| Yehuda Levi | |
| Birth Date: | 29 June 1979 |
| Birth Place: | Petah Tikva, Israel |
| Occupation: | Actor, model, singer, TV host |
Yehuda Levi (Hebrew: יהודה לוי; born June 29, 1979) is an Israeli actor, model and TV presenter. 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 three Best Actor awards from the Israeli Academy of Television for his performances in Yossi & Jagger (2002) and Very Important Person (2014 - 2019).
He starred as Nadav Feldman in the Israeli crime series, The Arbitrator (2007 - 2014). He also starred in the Israeli television action drama series, Mossad 101 (2015 - 2017), the Haredi drama series, Fire Dance (2022) and A Body That Works (2023-present).
Levi was born in Petah Tikva, Israel.[1] His father Yerachmiel Levi was born in Bulgaria and his mother Chaya (née Lichtenstein) was born in Poland. At age four, their family moved to South Africa where his father worked at the time; a decade later, at age fourteen, they moved back to Israel. He graduated from the Thelma Yellin High School of the Arts in Givatayim, Israel.[2]
During his Israel Defense Forces service, he was a commander of the military band of the Education Corps.
He is an established actor, and came to the attention of the Israeli public through his soap opera roles. In 2002, he starred as a gay soldier in the Eytan Fox film, Yossi & Jagger.[3] [4] The film initially premiered on Israeli television and Levin won the Best Actor award from the Israeli Academy of Television.[5]
In May 2006, HaAlufa (The Champion), a soap opera centered on a soccer team, premiered starring Levi as the main character and captain of the team "Hakoakh Yerushalayim" (Jerusalem Power).
In 2014 he began playing a famous celebrity called Yehuda Levi in the Hot TV series, A Very Important Man.[6] He won two Best Actor awards from the Israeli Academy of Television for his performance in the role.[7]
He also played the lead role as a Mossad trainer in the Channel 2 series, Mossad 101 that began airing in 2015. In 2022, he starred as a Haredi rabbi in Rama Burshtein's television drama series, Fire Dance.[8] For the role, he was awarded the Best Actor award for an international series at Series Mania in France in 2022.[9]
A year later, he starred alongside Rotem Sela in the Israeli surrogacy drama series, A Body that Works.[10] The series was Israel's highest rated drama of 2023.[11]
He was the spokesmodel of Israeli fashion brands Fox and Renuar.
On 12 March 2023, Levi was announced as the new host of HaMerotz LaMillion, Israel's version of The Amazing Race, replacing longtime host Ron Shahar.[12]
Levi was previously in a relationship with the Israeli model Yael Bar Zohar and acted alongside her in the soap opera, Ramat Aviv Gimel.[13] In 2006, Levi got into a high-profile relationship with Israeli singer and actress Ninet Tayeb, the first winner of the show Kokhav Nolad. Haaretz described them as "Israel's favourite celebrity couple", with The Jerusalem Post declaring them "Israel's Brangelina".[14] In 2013, after 8 years together, the couple broke up, stating that the breakup was mutual.[15] He has been described as one of the two most talked-about male stars in Israel (along with Ran Danker), Tayeb's former partner.[16]
In 2017, he married Israeli model Shlomit Malka. They resided in Tel Aviv. On June 6, 2021, the couple announced that they separated.[17]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | Zolgot Hadma'ot Me'atzman (Tears Fall by Themselves) | Car-hit boy | ||
| 2002 | Yossi & Jagger | Lior Amichai (Jagger) | ||
| 2004 | Campfire | Yoel | ||
| 2005 | Munich | IDF soldier | Minor role | |
| 2006 | Schwartz Dynasty | Avishai | Co-star | |
| 2011 | For the Love of Money | Isaac | ||
| 2013 | Wonderland | Rabbi Shmaya Knafo |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | Ramat Aviv Gimmel (Season 2) | Gil | Episode 21 |
| 2001 | Lechayey Ha'ahava | Gidi Meiri | |
| 2003–2005 | Ahava Me'ever Lapina | Lior Dvir | |
| 2006–2009 | The Champion | Saar Fedida | Lead role |
| 2007–2013 | The Arbitrator | Nadav Feldman | |
| 2010 | Hasamba Third Generation | Freddie Zorkin | |
| 2011 | Eretz Nehederet (Season 8) | Yaniv Biton | Episode 14 |
| 2012 | Mom and Dads | Sami Israel | Lead role |
| 2014 | Very Important Person | Yehuda Levi | Lead role |
| 2015 | Dig | Ali Lavey / Ari | Undercover; Shin Bet agent |
| Mossad 101 | Yonna "Kinder" Harari | Lead role | |
| 2017 | Shababnikim | Yehuda Levi | S1, episode 8 |
| 2022 | Fire Dance | Yonna "Kinder" Harari | Lead role |
| 2023 | Trust No One | Head of the Israeli Shin Bet | |
| 2023 | A Body That Works | Ido Avrahami | Series regular |
| East Side | Momi | Series regular | |
| width=5% | Year | width=25% | Award | width=30% | Category | width=25% | Nominated work | width=10% | Result | width=5% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | Best Actor | Yossi & Jagger | [18] | ||||||||
| Best Acting in a Drama, Miniseries or Television Movie | |||||||||||
| 2004 | Best Supporting Actor | Schwartz Dynasty | |||||||||
| 2013 | Best Actor in a Drama Series | Mom and Dads | |||||||||
| 2014 | Very Important Person | ||||||||||