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Assaf Cohen
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 | This article includes a list of references, related reading, or external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks inline citations. (March 2013) |
Assaf Cohen (born October 31, 1972) is an American actor. Born in Mountain View, California and raised in Palo Alto, California, Cohen is of Yemenite, Russian, and Israeli descent. He graduated from the University of California, Berkeley with a BA degree in Integrative Biology. Initially planning to attend medical school, Cohen decided to pursue a career in acting instead.
Key Information
Cohen's early career included work at various regional theaters in California, such as The Magic, Marin Shakespeare Company, Marin Theatre Company, TheatreWorks, San Francisco Shakespeare Festival, and PCPA Theaterfest. He then moved to the East Coast to earn an MFA in acting from the Professional Actors Training Program at Rutgers University's Mason Gross School of the Arts. Later, Cohen relocated to Los Angeles, where he performed at South Coast Repertory and began a career in film and television.
Early life
[edit]Cohen was born in Mountain View, California and raised in Palo Alto, California, where his family settled after living for a number of years in Israel.[citation needed] He is of Yemenite, Russian and Israeli descent.[citation needed] Cohen graduated from the University of California, Berkeley with a BA degree in Integrative Biology.[citation needed] Forgoing earlier plans of attending medical school, he instead pursued professional acting.[citation needed]
Career
[edit]Cohen worked for a few years at regional theaters such as The Magic, Marin Shakespeare Company, Marin Theatre Company, TheatreWorks, San Francisco Shakespeare Festival, and PCPA Theaterfest. He then next moved east and earned an MFA degree in acting from the Professional Actors Training Program at Rutgers University's Mason Gross School of the Arts, where he studied under New York Acting teachers William Esper, Maggie Flanigan and Deborah Hedwall. He later moved to Los Angeles, where he performed at theaters including South Coast Repertory and began his career in film and television.
Filmography
[edit]Film
[edit]| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | American Gulag | Short film | |
| 2004 | A Moment of Grace | Arab radio announcer | Short film |
| 2005 | Flightplan | Ahmed | |
| West Bank Story | Menorah Mickey | Academy Award winner, Best Live Action Short Film | |
| 2007 | Equal Opportunity | Al'Ahhhhkkkkhh bin Laden | |
| 2009 | Fast & Furious | Border Agent #1 | |
| 2011 | Convincing Clooney | Jason | |
| 2013 | Peace After Marriage | Boris | |
| 2014 | At the Devil's Door | Dr. Aranda | |
| 2014 | American Sniper | Terp #2 | |
| 2023 | Elemental | Additional voices |
Television
[edit]| Year | Title | Role | Episode No. & Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | The Agency | Young Man in taxi | 2.02 - "Air Lex" |
| 2003 | JAG | Musa Sabet | 9.05 - "Touchdown" |
| Half & Half | Matt | 2.10 - "The Big Bitter Shower Episode" | |
| 2004 | 2.15 - "The Big I Haven't the Vegas Idea Episode" | ||
| 2005 | Over There | Black Hood Interrogator (uncredited) | 1.02 - "Roadblock Duty" |
| 24 | Yassir | 4.21 - "Day 4: 3:00 a.m. – 4:00 a.m." | |
| Monk | Ricardo | 4.05 - "Mr. Monk Gets Drunk" | |
| 2006 | Sleeper Cell | Lt. Hayat | 2.02 - "Salesman" |
| Numb3rs | Agent Kareem Allawi | 2.18 - "All's Fair" | |
| 2007 | Entourage | Yair Marx | 3.19 - "The Prince's Bride" |
| 4.12 - "The Cannes Kids" | |||
| NCIS | 'Goliath' Eli Lissack | 4.14 - "Blowback" | |
| 2008 | Burn Notice | Waseem Ali Khan | 2.03 - "Trust Me" |
| Reno 911! | Iraqi Lieutenant | 5.10 - "Baghdad 911" | |
| Ghost Whisperer | Andy Yates | 3.14 - "The Grave Sitter" | |
| Knight Rider (2008 film) | Amir | TV movie | |
| The Ex List | Shaman | 1.06 - "Daphne's Idealized Wedding" | |
| 2009 | Heroes | Hesam | Five episodes, Seasons 3-4 |
| NCIS: Los Angeles | Tariq Barad Al-jabiri | ||
| Operating Instructions | Eli Bamberger | Pilot | |
| 2010 | CSI: Miami | Ahmed Salib | Dishonor |
| 24 | Navid | ||
| Weeds | Hooman Jaka | Three episodes, Season 6 | |
| 2011 | Funny or Die Presents... | Radio Man | 2.07 - Segment: "Terrorist on Flight 77" |
| Criminal Minds: Suspect Behavior | Martin Malek | 1.13 - "Death by a Thousand Cuts" | |
| 2012 | Last Resort | Linus Terman | 1.2 - "Blue on Blue" |
| 2013 | Supernatural | Ajay | 8.19 - "Taxi Driver" |
