-Israeli actor, director in cinema, theatre and television.
Norman Issa was born and raised in Haifa, Israel, to a Maronite Christian-Arab family. He studied acting at Beit Zvi. He is married to Jewish-Israeli playwright Gidona Raz, with whom he has three sons. Lear and Sean Issa are actors. The couple jointly founded the multicultural Elmina Theater in Jaffa, Israel.[1] They reside in Jaffa.
Issa has acted in many plays by William Shakespeare at the Haifa Theatre and Cameri Theatre. He worked at The Arab-Hebrew Theater together with fellow Arab-Israeli actor Yousef "Joe" Sweid. He was the main protagonist of the Israeli television sitcom Arab Labor, created by Arab-Israeli journalist Sayed Kashua.[2]
In 2015, Issa refused to perform in a settlement in the Jordan Valley. In response, Israeli Minister of Culture Miri Regev threatened to shut down Israeli government funding to the theater that Issa founded.[3] [4]
At the 2016 Haifa International Film Festival, Norman Issa and Moshe Ivgy were awarded the prize for Best Actor in a Feature Film, for The 90 Minute War.[5]