When was the last time you flew?
"Two weeks ago. And in three hours I'm flying to Paris. It's like that all the time, and lately it's been even busier. In the last month and a half I've been to New York, Los Angeles, Rome, Budapest and again in Los Angeles. Then I flew to Israel for a day, returned to New York, and today I fly to Paris. And it goes on like that. It's a crazy time. Luckily, I love flying. I remember as a little boy that this airport thing (for us it was the old Ben-Gurion) was an event. If someone from the neighborhood drove, all my friends, my parents, and all my parents' friends would get in the cars and drive to accompany him, and also to greet the person who returned. I remember standing with my parents' friends in Ben-Gurion and greeting my father. For me, every time I go to the field it's still something exciting. I'm still enjoying it.
"There are periods when there's no work, and then you sit at home and expand a little bit, and suddenly there are periods when it doesn't stop and you have to run here and there. Once when I came to Los Angeles I used to work in Los Angeles. If you had to shoot in Rome, you would go to the studio and they would photograph you in a kind of colosseum, or in the studio they would photograph the Dead Sea. Today there is no longer that. If you need to take pictures somewhere, you hop on the plane and drive there. These are new days."
When was the last time you visited your childhood home?
"The last time I was there was in 1972, when we left. I photographed around this city from every possible direction - in Krakow, Romania and Hungary and all kinds of places from which it was a distance to get on a train and go there. But something always prevented me from making this journey. I'm afraid to be disappointed, to find out that it will be small and dirty and broken and not what I remember. When I was a child, I had fond memories of my childhood in this city, Chernivtsi."
Today you live in Silver Lake (Los Angeles). Where is home for you?
"Home is where the family is, so right now it's in Silver Lake. We're going to embark on a year-long adventure and move to New York soon, because my little girl, Sasha, is going to study at NYU. The second child, Danielle, is a Berkeley graduate and is also a resident of New York. So we'll jump in there for a year and see what happens, so soon the house will be there."
When was the last time you missed Israel?
"I miss Israel, but luckily for the past year and a half I've been filming a lot of visa stuff, so I have these kinds of trips to Israel. I'm here and it's nice. Then I fly back, but I'm somehow on line. You asked what was happening with Czernowitz, so the home is Israel. My daughters speak Hebrew fluently, they understand and even read and understand Russian as well. We decided when the girls were born that my wife Maya was in charge of Hebrew and I was in charge of Russian. We did it very systematically - Maya spoke only Hebrew with them, and I spoke only Russian with them. To this day, I try to speak Russian to them as much as possible. They don't speak fluently, but they do have the language."
When was the last time you were spotted on the street?
"At the supermarket, yesterday. It's nice to be recognized. There's an HBO series I did called Barry, which has a new season coming up. I think that's where people recognize me. It's a good feeling when you're given compliments. In Israel, they know me much better. There is something convenient about some kind of anonymity. It's not complete anonymity, because you do identify it, but not in a way that bothers you."
Is there a difference between the reactions in Israel and the reactions elsewhere?
"Yes, and that, to me, is part of Israel's charm: People here are much more direct, don't do math, immediately hug you for selfies, don't ask, don't ask. Not all, but a lot. There's something about it that I miss somewhere. I love the unmediated, that raggedness."
When was the last time you got good advice?
"When I left the Bridge Theatre I went on an adventure, to study in London. I studied with Philip Golier. Now that I'm in Paris, I'll try to see him. I took a course with 18- and 19-year-olds. I was already a 35-year-old donkey. I studied clowning and juggling and acting with him, and that's after my ten years at the bridge and after my career, with acting on Schindler's List and more. I did a kind of reboot and joined an acting school. At that point, I didn't know if I wanted to continue being an actor. I was at a time when I didn't know where I was going and what I wanted to do. I thought about going back to the bridge and starting directing there, that's what Evgeny Arie wanted me to do. In the process of working with Philip, there wasn't a single sentence he said to me, but his whole being told me: 'You're an actor, and you'll remain an actor.'
"It took him a few months to figure out who I was, because I came as a mature player after a long time in the system. For two months, he hardly gave me any comments. To all the other students yes, and to me no. Then we went up to the exercise with masks on, and suddenly he said, 'Everyone get off the stage, Mark, stay.' I stayed, and then he started working with me. Something like 20 minutes with this mask. We worked on a character, but it's more than a character - it was a being. Then he said, 'It's you, what we've just seen is you, and this is your place.'"
When was the last time you were on set?
