Yiftach Klein

Yiftach Klein (יפתח קליין; born 28 September 1972) is an Israeli actor. He has been nominated for two Ophir Awards for Best Supporting Actor in 2007 for Noodle and for Best Actor in 2011 for his role in Policeman.

Early life
He was born and raised in Batzra, a moshav in Central Israel. He is the eldest of three brothers. The family later moved to Rosh Pinna in the Korazim Plateau in the Upper Galilee.

He discovered acting and decided to pursue it as a profession after he was cast in his high school school play, "Days of Shadow". After graduating from high school, he was conscripted into the Israel Defense Forces. Afterwards he studied at the Nissan Nativ Acting Studio in Tel Aviv.

Career
He spent the first years of his acting career in repertory theatre. He got his breakout role at the age of 26 when in 1998 he appeared in the popular Israeli television series, Tironoot (The Apprentices).

In 2011 he appeared alongside Michael Aloni in Nadav Lapid's drama film, Policeman. He was nominated for an Ophir Awards for Best Supporting Actor for his role.

In 2012 he appeared in Fill the Void, a critically-acclaimed film focusing on the Haredi community in Tel Aviv. A. O. Scott praised his performance in The New York Times: "As Yochay, Mr. Klein is a gentle, brooding presence and also an intriguing, at times almost frightening enigma." The film critic, Deborah Young, wrote in The Hollywood Reporter: "Klein has a reserved masculinity that is never undermined by letting his sensitivity show through."

In 2012 he also appeared in the Israeli short film, Summer Vacation, where Klein plays a man on vacation with his wife and children. However, he encounters his former gay lover. The film was shortlisted among ten competing for best short film at the 87th Academy Awards in 2015.

In 2017 he wrote, directed and acted alongside Tali Sharon in a play, "Slide Night" (ערב שקופיות) based on his own marriage and marital struggles.

In 2018-2019, he starred alongside Angel Bonanni in the second season of False Flag. The series was also part of the lineup of the Berlin International Film Festival in 2019.

In 2023 he starred alongside Tzachi Halevy in The Cops (HaShotrim).

He has also directed a play in Dimona and managed a small theatre in Kiryat Shmona. On behalf of the Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Philanthropies he spent a semester and a half at the University of Florida, where he also taught.

Personal life
Klein met his future wife, Shiri Artzi, when they were both 23. She is the daughter of Shlomo Artzi. They married in 2013, when they were both 40. They separated in 2017 for 18 months and the experience inspired a book project by Artzi. They subsequently got back together. They have three children together. The family lives in Northern Tel Aviv.