Itzik Cohen is an Israeli actor, filmmaker, and television producer. He is best known for portraying Captain Gabi Ayub in the political thriller television series Fauda.
Early life
Itzik Cohen was born in Tel Aviv, Israel, to a Jewish family. His parents are Naomi, a housewife, and Meir Cohen, an electrician. In 1976, at the age of 8, he moved with his family to Jaffa where he lived for the remainder of his childhood. After serving in the Israel Defense Forces, he received his BA with honors in 1993 from the Department of Theater at Tel Aviv University. In 1996, together with a few of his classmates, he founded the drag band :he:בנות פסיה|The Daughters of Pesia. The band helped bring drag into the Israeli mainstream, making appearances in the :he:אורי פסטר|Uri Pasteur-directed musical All is Legend, and the educational television program Return of the Sheriff.
Acting career
Theater
From 1993-1994, as a member of the Atim Ensemble, Cohen played the priest in Romeo and Juliet, adapted and directed by Rina Yerushalmi. He worked with Yerushalmi again in 1995, on her play, Va-Yomer,Va-Yelech . Cohen moved to the Cameri Theaterin 2001, where he played both the titular Rabbi Kamea and Grandmother Sa’ida in Rabbi Kamea, the Israeli adaptation of Tartuffe by Moliere. In 2004, he gave, according to Haaretz, "the performance of a lifetime" as Ezra Sapir in :he:רמי דנון|Rami Danon and :he:אמנון לוי|Amnon Levy's Father's Braid. Cohen switched to musicals in 2006, when he played Roger De Bris in The Producers. In 2008, he performed in two plays by celebrated Israeli director :he:משה קפטן|Moshe Captain: as Lazer Wolf in the musical Fiddler on the Roof, and as Sallah Shabati in the theatrical remake of Sallah Shabati. In 2010, he starred as Pantelon in the Israeli adaptation of Carlo Goldoni'sThe Servant of Two Masters, directed by Moni Moshonov. In 2012, he played Moshiko Babayof, the narrator in the musical Kazablan. Cohen continued working in musicals in 2017, and made a return to drag, when he starred as Edna Turnblad in the Israeli adaptation of Hairspray. That same year, he starred in Ayad Akhtar’s play The Who & The What at the Haifa Theatre, as Afzal, a father desperately struggling to ensure his daughter marries within the faith. For his performance, he was nominated for Actor in a Leading Role at the :he:פרס התיאטרון הישראלי|Israeli Theater Prize Awards.
Film & Television
In 2002, Cohen created, along with Jonathan Cognac, the Israeli television series Johnny for Channel 2. He appeared in the series as well, playing the titular Johnny's Iraqi mother. In 2004, he starred in the teen drama :he:(ראש גדול (סדרת טלוויזיה|Big Head as Elhanan, the school principal. After its cancellation in 2009, the show was brought back for a special sixth season in 2017, and Cohen returned to revive his role. In 2009, Cohen starred in the film A Matter of Size as Herzl, an overweight man who decides to join a sumo wrestling team. For his performance, he won the Visitor's Booth in Israel award for Best Actor, and was nominated for the Ophir Award for Actor in a Leading Role. The following year, he finished in third place on the fifth season of the Israeli version of Dancing with the Stars. Cohen had his international breakout role in 2015, on the political thriller television series Fauda. He plays Captain Gabi Ayub, the top interrogator in Israel's Shin Bet unit. The show has received international critical acclaim, with The New York Times voting it the best international show of 2017.
Personal Life
In 1998 Cohen got married with Michal Kirschenbaum, and they have a daughter. In 2005 he got divorced. In 2012 he and his ex-wife gave birth a boy. In interview in 2002 he said that he is Homosexual. In 2013 he had a Bariatric surgery and lost 35 kg of his weight.
