Lior Raz

Some Lesser Known Facts About Lior Raz

• Lior Raz grew up in Ma’ale Adumim, an Israeli settlement in the West Bank, located 7 kilometres from Jerusalem. During that time, it had about 40,000 residents.

• His parents are Mizrahi Jews who immigrated to Israel. His father is from Iraq, and his mother is from Algeria.

• Raz’s father served in Shayetet 13 (a naval commando unit) and Shin Bet (Israel’s security agency). After retirement, he started a plant nursery.

• His first language is Hebrew. He is also fluent in Arabic which he spoke at home with his family members and Palestinian workers at his father’s nursery, who were his childhood friends.

• When he was 18 years old, after completing his high school education, Lior Raz joined the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and became a commando in Sayeret Duvdevan, an honoured undercover counter-terrorism unit.

• He continued serving in the Duvdevan Unit reserves for 20 years.

  

• From age 16 to 19, Lior Raz was in a relationship with a girl named Iris Azulai.

• In October 1990, his girlfriend, Iris Azulai, was killed in Jerusalem when a Palestinian Arab stabbed her with a 15-inch knife.

• In 2011, the attacker was released as part of the Gilad Shalit prisoner exchange. In this exchange, 1,027 prisoners were freed for Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, who was detained by Hamas for five years.

• In 1993, after completing his military service, Lior Raz moved to the United States.

• He then worked as a bodyguard for the American actor Arnold Schwarzenegger. He was hired by a security contracting firm because of his military background.

• Lior Raz once described the bodyguard job as very glamorous in a media conversation. He called himself the watchdog of Schwarzenegger and his wife.

• When he was 24 years old, he returned to Israel from the United States and studied acting at Nissan Nativ Drama School in Tel Aviv.

• In the early years of his acting career, Lior Raz performed in many theatre plays such as Don Juan at Gesher Theater, Macbeth, and The Teenagers.

• He then began appearing in small roles on many Israeli television series.

• In 2004, Lior Raz played the role of a police investigator in the television serial Michaela and referee in the serial Ben Shabat in Adumot.

• In 2005, he appeared as Shimi in the film Gotta Be Happy.

• Lior Raz then went on to appear in many television shows such as Srugim (2008), Mesudarim (2009), and The Arbitrator Season 4 (2013).

• In 2011, he played the role of a police unit commander in the drama film Policeman, which was directed by Nadav Lapid.

• Lior Raz then went on to appear in many films such as The Gordin Cell (2012) and The Kindergarten Teacher (2014).

• In 2014, he co-created the political thriller television series Fauda with journalist Avi Issacharoff.

  

• Lior Raz played the role of Doron Kabilio, the commander of an undercover counter-terrorism unit, in Fauda.

• It won six Israeli Academy Awards, including Best Drama Series, in 2016.

• In December 2017, The New York Times named the television series Fauda as the best international show of the year.

• In 2018, Fauda won 11 Israeli TV Academy Awards including Best TV Drama, Best Screenplay, and awards for casting, cinematography, recording, and special effects.

  

• In 2018, Lior Raz appeared in the film Mary Magdalene in which he played the role of a community leader from Magdala. The film was written by Helen Edmundson.

• The same year, he appeared as Isser Harel in the film Operation Finale.

  

• In August 2021, Lior Raz acted in the Netflix series Hit & Run which was co-created by him along with Avi Issacharoff, Dawn Prestwich, and Nicole Yorkin.

• After that, he and Avi Issacharoff co-founded Fauda’s production company, Faraway Road Productions.

  

• In 2022, Candle Media acquired Faraway Road Productions. Raz and Avi Issacharoff continued working with it.

• In 2023, Lior Raz and Avi Issacharoff created Ghosts of Beirut, a four-part spy drama, which was streamed on Showtime on 21 May 2023.

• In the same year, he appeared alongside Rotem Sela and Yehuda Levi in a surrogacy drama series, A Body That Works, which aired on Keshet 12.

  

• A Body That Works became Israel’s highest-rated drama of 2023. Later, it was released internationally on Netflix.

• In 2024, Lior Raz appeared in the Israeli drama film Soda, which was directed by Erez Tadmor. He worked alongside Rotem Sela and Zohar Strauss.

• The same year, he appeared as Viggo in the film Gladiator II.

  

• He is often spotted enjoying alcoholic beverages on various occasions.

  

• Lior Raz is a fitness enthusiast and goes to the gym regularly. He often shares pictures of his gym on social media.

  

• He is an animal lover and has a pet dog. He often shares pictures of his pet on social media.