Udi Kagan

Udi Kagan was born in 1981 in Tel Aviv

Udi Kagan was born in 1981 and grew up in Ramat HaSharon, the younger son of Yossi and Hanita. His father owned an events hall on Dizengoff Street. Kagan has said that people he met there later inspired his character Mashiach.

At Alon High School he studied theater and met Dana Polig, who became his creative partner. He left high school early and later spent 2 months at the Rimon School of Music. He then worked nights as a DJ assistant until he enlisted.

He joined the army in 1999 and served as a dog handler in the Oketz Unit during Operation Defensive Shield. After his service he was diagnosed with combat stress and post-traumatic stress and went into long-term therapy. He has spoken about this openly in his stand-up shows.

In 2004 he recorded his first album, Tears and Candies, in Paris, and he returned to Israel in 2006. In 2007 he began film studies at Minshar School of Art. In 2013 he and Polig released Mashiach as a web series, which later became a television series aired from 2018.

From 2015 he appeared on Eretz Nehederet, playing figures such as David Bitan and Donald Trump. He won a 2020 Israeli Television Academy award for his role in Mashiach and hosted Carpool Karaoke on Kan 11 from 2021. He is married with 3 children and lives in Pardes Hanna.