Gay on Israeli TV, straight in real life

By YANIR DEKEL
In the new Israeli TV show “Good Family”, two actors play a gay couple, but in real life each of them have their own relationship, and only one of them is gay.
 
In order to prepare for the intimate scenes in the show, Ariel Wolf  and Gal Amitai had to go on a date, sort of. “I invited Ariel to my home, just like a first date when you get to know the person,” actor Gal Amitai tells Israeli website Mako. “We went through the scenes and talked about our characters. Ariel is an amazing partner. We consult with one another about our acting, and share our thoughts and feelings.”
 
Of the couple, only Ariel is gay in real life. His boyfriend is also an actor, Shlomi Bertonov. Gal Amitai has a famous girlfriend, actress and model Agam Rudberg. “Agam doesn’t have any problems with the intimate scenes,” Gal told Mako. “I think that if anything she’s more relaxed that I’m kissing a man than a woman.”
According to Gal, the fact that he’s not gay didn’t bother him playing a gay character. “We play love,” he says, “and this is something I definitely relate to. It’s just like how I used to chase after girls, but here it’s with boys. Usually I get offered roles that are more my type cast, so it was interesting for me to play a sensitive guy who believes in love and gets hurt a lot, which is something relatively far from me in reality.”
 
Though he’s out of the closet, Ariel doesn’t judge actors who refuse to come out. “Coming out is a complex issue that becomes even more complex when you are famous, “ he explains. “It’s even more complex when you come from the entertainment industry, even though the connection is not always relevant. Personally, I don’t see myself as someone who can hide and stay away, and this is not related to my work. For me, hiding is living in fear, and it’s something I don’t wish on anyone.”