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Message: <br /><br /> If you are having trouble reading this email, you may view this article online at: http://www.jweekly.com/40548/full/40548/whether-here-or-there-sexy-israeli-actress-is-a-tour-de-force/ <br /><br /> <b>Whether here or there, sexy Israeli actress is a tour de force</b> <br /> Thursday, November 19, 2009 | by david alex nahmod <br /><br /><p>In the 1954 film “A Star is Born,” Judy Garland sings “Born in a Trunk,” a tale of the actor’s life on the road. That song can be applied to Meital Dohan, the stunning Israeli actress who is working these days not only in Israel, but also in New York and Hollywood.</p> <p>As much as she is on the road, however, Dohan says she finds little difference among cities, at least from an acting perspective.</p> <p>“I think Hollywood can be anywhere,” she says. “I’m trying to look at the content of the project, the themes, my character and the people I work with. For me, it’s more about the content than the size or location of the project.”</p> <p> <div class="capDivLeft" style="width: 360px;"><img alt="Adohan2" class="left" height="234" src="http://www.jweekly.com/images/uploads/z_photos_2009/e11_20_09/Adohan2.jpg" title="Meital Dohan as Yael Hoffman and Justin Kirk as Andy Botwin in a scene from Weeds. photo/randy tepper/showtime" width="360" /> <div class="caption">Meital Dohan as Yael Hoffman and Justin Kirk as Andy Botwin in a scene from Weeds. photo/randy tepper/showtime</div> </div> Dohan has been making a name for herself in the United States, completing a six-episode run on the hit Showtime series “Weeds.” She played a particularly amusing role: Yael, the brassy, sassy head of a rabbinical academy.</p> <p>When lost soul Andy (Justin Kirk) decides he wants to be a rabbi, Yael questions his motives, and ends up, in Dohan’s words, as “the seductive dominatrix.”</p> <p>Recently, she guest-starred as the undead Aurora on “Woke Up Dead,” an online series produced by and starring Jon Heder (“Napoleon Dynamite”) that she described as a “zombie comedy thriller” (<a href="http://crackle.com/c/Woke_Up_Dead">http://crackle.com/c/Woke_Up_Dead</a>).</p> <p>“I think Jon is a wonderful, wonderful person,” Dohan says, “a very unique and sincere character and an actor with a lot of charisma and talent.”</p> <p>In addition, Dohan just completed work on the film “Monogamy,” which stars Rashida Jones (“I Love You, Man,” “Parks and Recreation”) and Chris Messina (the husband in “Julie and Julia”). She says she can’t reveal any details about it before its premiere next year.</p> <p>She’s also quite excited about “LL,” a film she’s doing with acclaimed Israeli director Amos Kolleck. “The film tells the story of a woman searching for her identity after her mother’s death,” she says.</p> <p>Dohan grew up in a small village in Israel. “I was actually very shy,” she says. “I studied acting in school when I was 7. I did it because I wanted to express myself — not because I wanted to be an actress.”</p> <p>The young Dohan must have had something going for her. She attended the Nissan Nativ School of Acting, one of Israel’s most prestigious theater academies. By the time she graduated, she had made her film debut and was signed to a contract by the Cameri Theater.</p> <p>In 2000, she was voted most promising newcomer for her role in the Cameri’s production of “Best Friends.” Soon after, she starred in the Haifa Theater’s production of “Romeo and Juliet.” Dohan then caught the eye of acclaimed playwright Edna Mazya, who wrote “Bad Childrens” specifically for her.</p> <p>In 2001 and 2002, Dohan earned back-to-back nominations for a best actress Ophir Award (Israel’s version of the Oscars) for her roles in “Giraffes” and “God’s Sandbox.”</p> <p>When Dohan speaks of those who most influence her work, she reveals a list of names as diverse and eclectic as her own career.</p> <p>“I see actors as creators, and therefore I’d like to take wide examples from the art world, such as Andy Warhol, Madonna, Seinfeld, Woody Allen, Sacha Baron Cohen, and Gena Rowlands,” she says. “I love Pedro Almadovar, John Cassavetes, David Lynch, Ingmar Bergman.”</p> <p>Dohan remains immensely proud of her homeland, pointing out Israel’s progressive social attitudes and openness.</p> <p>“Tel Aviv is one of the most vibrant cities, especially in it’s nightlife, art scene and culture,” she says. “Also, we should not forget that we are a leading force in innovative technology. There is a lot to be proud of here.”</p>

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