"The last set was in Israel, for the filming of Visa. Before that, I was in New York, doing a reunion episode of the three FBI (a special episode of the three-series reunion). It was fun. Not all jobs are the same. There are jobs you're looking for and you're digging into the character, trying to build something. Here I had information in advance: 'We want a bad Russian general.' And then action, you're chased, and you turn around, and you shoot, and then they catch you! I think there was a scene that also had some depth. This whole event starts with my daughter's wedding. Suddenly, the American army arrives and liquidates my unit, which are guests at the wedding, and I go out and see rubble and my daughter, the bride, dead, along with all the guests. But in general it was the kind of thing of OK - I travel for work. They know what they want from me, I know what they want. Everything is good and you can have a good time."
And what was it like on the set of "Babylon" in Berlin?
"Filming was in 2021. It's a series that has been running in the US for three seasons, and people really like it. Every time people meet me and compliment me on her. Also yesterday I was talking to someone I worked with about dubbing, and he said, 'By the way, me and my wife are watching Babylon. We saw that you did the fourth season and we're very excited about it.' It was in Berlin during the Corona period. It was really crazy to work on these sets with all the masks and distancing. The new season is set in the 30s in Germany. It's the role of a Jewish gangster from New York who is originally from Germany. It was interesting to me, because my family is from this area, so I had a kind of settling scores with the Nazi students, as the Jewish gangster. I saw it as a connection to the personal dimension, which I always love to find."
"People in Israel are much more direct, don't do math, immediately hug you for selfies, don't ask, don't ask. I love the unmediated, that raggedness."
When was the last time you learned a new language?
"German was spoken at home. It was the mother tongue of both my parents and my grandparents. Czernowitz was an Austro-Hungarian city, and the native language of most people there was German. When I was born, I heard German at home. I am told that until the age of 3 or 4 I also spoke German. I don't remember that. German and Yiddish are very similar so it was easy for me to learn. Russian and Ukrainian I learned. Then, when we arrived in Israel, German was forgotten, but here I learned English, Hebrew and Arabic. I started with Arabic in fourth grade. In elementary school, they were given a choice between Arabic and French, and I remember my choice. I thought there were Arabs in the country and there was Arabic television I watch, and I wanted to be part of it. I was a new immigrant and I wanted to assimilate. So I started learning Arabic, even in high school, and I continued. I took lessons and persevered. After the army I went to the French Institute and studied French. Then I lived and worked in Paris, so my French improved."
Very impressive. Is it easy for you to learn languages?
"It's something that fits my character. I am very methodical. I'm that person who sits down with a notebook every night and learns. When I started working in Germany, I took someone in Los Angeles who I could pop in and go through texts with, or just have conversations with in German. I am a very diligent student in the things I love. I was a student shit in math and physics. And I'm not afraid, either. Part of the secret of learning a language is getting rid of the fear of being an idiot, of sounding dumb. I don't have that, so I'm not afraid to tattoo other people's language while trying to speak it. Once that happens, it's much easier for you to learn the language."
When was the last time you felt like you had made it big?
"I shot a movie in New York called Interlocking Instruments, with the late Philip Seymour Hoffman and Christopher Walken, two people who for me were on the list of the best actors I've ever seen. I've seen most of their movies because of them – and suddenly I'm in one room with them. We played string quartet, so we play violins with each other and babble and then go out to smoke a cigarette. That was the last time I felt I had succeeded. There were a few times before, but that was the last time I felt like, 'Wow, I'm promoted to the National League.'"
When was the last time you were offered a tempting offer?
"In the summer I will be filming a German series in Germany. I was just debating yesterday, I had to make a decision between this series and another Netflix series called Cleo, which had a nice role, but they were both parallel. After some deliberation I decided to take the second series, because it is tempting. Not economically, but because the character there is not an immigrant figure, which is usually what they will give me, because of my accent. And also because the subject is very interesting to me.
"This is a series about a German Jewish family that is seen as a process of disintegration of four generations. I start filming in August, but already, almost every day, I devote six or seven hours to texts in German, so that when I arrive at the end of July I can do it fluently. There's something very challenging about it that interests me and gives me the push. This tempted me, because there's more interest in it for me. I realized I was diving into it because I had to do it. I'm more interested in doing this job than just another Russian general."
Cinematography: Gianni Fiorito,
When was the last time you made a new friend?
"When I was shooting 'The Away' in Vancouver with Hilary Swank. There was a guy there called Ato Asando (now playing in The Diplomat, on Netflix), he's a tall black actor. We hooked up on set and also lived in the same apartment building. He lives in New York, so every time I come to New York we drink coffee and babble. I think we'll do a lot in the coming year, when we're in New York. He will be one of our new friends. He also connected with the family and we have already met together, a very charming man."
Do you gather friends from anywhere and manage to maintain friendships with them?
"I'm trying. I do like new friends. Of course, it's impossible with everyone, but let's say with Aviv (Alush) every time I come to Israel for two or three weeks I call him and we drink coffee and talk. Over the years, I've really added quite a few people who have entered my circle of friends, even though there really are so many."
And a provincial question: You both live in Hollywood - do you know Gal Gadot?
