Assaf Cohen (born October 31, 1972) is an American actor. Born in Mountain View, California and raised in Palo Alto, California, Cohen is of Yemenite, Russian, and Israeli descent. He graduated from the University of California, Berkeley with a BA degree in Integrative Biology. Initially planning to attend medical school, Cohen decided to pursue a career in acting instead.
Cohen's early career included work at various regional theaters in California, such as The Magic, Marin Shakespeare Company, Marin Theatre Company, TheatreWorks, San Francisco Shakespeare Festival, and PCPA Theaterfest. He then moved to the East Coast to earn an MFA in acting from the Professional Actors Training Program at Rutgers University's Mason Gross School of the Arts. Later, Cohen relocated to Los Angeles, where he performed at South Coast Repertory and began a career in film and television.
Early life Cohen was born in Mountain View, California and raised in Palo Alto, California, where his family settled after living for a number of years in Israel. He is of Yemenite, Russian and Israeli descent. Cohen graduated from the University of California, Berkeley with a BA degree in Integrative Biology. Forgoing earlier plans of attending medical school, he instead pursued professional acting.
Career Cohen worked for a few years at regional theaters such as The Magic, Marin Shakespeare Company, Marin Theatre Company, TheatreWorks, San Francisco Shakespeare Festival, and PCPA Theaterfest. He then next moved east and earned an MFA degree in acting from the Professional Actors Training Program at Rutgers University's Mason Gross School of the Arts, where he studied under New York Acting teachers William Esper, Maggie Flanigan and Deborah Hedwall. He later moved to Los Angeles, where he performed at theaters including South Coast Repertory and began his career in film and television.
Filmography
Film
Year Title Role Notes 2002 American Gulag Short film 2004 A Moment of Grace Arab radio announcer Short film 2005 Flightplan Ahmed West Bank Story Menorah Mickey Academy Award winner, Best Live Action Short Film 2007 Equal Opportunity Al'Ahhhhkkkkhh bin Laden 2009 Fast & Furious Border Agent #1 2011 Convincing Clooney Jason 2013 Peace After Marriage Boris 2014 At the Devil's Door Dr. Aranda 2014American SniperTerp #22023ElementalAdditional voices
Television Year Title Role Episode No. & Title 2002The Agency Young Man in taxi 2.02 - "Air Lex" 2003 JAG Musa Sabet 9.05 - "Touchdown" Half & Half Matt 2.10 - "The Big Bitter Shower Episode" 2004 2.15 - "The Big I Haven't the Vegas Idea Episode" 2005 Over There Black Hood Interrogator (uncredited) 1.02 - "Roadblock Duty" 24 Yassir 4.21 - "Day 4: 3:00 a.m. – 4:00 a.m." Monk Ricardo 4.05 - "Mr. Monk Gets Drunk" 2006 Sleeper Cell Lt. Hayat 2.02 - "Salesman" Numb3rs Agent Kareem Allawi 2.18 - "All's Fair" 2007 Entourage Yair Marx 3.19 - "The Prince's Bride" 4.12 - "The Cannes Kids" NCIS 'Goliath' Eli Lissack 4.14 - "Blowback" 2008 Burn Notice Waseem Ali Khan 2.03 - "Trust Me" Reno 911! Iraqi Lieutenant 5.10 - "Baghdad 911" Ghost Whisperer Andy Yates 3.14 - "The Grave Sitter" Knight Rider (2008 film) Amir TV movie The Ex List Shaman 1.06 - "Daphne's Idealized Wedding"2009 Heroes Hesam Five episodes, Seasons 3-4 NCIS: Los Angeles Tariq Barad Al-jabiri Operating Instructions Eli Bamberger Pilot 2010 CSI: Miami Ahmed Salib Dishonor 24 Navid8.16 - "Day 8: 7:00 a.m. – 8:00 a.m."] Weeds Hooman Jaka Three episodes, Season 6 2011 Funny or Die Presents... Radio Man 2.07 - Segment: "Terrorist on Flight 77" Criminal Minds: Suspect Behavior Martin Malek 1.13 - "Death by a Thousand Cuts" 2012 Last Resort Linus Terman 1.2 - "Blue on Blue" 2013 Supernatural Ajay 8.19 - "Taxi Driver" 2013 Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Qasim's Translator 1.3 "The Asset"2014BonesMauricio9.15--'Heiress in the Hill' 2014 Glee Kurt's Doctor 5.15 - "Bash" 2015 Castle Dr. Rusham Haroun7.16 The Wrong Stuff 2017 Dark Noah English dub 2019 Money Heist Andres de Fonollosa (Berlin) English dub 20209-1-1 Ellis3.14 - "The Taking of Dispatch 9-1-1" 2021Magnum P.I. Professor Roland Bar3.07 - "Killer on the Midnight Watch" 2023The Rookie Deon Laetner5.14 - "Death Sentence"
External links
Official Website Hollywood Reporter: Cohen books USA pilot Twitter