Assi Cohen (; born 10 October 1974) is an Israeli comedian and actor. He is best known for his appearances in the feature film Colombian Love (alongside Mili Avital), as well as for television performances in Love Hurts (alongside Dana Modan), "Rak BeYsrael" with his comedy duo of "Assi and Guri", his role in Mesudarim (US title Loaded), and for his part in Eretz Nehederet, where he has impersonated Avigdor Lieberman, Raleb Majadele, and Uri Geller among others.
In a Ynet poll conducted in May 2008, Assi Cohen was selected by respondents as the funniest Israeli for the second year in a row. He currently resides in Tel Aviv and is married with two daughters.
Biography
thumb|Asi Cohen in Ha-Lev Haraev (The Hungry Heart).
Cohen was born in Israel, to a Sephardic Jewish family from Turkey and Egypt, and raised and educated in the coastal city of Ashdod. During his military service he was an actor for the Israel Defense Forces' theatre, members of which are soldiers on active duty. Following his military service he worked as a stand up comic at the Domino Gross club in Tel Aviv, where he partnered with fellow comedian Guri Alfi to create the comedy duo of "Assi and Guri".
From 1999 onward he worked as a comedian and joined the TV show Domino, which aired on the commercial Channel 2 in Israel.
In 2007 he participated in the entertainment television show "Mesudarim" (Channel 2) (, meaning "settled [for life]" in Israeli slang), where four childhood friends sell their gaming startup company for USD$217 million, and have to deal with their newfound wealth. Chapter 9 of the show contained the first crossover in Israeli television, with the drama "BeTipul" (lit. "In Treatment"), which was later purchased by HBO; BeTipul's psychologist, played by Asi Dayan, is asked to analyze the group. The format of Mesudarim was purchased by Fox Entertainment Group and shown in the US as "Loaded".
In 2009 he participated in a critically acclaimed television show "Hatufim" (Prisoners of War). The show went to be the most successful in Israel and soon after the original script of Gideon Raff was sold to Hollywood for remake which is known as "Homeland".
In 2018 he had the lead role in the dystopian drama miniseries, Autonomies.
Filmography
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Year
! Title
! Role
! Notes
|-
|2002|| Yossi & Jagger || Ophir ||
|-
|2003|| Ha-Kochavim Shel Shlomi (Bonjour Monsieur Shlom) || Sasi ||
|-
|2004|| Ahava Colombianit || Uri Cohen ||
|-
|2004|| Love Hurts (Ahava Ze Koev) || Oren || Awards of the Israeli Television Academy - Best Actor in a Drama Series
|-
|2005|| Munich || Newlywed Man ||
|-
|2005|| Ha-Lev Haraev (The Hungry Heart) || Nissim || Short film
|-
|2009 - 2012|| Prisoners of War || Amiel Ben-Horin || Nomination - Awards of the Israeli Television Academy - Best Actor in a Drama Series
|-
|2010|| Zohi Sdom || Prince Ninveh ||
|-
|2012 - 2014|| The Parliament || Shauli/George ||Awards of the Israeli Television Academy - Best Actor in a Comedy Series (2013, 2014)
|-
|2015|| Dig || Shem ||
|-
|2016|| Tzomet Miller || Assi ||
|-
|2018|| Michael || Erik ||
|-
|2018|| Autonomies || Broide ||
|-
|2018 - 2020|| Kacha Ze || Neighbor || Awards of the Israeli Television Academy - Best Actor in a Comedy Series
|-
|2019|| Hakol Tom || Amikam ||
|-
|}
Personal life
Cohen is married to Lian and is the father of three daughters. They reside in Givatayim.