Uri Gavriel

Uri Gavriel
File:Ori Gavriel.jpg Uri Gavriel
Born	(1955-04-03) 3 April 1955 Bnei Brak, Israel
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1982–present

Uri Gavriel (Hebrew: אורי גבריאל‎; born April 3, 1955) is an Israeli theater, film and TV actor. Winner of the Ophir Award and Karlovy Vary International Film Festival in 2005 as Best Actor in film "What a Wonderful Place".

Early life

Uri Gavriel was born in 1955 in the Magdiel transit camp in Israel, to Iraqi Jewish immigrants Bertha and Gabriel Gavriel. When he was five, the family moved to Jaffa. When Gavriel was 12 years old the family moved to the neighborhood of Tel Giborim and from it to the secular Pardes Katz within the ultra-Orthodox city of Bnei Brak.

After serving his mandatory military service, Gavriel continued to work as an actor. Between the years 1977 - 1979 he studied acting and theater in Nissan Nativ's acting studio.

Career

Israeli television

In 1974 he played a cameo role in one of the episodes of the children's show Ha'Yladim Mi'Shchunat Chaim, in which he played a thief. In 1984 he played in a guest role in the TV series Close Relatives in which he portrayed a cop.

In 1989 he played a role in children's television series Htzatzkanim. In 1999 he played Rabbi Baruch Levy in two episodes of the Israeli TV series Florentine and the father of David in the series "Good Guys".

In 2005 Gavriel took part in the TV series "Jaffa Pictures" in which he played alongside Orna Banai and in the Israeli telenovela Telenovela Ltd.. In 2006 Gavriel participated in the TV series Parashat Ha-Shavua.

Israeli cinema

In 1982 Gavriel starred in the film Mitahat La'af in which he played the hardcore Mizrahi criminal Sami Ben Tovim, alongside Moshe Ivgy. For his role in the film Gavriel won the Player of the Year award in Haifa's Film Festival. In the same year Gavriel played in the film Dead End Street' in which he played alongside Hanna Maron and Tiki Dayan.

In 1985 Gavriel took part in Nissim Dayan's film Gesher Tzar Me'od in which he played alongside Haim Hefer. In 1990 Gavriel played alongside Hana Azoulay Hasfari in Ha-Mahtzeva. In 1994 he participated in the Israeli film Max V'Morris. In 1995 he participated in the Israeli film Lovesick on Nana Street. In 1996 he played in the film Tze'irim Lanetzah alongside Sa'ar Badishi and in the TV movie The Marginal Man alongside Arie Elias.

In 2000 he played in the Israeli short film Cock Fight which participated in film festivals in Australia and the United States. In 2001 he played in the film Circle of Dreams alongside Ayelet Zurer which won the Ophir Awards. In 2004 he participated in Avanim alongside Sarah Adler. In the same year he played in the film Black Jack and in the The Syrian Bride. In 2005 he played in David Deri's TV movie Until Tomorrow Comes (חתה יסבח סבח). In addition he participated in Haim Buzaglo's TV series Katav Plili alongside Lior Miller. In the same year he took part in Eyal Halfon's film What a Wonderful Place in which he played alongside Evelyn Kaplun and Joseph Gerber.

International productions

In 1983 Gavriel participated in the French-Israeli production Hanna K.. The film has been nominated for a César award.

In 1986 Gavriel moved to the United States and participated in several American-Israeli productions: Sidney J. Fury's Iron Eagle and Menahem Golan's The Delta Force in which Gavriel played alongside Chuck Norris, and in the TV movie Steal the Sky in which he played alongside Sasson Gabai Etty Ankri, Gabi Amrani, and Yaakov Banai.

In 1988 Gavriel took part in Iron Eagle II. In 1991 Gavriel played in the American films The Finest Hour and Cover Up. In 1992 he played in the American film "Blink of an Eye", and in the American film The Human Shield alongside Albert Illouz. In 1993 he played in the American film American Cyborg: Steel Warrior and in the American film Prison Heat and in the American film Night Terrors alongside Yaakov Banai. In 1997 he played in the American film Delta Force One: The Lost Patrol alongside Ze'ev Revach.In 1998 he played in the American TV movie Escape: Human Cargo produced by the U.S. television network "Showtime".

In 2007 he played in the American film The Kingdom. In 2008 he played in the American TV mini-series House of Saddam. In 2012 he played in the American film The Dark Knight Rises, as the blind prison doctor.

Filmography

List of film and television credits

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1983	Hanna K.	Airport barman
1986	The Delta Force	Jamil
1991	The Human Shield	Tanzim
1991	The Finest Hour	Enemy Commander
1992	Sipurei Tel-Aviv	Roshko
1993	Prison Heat	Saladin
1993	Holeh Ahava beShikun Gimmel	Eliahu
2001	Kikar HaHalomot	Aharon Gvardin
2004	Avanim	Meir
2004	The Syrian Bride	Simon
2005	What a Wonderful Place	Franco	Original title: Eize Makom Nifla
2007	The Band's Visit	Avrum	Original title: Bikur Ha-Tizmoret
2007	The Kingdom	Izz Al Din
2007–2013	The Arbitrator	Yigal HaNatzi
2008	House of Saddam	Ali Hassan Al Majid	HBO mini-series
2009	Noah's Ark	Eliahu	Teivat Noach
2010	71 Square Meters	Siman Tov
2010	Asfur	Reuven Amoyal
2012	The Dark Knight Rises	Blind Prisoner
2012	Byzantium	Savella
2013	Ana Arabia	Hassan
2015	Fauda	Gideon Avital
2016	One Week and a Day	Refael

External links

• Uri Gavriel at the Internet Movie Database
• Uri Gavriel at Rotten Tomatoes
• Uri Gavriel at The New York Times