Lior Raz is an actor and writer from Israel. He is famous for playing Doron Kabilio in the TV show “Fauda” and Segev Azulai in “Hit & Run.”
Lior was born on November 24, 1971, in Ma’ale Adumim, an Israeli town near Jerusalem. His parents moved to Israel from Iraq and Algeria. His father worked in the navy and a security agency before running a plant nursery. His mother is a teacher. Lior speaks Hebrew and learned Arabic from his family and the workers at his father’s nursery.
When Lior finished high school at 18, he joined the Israel Defense Forces and became a commando in a special counter-terrorism unit called Sayeret Duvdevan. He served in this unit for 20 years, including in the reserves.
Lior had a girlfriend named Iris Azulai until he was 19. Sadly, in 1990, she was killed in Jerusalem by a Palestinian Arab. The person who killed her was later released from prison in 2011 in a prisoner exchange.
After his military service, Lior moved to the United States in 1993. He worked as a bodyguard for Arnold Schwarzenegger and his wife.
When Lior was 24, he returned to Israel and studied acting in Tel Aviv. He acted in various plays and TV shows. Some of his early roles were in “Michaela,” “Adumot,” “Srugim,” “Mesudarim,” and “Noah’s Ark.” He also appeared in movies like “Policeman,” “Prime Minister’s Children,” “The Gordin Cell,” and “The World is Funny.”
In 2014, Lior created “Fauda” with journalist Avi Issacharoff. The show became very popular and won many awards, including Best Drama Series at the Israeli Academy Awards. In 2017, The New York Times named it the best international show of the year. Lior played the main role of Doron Kabilio.
In 2018, Lior appeared in the movie “Mary Magdalene” and “Operation Finale.” In 2021, Netflix released “Hit & Run,” a show Lior helped create and starred in. Lior and Avi Issacharoff also started a production company, Faraway Road Productions, which was bought by Candle Media in 2022. In 2023, they created another show called “Ghosts of Beirut,” which aired on Showtime.
Lior is married to actress Meital Berdah, and they have four children. They live in Ramat Hasharon, Israel.