California Girl

Successful Israeli actress, now an L.A. transplant,
appears in Michael Bay's "The Island,"
her first big U.S. film.

NAOMI PFEF FERMAN

Jewish Journal of Greater Los Angeles

S

everal years ago, a producer
suggested that Israeli celebrity
Noa Tishby pack her bags for
California.
"If you make wine, you live in
France. If you make watches, you
live in Switzerland. And if you're in
show business, you live in Los
Angeles," the producer told Tishby.
At the time, the glamorous per-
former was a household name in
Israel, an actress and singer who first
earned national attention playing
what she calls "the bitch" on Ramat
Aviv, the Israeli TV equivalent of
Melrose Place. Her sultry image
adorned billboards, gossip columns
and fashion magazine covers.
Even so, she listened to that pro-
ducer and immediately canceled her
Israeli TV show and her album in
the making. A few years ago she
arrived in Los Angeles with just two
suitcases and a green card she'd

obtained for having demonstrated
extraordinary ability in her field.
Within several months, she had a
nice apartment, a Chrysler convert-
ible and a manager she had met
through her producer friend.
"I wasn't scared at all," the 20-
something beauty said of leaving
superstardom for the unknown. "I
want to create the most interesting
roles in the biggest movies ever. I
don't want to wake up one day at 40
and say, 'I wish I had tried.' Plus,
my Israeli military training gives me
a thick skin."
Not that Hollywood was easy.
You come over and you have a
background of being already estab-
lished in your country and nobody
cares," she said. "I had this huge
press kit and a show reel, but it was
unusable because it was in Hebrew. I
had to start again from scratch."
It helped that Tishby has long
been able to speak unaccented
English in various dialects; more
challenging was learning the new

cultural lan-
guage.
"Israelis are
very direct and
up front, and
here, that can
come off as
rude," she said
of her own
behavior.
Tishby was
also surprised
by the circum-
spect "We'll
call you"
Noa Tishby: "On ['The Island' set, I went back to being this lit-
response from
some in the
tle girl from Tel Aviv."
industry.
"In Israel,
it's, 'You got
lowed on TV shows such as
the job,' or 'You didn't get the job,'"
Nip/Tuck, CSI:Miami, The Drew
she said. "Moreover, you can get
Carey Show and Las Vegas, which
anyone on the phone, eventually, in
allowed Tishby "to play with guns
Israel.
and explosives with James Caan for
Here you have to go through three
three weeks," she said.
secretaries, 10 assistants and three
The actress has wrapped the politi-
weeks of waiting. That was a big
cal thriller Fatwa, in which she por-
shock for me."
trays a leading role opposite Lauren
Holly.
And tomorrow she opens in
Israeli Superstar
Michael Bay's futuristic The Island,
Back home, Tishby never had to
in which she plays a community
wait long for that callback. By age
announcer whose image is beamed
16, she was already a "name" in
across the city.
Israel, having played the female lead
"Knowing that I'm going to be all
in the cult hit musical David.
over the world in a $130 million
Screaming fans surrounded her after
Michael Bay movie, that's a huge
Ramat Aviv premiered, while she was break," she said. "That doesn't usu-
completing her army service. Her
ally happen in Israel."
debut English-language album,
"Of course, fame, to me, is an out-
come of doing what I love. But on
Nona, hit No. 1 on the country's
charts.
the set, I went back to being this lit-
Tishby also portrayed
tle girl from Tel Aviv. I couldn't
Anita in the national theater's pro-
believe it was me and Ewan
duction of West Side Story, along
McGregor and Scarlett Johansson. I
with numerous film and TV roles.
was going, 'That's why I'm here.
"I did the `glam' stuff, but I always That's why I'm in L.A."'
backed it up with work," she said of
her serious roles.
Tishby continued to work hard in
Los Angeles, earning one break
The Island, rated PG-13, opens
playing the Hollywood wannabe
Friday,
July 22, in area theaters.
Carrie in the 2003 indie film
Guest
spots
fol-
Connecting Dots.

❑

Ewan McGregor and Jewish actress Scarlett Johansson star in the futuristic
action thriller "The Island," directed by Michael Bay.

7/21

2005

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