Michael Mark Aloni (or Alony; Hebrew: מיכאל אלוני; born 31 January 1984) is an Israeli actor, director, writer and television presenter. Regarded as one of the best performers of his generation in Israel, he is recognized for his versatile work across independent films, television and the stage.
Quick Facts Born, Occupation(s) ...
Michael Aloni |
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| Born | (1984-01-31) 31 January 1984 (age 40)
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| Occupation(s) | Actor, director, writer, television presenter |
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| Years active | 2005–present |
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A graduate of Nissan Nativ Action Studio, he had a breakout role on the hit teen TV drama, HaShminiya (2005-2007). He also appeared in the films, Policeman (2011) and Out in the Dark (2012). He became known to international audiences when Netflix picked up international streaming rights for the critically acclaimed TV series, Shtisel (2013-2021). Aloni portrayed the protagonist, Akiva Shtisel, a Haredi man in Mea Shearim in Jerusalem. He also appeared in other prominent TV productions such as When Heroes Fly (2018), Our Boys (2019) and Scenes from a Marriage (2021). Most recently he has had a leading role in The Beauty Queen of Jerusalem (2021-2023) and a supporting role in the Holocaust family drama series, We Were The Lucky Ones (2024) on Hulu.
Aloni had a breakout role playing Adam Halevi for three seasons on the hit teen drama, HaShminiya (2005-2007).[3] He became a household name in Israel during his time on the show.[3] He has since described this as his favorite role: "There's something primal about your first role that stays with you."[3]
In 2012 he starred in the critically-acclaimed LGBT film, Out in the Dark (2012). He portrayed Roy, an Israeli Jewish lawyer in Tel Aviv that begins a relationship with a Palestinian man from the West Bank.[4] The American film critic, Rex Reed praised the film in The New York Observer: "it’s one of the most powerful films about the Arab-Israeli conflict that has ever been attempted on the screen."[5] Reed commended Aloni's "outstanding" performance.[5]
In 2013 he was cast as Akiva Shtisel, a young Haredi man in the yes family drama series, Shtisel (2013-2021).[6] Already a hit show in Israel, it also became popular with international audiences when Netflix began streaming the series in 2018.[7] He spent three months preparing for the role: “I spent Shabbos with a charedi family, and we needed to learn Yiddish and a different kind of Hebrew, loshen hakodesh, from the one we speak day-to-day. We learned prayers and the rules of Jewish law. We had to learn everything from scratch. I loved it,”.[1]
He also starred in the Keshet series, When Heroes Fly (2017) alongside Tomer Capone. In April 2018 it won the best series at Canneseries.[8]
In 2021, he appeared alongside Jessica Chastain and Oscar Isaac in the HBO miniseries, Scenes from a Marriage. It is an English-language remake of the 1973 Swedish miniseries of the same name by Ingmar Bergman.[9][10]
He was cast as Gabriel Ermosa in The Beauty Queen of Jerusalem (2021-2023).[11] The series is set during Ottoman rule and subsequently under the British Mandate for Palestine. Aloni plays the son of a prosperous merchant Sephardi family. He falls in love with an Ashkenazi woman, but is pressured by his family into marrying a Sephardi woman.[12]
In 2024 he appeared in the Hulu limited series, We Were the Lucky Ones, based on book of the same name by Georgia Hunter. It tells the true life story of the Kurc family in Poland who survived the Holocaust. Aloni plays Selim, a doctor and the husband of Mila (Hadas Yaron).[13] Aloni previously played Yaron's on-screen husband when the pair portrayed the roles of Akiva and Libbi Shtisel in Shtisel.[14]