"Yes, not for many years. We knew about each other and have mutual friends. A year ago we did a project together in London, and we had a very lovely meeting both on set and across the set. We did something together and it was lovely. The first time we spoke, I was on set with her husband Yaron and he called her on FaceTime. She had just put on makeup to be a witch in Snow White. We talked in makeup and then met in the evening. She really is something special, such a human, warm and pleasant person."
"The first time I spoke to Gal Gadot, I was on set with her husband Yaron and he called her on FaceTime. We talked in makeup and then met in the evening. She really is something special, such a human, warm and pleasant person."
When was the last time you missed it?
"Because of the way I work and live, longing is a very basic part of my life. I'm constantly on the go. Sometimes really long months of not seeing the family. It's something that's ingrained in our relationship DNA. We keep traveling and coming back, and the longing is there all the time. Now I have a girl finishing Berkeley and we have FaceTime and the possibility of seeing the person, but there are long periods that you don't see for a long time and miss. Longing is a billet-in in our way of life."
When was the last time you thought about your childhood in Pardes Katz?
"Yesterday, because I'm about to move to New York. Between trips, I unpack things at home, pick up boxes and flip things. There was a closet I went into, which had lots of pictures and notebooks, and when I went through those pictures I remembered all sorts of things. I also have friends from Pardes Katz and a childhood friend with whom I am still in communication quite regularly. Every few weeks we talk, he also travels a lot because of his work in high-tech. It happens that we meet spontaneously in New York. Today there are all kinds of WhatsApp groups popping up and you suddenly get mentions from the past. It's also much easier because of social media."
איך היה לגדול שם?
"בדיעבד, אני שמח על הילדות שלי שם. היו הרבה רגעים מאתגרים, כי הייתי מאוד שונה כשהגעתי לשם. כשהייתי בערך בכיתה ז' אותו חבר שדיברתי עליו, שגם הוא מרוסיה במקור, עזב את בית הספר ואני נשארתי האשכנזי היחיד. בהתחלה העניין הזה של ההבדל היה מאתגר, מה גם שהשכונה לא פשוטה. יש כל מיני עניינים שקשורים בפשע, אבל כבר בשנה הראשונה שלי שם היו לי חברים, וגם היתה לי את החבורה. גדלתי בשכונת עולים, שהגיעו מכל מיני מקומות. היה בזה משהו מקסים, מרחב של תרבויות שהיה לנו בתוך השכונה. בתוך החבורה שלי היינו כמה חבר'ה רוסים, גרוזינים. היה אחד בריטי שהמשפחה שלו בכלל הגיעה מהודו. והיו מרוקאים. הכל יחד היה משמש כזה, מאוד מעניין, שגם עזר לי במה שקשור לשפות. בעבודה שלי אני צריך להשתמש בהרבה שפות, ולמדתי המון שיעורים במקום הזה. בילדותי לא היו טלפונים, אנשים היו יוצאים למרפסת וצועקים. אתה שומע הורים שצועקים בספרדית, בגרוזינית, ברוסית ובערבית ולומד מזה המון".
מתי בפעם האחרונה עשית אודישן? אמרת בעבר שאתה אוהב אודישנים, זה עוד תקף?
"Now a little less. Today they already know me and come up with specific things. In the German series I'm going to be filmed in, I was initially offered the main role. And then, after a conversation with the creator-producer of the show, all of a sudden they came and said, 'Well, we want to offer you another, smaller role of someone from the Soviet Union coming to Germany.' I realized that the German broadcaster was a little worried about my accent, because it was supposed to be German. I called the creator of the series and said, 'Listen, I'm less interested in doing Uncle from the Soviet Union who comes to a few scenes now. I am attracted by the challenge of doing this man.' So he asked us to do a scene with the girl who would play my wife, on Zoom. He didn't call it an audition, but he wanted us to do the scene. I realized it was actually an audition. We did it. He called me an hour later and said, 'Listen, you're the character, it's you.' It was my last audition and I passed it."
Photo: Ronen Ackerman,
Ivanir in acting roles. "I have a list of people I'd love to work with,"
When was the last time you spent time with your family?
"Today I'm with Maya, my wife, and Sasha, my daughter. We'll be together again in a week at Maya's graduation ceremony in Berkeley. That's the way we live, the fact that I travel and then I might jump in for the day if there's an event. It was part of how we built our lives, with family coming first. I remember a few years ago, when I was filming a French series in Paris, Sasha had a birthday. I took a flight and arrived for my birthday, arrived on Friday and flew back on Saturday. And I've had a lot of them, that I just want to be here when significant things happen.
"Maya is an interior designer and it worked for us. For many years we all managed to live well with it. When I was out, Maya kept the whole system here, but she would also come in and drive over to me, pick up the girls and come, and then we had either ten days in Berlin or two weeks in Paris and stuff. And it was nice and suited us as a family. Longing has a price on the one hand, but on the other hand, it also has a positive one."
