Meet 'James Bond of Israel' Lior Raz, Fauda actor, once Arnold's bodyguard, now on the battlefield facing Hamas rockets

The James Bond of Israel is currently helping rescue civillians from the warzone. What’s interesting is that the man is likened to the fictitious MI6 agent not because he is a spy or soldier but because he is an actor. Actor and screenwriter Lior Raz is poularly called Israeli James Bond and best known as the star of the global hit Fauda. Raz has joined volunteer group Brothers in Arms to assist in the ongoing Israel-Palestine conflict.

Lior Raz’s rescue operations in Israel-Palestine War

On Tuesday, Lior Raz shared a video of himself from the warzone, evading exploding bombs in a mission to extract trapped families. The video, clicked in the selfie format, shows Lior Raz and another individual, hidden behind a wall as explosions can be heard in the background. As the camera pans up, a bomb purportedly from Hamas can be seen travelling in the opposite direction in the sky not far from where the two are. The video ends with the two relieved men looking at the camera. In the caption, the actor shared that he had joined Brothers in Arms and was in Sderot to ‘extract 2 families’.

Accompanied by Yohanan Plesner @yplesner and Avi @issacharoff , I headed down south to join hundreds of brave "brothers in arms" volunteers who worked tirelessly to assist the population in the south of Israel. We were sent to the bombarded town of Sderot to extract 2 families pic.twitter.com/WpM9JLeOZM

— Lior Raz (@lioraz) October 9, 2023

When Lior Raz was a commando and Arnold Schwarzenegger’s bodyguard

Lior Raz enlisted in the Israeli Defence Forces after finishing school at the age of 18. For the next four years, he served as a commando in the elite undercover counter-terrorism unit known as Sayeret Duvdevan. After completing his active duty, Raz maintained ties with the Sayeret Duvdevan and served in the reserves for 20 years. In 1993, at the age of 22, Raz moved to the US where he was hired by a security firm as Arnold Schwarzenegger’s bodyguard. In a 2017 interview with Israel Hayom, he said, “The company turned to me since they knew my military background, for me it was the most glamorous thing, to be the watchdog of Schwarzenegger and his wife.”

Lior Raz’s acting career and Fauda

Raz returned to Israel in 1994 and studied at Nissan Nativ Drama School in Tel Aviv. He started his acting career with theatre before moving to small roles on TV and in films by early 2000s. After several notable roles in action films and shows that earned him the moniker of ‘Israeli James Bond’, Raz collaborated with Haaretz journalist Avi Issacharoff in 2014 to create Fauda, critically acclaimed political thriller television series. Raz starred in the show himself, propelling him to worldwide fame.