# Amit Rahav

Amit Rahav (Hebrew: עמית רהב; born 9 August 1995) is an Israeli actor.
A graduate of Yoram Loewenstein Performing Arts Studio in Tel Aviv, he began his career on the Israeli stage. He landed his first TV role in Mishpacha Sholetet (2014–2016). He became known to international audiences for his role as Yanky Shapiro in the Netflix miniseries Unorthodox (2020). He has since starred in the Netflix miniseries Transatlantic (2023) and the Holocaust family drama limited series, We Were the Lucky Ones (2024) for Hulu.

## Early life

Rahav was born in Tel Aviv, Israel to a British mother and Israeli father, and he grew up in an English-speaking household. His parents are divorced. He was raised as a secular Jew and continues to define himself as such. His grandmother is a Holocaust survivor.
At 18, he began serving a three-year term in the Israel Defense Forces in the theater and entertainment troop. He was a drama counselor in Clayton, Georgia at Camp Ramah Darom for three months in summer 2016 through the Jewish Agency for Israel.

## Career

Since he left the military, Rahav has appeared in various movies and television shows. His first significant role was on the Israeli TV show, Mishpacha Sholetet, and he has since acted in various other Israeli shows. In 2015, he appeared in two episodes of the American thriller TV series Dig.
In 2016, he appeared in Flashback, an Israeli show for teenagers. He made history, as his character, Aviv was the first on an Israeli teen show to come out as gay.
In 2021, Rahav starred as Yanky Shapiro in the German-American Netflix original miniseries Unorthodox. In April 2020, he signed with talent agency Lighthouse Management & Media.
In 2021, he played the protagonist, Yehonatan alongside Daniel Litman in The One My Soul Loves at the Habima Theatre. The play is based on the true events of the Tel Aviv gay centre shooting and deals with conversion therapy. He returned to the role for a special performance at Nicosia Municipal Theatre in Nicosia in Cyprus in October 2022 and then for a second run at Habima Theatre in December 2023.
In 2022 he starred in the Haredi comedy film, Matchmaking. In 2024, he began filming a sequel to the film, alongside Niv Sultan.

## Personal life

Rahav is a graduate of the Yoram Loewenstein Performing Arts Studio in Tel Aviv. He took time off school to film Unorthodox and had to re-audition to continue attending. He is openly gay.
Rahav and his Unorthodox co-star Shira Haas have been friends since 2010, after meeting at a party at age 15. The two are neighbors in Tel Aviv.
He speaks fluent Hebrew and English, and he is a vegetarian.
In 2024, he relocated to Los Angeles.

## Filmography
### Television

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 2014-2016 | Mishpacha Sholelet | Hanan | Occurring character |
| 2015 | Dig | Aaron | 2 episodes USA Network TV series |
| 2015 | L'Hitgaber | | Israeli teen TV series |
| 2015 | Total Drama Presents: The Ridonculous Race | Mickey | Hebrew voiceover |
| 2016 | Wild Horses | Nadav | 1 episode |
| 2016 | Flashback | Aviv | Israeli teen TV series |
| 2018 | Trening | Stav | Israeli children's series |
| 2020 | Cash Register | Michael Eshet Bloom | 1 episode |
| 2020 | Unorthodox | Yanky Shapiro | Main role Netflix miniseries |
| 2023 | Transatlantic | Thomas Lovegrove | Netflix miniseries |
| 2024 | We Were the Lucky Ones | Jakob | Hulu limited series |

### Film

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 2018 | The Damned | Aviv | Israeli film |
| 2022 | Matchmaking | Moti | Israeli film |
| 2024 | Matchmaking 2 | Aviv | Israeli film |

## Stage

| Year | Title | Role | Venue | Ref. |
| 2021 | The One My Soul Loves | Yehonatan | Habima Theatre | |

## Awards

| Year | Organization | Category | Nominated Work | Result |
| 2021 | Independent Spirit Awards | Best Male Performance in a New Scripted Series | Unorthodox | Won |