Tomer Sisley

Tomer Sisley

Sisley in 2013
Born (1974-08-14) 14 August 1974
Berlin, Germany
Occupation Actor, Humorist, Film director, Screenwriter, Comedian
Years active 1996–present

Tomer (Gazit) Sisley (Hebrew: תומר סיסלי‎‎; born 14 August 1974) is a French humorist, actor, screenwriter, comedian and film director.

Early life

Sisley was born in Berlin, Germany. His parents were born in Israel, his grandparents in Lithuania, Belarus, and Yemen. His family is Jewish. His parents separated when he was five years old. At 9 he left Berlin to live with his father in the south of France. At twelve, he already spoke 4 languages (German, Hebrew, French and English). His father, Joseph, was a scientist in dermatological research.

Career

Tomer was the first French stand-up comedian to have won the Just for Laughs comedy festival, the biggest in the world, in 2003. He is considered the first comedian to introduce real stand-up comedy in France, where until then, the popular one-man shows used to portray mostly impressions and sketches. His stand-up routine became a huge hit, partly thanks to a three-and-a-half minute bit where he said his mother was Jewish and his father an Arab. Though not true, no one wanted to believe it was a joke, and it hence allowed him to joke about both religions. The media immediately saw him as "the answer to racism".

He was compared by Elle Magazine, Libération, and ParisMatch to Richard Pryor.

Tomer studied ten years with acting coach Jack Waltzer, known for coaching Dustin Hoffman in Tootsie, and having had Jon Voight, Gena Davis, Sharon Stone, and Robert Duval in his class. Tomer said "I always wanted to be an actor, since I was 5 years old. Standup comedy was just to get people to see me, see I exist."

In 2008 Tomer ranked 38th sexiest male in the Top 100 famous Isa Magazine.

In 2011 Tomer accepted the leading part in a low budget French film Sleepless Night. The movie was bought by Tribeca Films, Robert De Niro's distribution company, and Warner Brothers bought the rights for a remake. Sleepless Night ranked #1 best foreign independent film in the first half of 2012. Sleepless Night shows a fight scene in a restaurant's kitchen, choreographed by Tomer himself, considered one of the most realistic fight scenes ever by many journalists who saw the movie at the Tribeca Film Festival, Toronto International Film Festival, or Rome Film Festival. Tomer said "the reason why it looks so real is that it's not a fighting choreography, but an acting scene. It's not about the kicks and the punches! It's about a tragedy! It's not an action movie at all!"

Tomer spends a lot of his free time practicing different sports and martial arts. In Largo Winch 2, 2011, he performed a fight while skydiving from a plane without a parachute. Although the scene appeared bombastic, Tomer really jumped 111 times for that sequence and did the whole fight himself. He is a very good horse rider (6 years of jumping, from age 14 to 20), practiced 5 years of Krav Maga, before trying out Jiujitsu and boxing. He has his own paraglider, is a licensed helicopter pilot, and races cars for Audi. He even raced a Lotus Renault Formula 1 on the Budapest track against Romain Grosjean in December 2011.

Filmography

References

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