| 2013 | Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. | Qasim's Translator | 1.3 "The Asset" |
| 2014 | Bones | Mauricio | 9.15--'Heiress in the Hill' |
| 2014 | Glee | Kurt's Doctor | 5.15 - "Bash" |
| 2015 | Castle | Dr. Rusham Haroun | 7.16 The Wrong Stuff |
| 2017 | Dark | Noah | English dub |
| 2019 | Money Heist | Andres de Fonollosa (Berlin) | English dub |
| 2020 | 9-1-1 | Ellis | 3.14 - "The Taking of Dispatch 9-1-1" |
| 2021 | Magnum P.I. | Professor Roland Bar | 3.07 - "Killer on the Midnight Watch" |
| 2023 | The Rookie | Deon Laetner | 5.14 - "Death Sentence" |
External links
[edit]
Assaf Cohen
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Background
Early life
Assaf Cohen was born on October 31, 1972, in Mountain View, California.[7][8] He was raised in nearby Palo Alto, California, in a family of Yemenite Jewish, Russian Jewish, and Israeli descent.[7][8][5] Cohen's family had previously resided in Israel, and he himself spent several years living in the Middle East during his childhood, which influenced his multilingual abilities in Hebrew, Arabic, and Spanish.[1][9] An advanced practitioner of Taekwondo, Cohen maintains an active physical regimen.[1]Education
Assaf Cohen earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Integrative Biology from the University of California, Berkeley, where he initially intended to prepare for a career in medicine.[8] His time at Berkeley proved pivotal, as he began exploring acting during his undergraduate years, ultimately forgoing plans to attend medical school in favor of a path in the performing arts.[8] Following his undergraduate studies, Cohen pursued formal training in acting and obtained a Master of Fine Arts in Acting from Rutgers University's Mason Gross School of the Arts.[3] This graduate program, known for its rigorous professional actors training, further solidified his commitment to the field and marked a significant shift from his scientific background.[8] The experiences at both institutions were instrumental in shaping his career trajectory, providing the foundation for his transition into professional acting.[3]Career
Theater beginnings
Assaf Cohen launched his professional acting career in California's Bay Area regional theaters shortly after completing his education. His early performances included the role of Demetrius in William Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream at the Marin Shakespeare Company, marking one of his initial forays into classical theater.[10] He also appeared as Sandy in George S. Kaufman's The Man Who Came to Dinner at TheatreWorks in Palo Alto, a production that highlighted his versatility in comedic ensemble roles.[10] Expanding his repertoire in the San Francisco theater scene, Cohen took on the part of the Detective in Richard Danielpour's A Question of Mercy at the Magic Theatre, a venue known for contemporary works.[10] He further honed his skills in Shakespearean tragedy with the San Francisco Shakespeare Festival, portraying Macduff in Macbeth and contributing to ensemble pieces like Tell the Tales of Shakespeare as Caliban and Skip.[10] These Bay Area engagements provided Cohen with essential experience in both classical and modern stagecraft during his formative years as a performer.[6] As Cohen transitioned southward, he relocated to the Los Angeles area and became involved with the South Coast Repertory in Costa Mesa, a prominent regional theater. There, he performed roles such as Shauva in Bertolt Brecht's The Caucasian Chalk Circle and Haji in Making It by Henry Ong, along with appearances in the theater's Playwrights Festival, including Gar in Orange: An Illustrated Play and Karim in The Beauty of the Father.[10] These productions at South Coast Repertory represented a key step in his professional development, bridging his Bay Area roots with opportunities closer to Hollywood.[9]Film and television
