Zohar Strauss

Zohar Strauss was born in 1972 in Haifa

Strauss was born in Haifa on 4 March 1972 to a secular Jewish family. His mother is a mathematics teacher and his father holds a doctorate in physics. He grew up in Omer and Be'er Sheva and was active in the Scouts as a youth.

In the IDF he served as an instructor in the Medical Corps. He earned a law degree at the University of Leicester in England and then studied acting at the Yoram Loewenstein Performing Arts Studio in Tel Aviv. He later taught acting there for 15 years.

His first film role came in 2001 in Turkish March. He went on to appear in films such as Beaufort, Jellyfish, Lebanon and Eyes Wide Open. For Lebanon he won the Ophir Award for Best Supporting Actor in 2009, and Eyes Wide Open earned him the Best Actor award at the Jerusalem Film Festival.

On stage he performed with the Herzliya Ensemble Theater, Habima and the Be'er Sheva Theater, where he played Randle McMurphy in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. On television he appeared in Srugim, Zaguri Imperia and Shtisel, which premiered in 2013. He also played John the Apostle in the 2018 film Mary Magdalene.

He took part in the reality shows Dancing with the Stars in 2010 and Survivor VIP in 2020 and 2021. He also runs workshops for business employees using a method he developed.