Do the girls go your way?
"Sasha, who turns 18, wants to be an actress. She has been in children's and youth theater for many years and has been dubbing for Netflix for two years. Its direction is acting, as of today. Go know where it's going to go."
When was the last time you felt anti-Semitic?
"I hear and read about it, but personally I don't feel it. I happened upon a chance when I was shooting a film in Hungary six years ago. I sat with a woman from the set, a Jewish woman, who said that near their house they beat her father and threatened them and they had to move somewhere else. I was wearing my Star of David and considering should I take it off? Fuck it. I don't want to download it. Then, that night, I returned from the set to the hotel on foot. It's just me on the road, crossing some crosswalk. Suddenly, this muscular guy arrives, comes up to me and says something in Hungarian, and points to the Star of David. And I understand from what he's saying that it's 'Are you Jewish?'
"I tell him, 'I don't speak Hungarian.' And he asks me in English: 'Are you Jewish?' and starts taking off his backpack. I told him: 'I'm Russian,' but the mode I'm entering is Pardes Katz. Like, oh, there's going to be beatings? Ok. And the first thought that crosses my mind is - just not inside, because I'm taking pictures, so I don't want there to be a sign. Then we had a 40-second silence where no one was talking. I hear in his head the wheels turning. I saw that there was no beginning of anything from him, so I said, 'Well, sorry, I need to go,' and kept walking. Then I hear him shouting to me in English, 'You went through red!' It turned out that I had crossed the crosswalk in red, on a deserted road. That's where it ends, but I think if there were two or three like him, I'd come out bruised."
When was the last time you made a dream come true?
"Every day, more or less, I fulfill my dream. Until the age of five I wanted to be a painter, and since then it has been clear to me that I want to be an actor. There was a time when I thought about studying medicine, but when it got to the point where I really had to make the decision, I became a clown. So I replaced the doctor with a clown, and I became an actor. But as a rule, I live a daily life that I've wanted since I was five. And taffo-tapu-taffo it's happening to me."
Do you currently have a concrete dream about a role you really want?
"There's no specific role. I have a list of people I'd love to work with, and there are two projects happening this year that go into this rubric of people I'm proud and happy to work with, but I can't say there's a specific role I'd like right now. I don't have any purpose that I want to make Othello, or any other character."
When is the first time?
When was the first time you went on stage?
"In elementary school in Pardes Katz, if you can call it a stage. It was during the Yom Kippur War. My father bought me a puppet theater and I used to do a lot of plays with the theater. I remember an alarm during the Yom Kippur War. We all went down to the shelter. I went between classes with my puppets and did puppet theater for them. I didn't really speak Hebrew yet, but I did a show for them. From third grade, I was already a facilitator, without speaking Hebrew very well. Simply because I wanted a stage. It probably has something to do with the genes, my father had something performer, and also with my grandfather who founded the first Yiddish theater in Czernowitz."
Questionnaire
If you weren't an actor, what would you be?
"I might have been a doctor. In '86, I told my mother that I would be a juggler and a clown, but I would play a doctor. And now, 27 years later, I played a doctor, so at least it came true."
Favorite book?
"The Three Musketeers" I loved as a kid. I was a bookworm. As an adult, "his whole life is ahead of him," and pretty much every book by Meir Shalev, especially a Russian novel."
Movie?
"If I want to have fun, 'Sing in the rain.'"
Favorite series?
"'The Sopranos' or 'Breaking Bad.' The competition is fierce. Can't decide."
Favorite animal?
"Dogs. We just had a dog who had been with us for 15 years, and we've had a new dog since COVID."
Favorite season?
"Aviv, I'm just in my yard right now, she's my baby. I take care of flowers, shrubs and a friend of the gardener. Now everything is blooming and beautiful."
Vacation?
"In general, society is especially important to me, whether it's in Berlin or Paris."
Favorite food?
"Falafel, masbaha, Moroccan fish my wife makes, and cherries."
Mark Ivanir, 54, actor, lives in Los Angeles. He is married with two children. Born in Czernowitz and immigrated to Israel in 1972. He studied acting at Nissan Nativ, played in the Cameri Theater and Gesher. Played in the films "Schindler's List", "Terminal", "Wanted", "Seven Days in Entebbe", "Esau", and others. He appeared in both Israeli and foreign television series, including "24, Doctor for Hire", "Homeland", "The New Pope" and "Far Away", in which he played a leading role alongside Hilary Swank. He is currently acting in Babylon and FBI, filming a new film in Paris with Selena Gomez and Zoe Saldana and preparing to shoot a new Netflix series in New York. Serves as a presenter of "Visa Cal".
Wrong? We'll fix it! If you find a mistake in the article, please share with us