Assaf Cohen made his film debut in 2005 with a supporting role as Ahmed, a flight attendant, in the thriller Flightplan, directed by Robert Schwentke and starring Jodie Foster as a mother searching for her missing daughter on a transatlantic flight. That same year, Cohen appeared as Menorah Mickey in the short musical comedy West Bank Story, a satirical take on West Side Story set amid the Israeli-Palestinian conflict at a falafel stand and a nearby hummus shop, which won the Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film in 2006.[11] The film's Oscar victory, along with its screening at major festivals like Sundance, significantly raised Cohen's profile in the industry, leading to increased opportunities in both film and television.[12] Throughout the late 2000s, Cohen built his television career through guest and recurring roles on prominent series, often portraying characters with ties to international intrigue or conflict. He first appeared on 24 in 2005 as Yassir, a terrorist operative in season 4, and returned in 2010 as Navid, a contact for a suspect in season 8. In 2007, he guest-starred on NCIS as Musa Sabet, an arms dealer in the episode "Touchdown." Cohen also had a recurring role in 2009 on Heroes as Hesam, appearing in five episodes across the third and fourth seasons. He also had a recurring role as Hooman Jaka in three episodes of Showtime's Weeds (season 6, 2010).[1] Cohen's film work continued to evolve in the 2010s, with a notable role in Clint Eastwood's 2014 biographical war drama American Sniper, where he played Terp #2, an Iraqi interpreter assisting U.S. Navy SEAL Chris Kyle (Bradley Cooper) during operations in Iraq.[13] The film, nominated for six Oscars including Best Picture, highlighted Cohen's ability to portray nuanced figures in high-stakes military contexts. In recent years, Cohen has taken on roles in ensemble legal and action series, including Isaac Adani, a tech executive, in three episodes of Suits LA (2025), a spin-off of the original Suits set in Los Angeles.[14] He also appeared in the 2024 Nickelodeon animated series Rock, Paper, Scissors as Pragmatis in its season 2 premiere, sharing screen time with co-star Omid Abtahi.[15] Cohen's on-screen roles frequently feature Middle Eastern or culturally complex characters, such as terrorists, interpreters, and operatives, reflecting his own heritage of Yemenite Jewish, Russian, and Israeli descent, as well as his time living in the Middle East.[6] As an advocate for Middle Eastern and North African (MENA) representation in SAG-AFTRA, he has pushed for better recognition of diverse performers in Hollywood casting.[5]Voice acting and narration
Assaf Cohen has established a notable presence in voice acting through English dubs for international television series, bringing depth to complex characters in high-profile Netflix productions.[16] He provided the English voice for Andres de Fonollosa, known as "Berlin," in the Spanish series Money Heist (La Casa de Papel), contributing to the character's charismatic yet ruthless portrayal across multiple seasons from 2017 to 2021.[17] Similarly, Cohen voiced Noah in the German sci-fi thriller Dark (2017–2020), delivering the enigmatic and fanatical tones essential to the role's narrative impact.[16] In the Israeli series Fauda (2015–present), he dubbed Eli, a key operative, enhancing the show's tense undercover operations with authentic intensity.[18] Cohen's voice work extends to video games, with a role in Destiny: Rising (2025), where he voices Kabr, a legendary figure in the Destiny universe developed by NetEase and Bungie.[19] This project marks his continued involvement in immersive gaming audio, following earlier credits in titles like Call of Duty: Modern Warfare and Final Fantasy XV.[16] In audiobook narration, Cohen has narrated dozens of titles for publishers such as Tantor Media, covering genres from biography and memoir to science fiction and self-help.[3] His performances have earned critical recognition, including an Audie Award nomination in 2018 for his contribution to the multi-narrator production of Refugee by Alan Gratz, published by Scholastic Audio.[20] Additionally, he won an AudioFile Earphones Award for his narration of The Lightless Sky by Gulwali Passarlay (with Nadene Ghouri), praised for its compelling delivery of the refugee memoir's harrowing journey.[21] These accolades highlight Cohen's versatility in conveying emotional range and cultural nuances across diverse narratives.[3]Filmography
Film
Assaf Cohen began his film career with supporting roles in early 2000s features and shorts. His notable credits include:- West Bank Story (2005) as Menorah Mickey, an Academy Award-winning short film for Best Live Action Short Film.[11]
- Flightplan (2005) as Ahmed, a passenger aboard a flight.
- Fast & Furious (2009) as Border Agent #1.
- Convincing Clooney (2011) as Jason.
- Night of the Templar (2012) as Menas.
- Peace After Marriage (2013) as Boris.
- At the Devil's Door (2014) as Dr. Aranda.[22]
- Unknown Caller (2014) as Aasim.
- American Sniper (2014) as Terp #2, an interpreter.[13]
- Witch Hunt (2021) as Doctor Justice.[23]
- Mama Bear (2022) as Kirk Feldman.[24]