Isareli actor Lior Ashkenazi was born to Sephardi Jewish immigrants from Turkey who moved to Israel in 1964. In 1991 he was accepted to the Beit Zvi School for the Performing Arts. After graduating in 1994, he worked for the Habima and Beersheba Theater. He starred in many plays at Beit Lessin Theater under the direction of Zipi Pines, one of his teachers at Beit Zvi. He starred as Zaza in Late Marriage (2001) which was screened in Cannes’ Un certain regard section, a role for which he won an Ophir as Best Actor. Lior Ashkenazi is considered one of the greatest Israeli film and theatre actors of his generation. Following the success Walk on Water (2004) by Eytan Fox, screened at the Berlinale, Lior Ashkenazi started drawing attention in the international film world. Notably, he starred in Samuel Maoz's film Foxtrot (2017) which won the Grand Prix – by Orange at Luxembourg City Film Festival 2018, as well as the Silver Lion at the Venice Film Festival and the Ophir for Best Film in Israel.