Gabai was born in Baghdad in 1947 to an Iraqi Jewish family. During his childhood he immigrated together with his family to Israel. After serving his mandatory military service in the Israeli Defense Forces, he studied theater and psychology at the Tel Aviv University. 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, Catch-22, Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, and Rain Man. Gabai also played in the 1989 children's musical Peter Pan as Captain Hook. 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; the Escape from Saudi Arabia; Made in Israel; Aviva, My Love and many others. Gabai has also been on Israeli televisionin seriesThe Haim Neighborhood, Siton, Late Night Stories, and in the drama series The Kastner Trial in which he played Rudolf Kastner. He was a host in the comedy seriesZehu Ze!, 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 The Band's Visit, a role for which he won an Ophir Award and a European Film Award.
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.
Gabai also played one of the leading roles in the highly acclaimed Israeli TV series Shtisel, which to date, has run for two seasons. 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. Reshaim Arrurim is a line Nuchem reprises to great comedic effect, at the slightest perceived slight, throughout the season.
It was initially announced on February 28, 2018 that Gabai would reprise his role as Tewfiq in the Broadway adaptation of The Band's Visitin the summer of 2018. The lead producer of The Band's Visit, Orin Wolf, confirmed the news in a press conference on June 10, following the 72nd Annual Tony Awards. 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.
