Raviv Chanan "Ricky" Ullman (; born 24 January 1986) is an Israeli actor. He is best known for playing Phil Diffy, the main character in the Disney Channel series Phil of the Future.
Early life Ullman was born in Eilat, Israel, to American Jewish parents Laura Ullman (née Ehrenkranz), a teacher, and Brian Ullman, a printer. He has a younger sister and younger brother named Tali and Nadav, respectively. After his first birthday, his family left their kibbutz in Israel for Norwalk, Connecticut, United States, and then to Fairfield, Connecticut, the following year.
Ullman was raised Orthodox Jewish. His maternal grandfather, Joseph Ehrenkranz, was an Orthodox rabbi in Stamford, Connecticut. Ullman is a first cousin, twice removed, of former Connecticut Senator Joe Lieberman. Lieberman's mother and Ullman's matrilineal great-grandmother were sisters.
Ullman taught himself how to play the trombone. Ullman was selected to attend the Hugh O'Brian Youth Leadership Foundation (HOBY) youth leadership program of Connecticut in March 2002 where he was selected as the "outstanding ambassador" enabling him to attend the HOBY World Leadership Congress in the summer of 2002. He went to Hillel Academy and is a graduate of Fairfield Warde High School. He was active in National Conference of Synagogue Youth.
Career Early career: 1997–2003 Ullman's first professional role was as Louis in the national touring company of The King and I along with Jesse McCartney. Other productions he worked on include Peter Pan at the Polka Dot Playhouse, The Music Man with the New England Repertory Company, and Just People at the Long Wharf Theatre. He received a 1998–1999 Best Actor nomination from the Connecticut Critics' Awards for his character Stanley in Stamford Theater Work's A Rosen by Any Other Name. He had small roles in film and television shows, notably portraying Christopher Knight in the 2000 movie Growing Up Brady.
Television: 2004–2009 Phil of the Future and Disney Ullman is best known for his starring role as Phil Diffy, a teen from the year 2121 on Disney Channel's Phil of the Future, a series that debuted June 2004. He also starred as Roscoe in Disney's made-for-television film Pixel Perfect. During this period, Ullman appeared in other Disney Channel programming, such as a guest role on That's So Raven, and was an identified member of the Disney Channel Circle of Stars, appearing with other members of the Circle in the music video for "A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes," where he sang as well as played the drums.
Rita Rocks and other television and film In 2004, Ullman starred as Sam in ABC Family's television film Searching for David's Heart. He appeared in a string of independent films including The Big Bad Swim and Driftwood (2006), Normal Adolescent Behavior (2007), and Prom Wars (2008). During this period, he guest-starred in TV shows like Big Love and Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.
Ullman was cast as Kip in the Lifetime sitcom Rita Rocks, which premiered in 2009. His character was the drummer in the titular character's band and her daughter's boyfriend. The show was canceled after two seasons.
While Ullman previously went by the stage name Ricky, he started using his real name in 2006 when he guest-starred on an episode of House and continued to use Raviv on all projects since.The following film posters feature his real name: 1, 2
Music In June 2006, Ullman and a few of his friends created parody hip-hop music videos under the name the Webee Boys. In December 2006, Ullman met actor Douglas Smith of Big Love fame and together they formed a band called Goodbye Ian. The group expanded to seven people and later changed its name to His Orchestra. Ullman plays drums and glockenspiel in the band, which released its debut album, Field Guide to the Wilds, on 24 February 2009.
Post-television career: 2009–present Theater From January 2012 to 24 March 2012, Ullman starred as the character Alex in the New Group's production of Russian Transport Off-Broadway in New York. On 30 April 2012, it was announced that Ullman joined the cast of Alena Smith's new Off-Broadway play The Bad Guys. It began performances on 22 May at the McGinn/Cazale Theater on the Upper West Side in New York City. In 2014, Ullman acted opposite of Holly Hunter and Richard Chamberlain in the first revival of Sticks and Bones. Sticks and Bones opened 6 November 2014 and closed 14 December 2014.
Ullman starred in the 2017 benefit play Right Before I Go at The Town Hall.
In 2018, Ullman performed in the Roundabout Theatre Company Underground's production of Usual Girls by Ming Peiffer.
Music Ullman was a musician with Soko on her 2012 tour. Ullman was a member of the band Reputante, which released their 2013 debut on Julian Casablancas' record label Cult Records. He departed the band sometime in 2015. With Reputante members James Levy and Jimmy Giannopoulos, Ullman helped form the band Lolawolf with actress Zoë Kravitz. He left Lolawolf before the release of their first full-length record, Calm Down, in October 2014.
Filmmaking In October 2016, Ullman announced his project Standing Ground, a documentary that explores the Standing Rock Sioux Nation, the North Dakota Access Pipeline and the fossil fuels industry. Production of the film took place throughout 2017.
Podcasting Ullman, along with Rabbi Adam Greenwald, hosts The Study, a podcast focused on exploring, questioning, and applying the Torah. The trailer was released in late September 2020, and the first episode came out on 2 October 2020.
Personal life Ullman is an environmentalist and has called himself "a fourth generation activist". He works with TAP (Teens AIDS Prevention).
Ullman lived in Brooklyn, New York, until 2020, then he moved to Los Angeles, California.Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine:
On 13 May 2023, Ullman married British animator Julia Pott.
Filmography Film Year Film Role Notes 1998 Crossfire Aziz 2000 Growing Up Brady Christopher Knight TV movie 2001 The Boys of Sunset Ridge John Burroughs at 13 2004 Pixel Perfect Roscoe TV movie Searching for David's Heart Sam Weiss TV movie Costume Party Capers: The Incredibles Himself TV movie 2005 Kim Possible Movie: So the Drama Eric Voice Totally Suite New Year's Eve Himself TV movie 2006 The Big Bad Swim Hunter McCarthy Driftwood David Forrester That Guy Logan TV movie 2007 Normal Adolescent Behavior Price The Violin David Short 2008 Prom Wars Percy Collins Mother Goose Parade Himself 2010 How to Make Love to a Woman Scott Conners The Trouble with Cali Lois 2011 A Sense of Humor Laughing Man Short 2013 Contest Rip 2026 Drag Director and writer TBA The Other Side Jacob In Development Spring Break '83 Billy Filming completed in 2007; release postponed.
Television Year Show Role Notes 2002 Guiding Light Jacky Episode dated 16 May 2002 Law & Order: Criminal Intent 1st Boy Episode: "Crazy" (13 January 2002) 2004–2006 Phil of the Future Phil Diffy Lead role 2004 Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Danny Spencer Episode: "Obscene" (12 October 2004) 2005 That's So Raven Jake Haskell "On Top of Old Oaky" (22 April 2005) 2006 Big Love Donna's Makeout Partner Episode: "Eclipse" (2 April 2006) House Jeremy Episode: "Fools for Love" (31 October 2006) 2007 Cold Case Phil DiPreta, '98 Episode: "That Woman" (30 September 2007)2007Phineas and FerbAdditional VoicesEpisode: "Rollercoaster/Candace Loses Her Head" (17 August 2007) 2008 The Middleman Derek Episode: "The Obsolescent Cryogenic Meltdown" (11 August 2008)2008–2009 Rita Rocks Kip Main cast; 40 episodes 2011 Criminal Minds: Suspect Behavior Ben Episode: "The Time Is Now" (4 May 2011) 2015 Broad City Reginald Carolla Episode: "In Heat" (14 January 2015) 2018 Strangers Rory Recurring; 3 episodes
Stage Year Play Role Venue Notes 1997 The King and I Louis Leonowens National tour 1999 A Rosen By Any Other Name Stanley 2005 Dead End Tommy Ahmanson Theatre 2012 Russian Transport Alex The New Group @ Theatre Row The Bad Guys Paul McGinn/Cazale Theatre 2014 The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner Gunthorpe Stage 2 Deathtrap Clifford Anderson Bucks County Playhouse Sticks and Bones Rick The Pershing Square Signature Center 2015 Bad Jews Jonah Geffen Playhouse Choice Hunter Huntington Theatre 2018 Right Before I Go The Town Hall One-night benefitUsual GirlsRoryRoundabout Underground Black Box Theatre2024Galilee, 34Saul of TarsusSouth Coast Repertory World Premiere
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