Growing up in Israel meant that “We Were the Lucky Ones” actor Amit Rahav was taught about the Holocaust at any early age. His childhood in Tel Aviv included a school trip to concentration camps in Poland. “It’s mandatory in the curriculum,” Rahav told Variety.
“My grandma, who is the greatest, is a Holocaust survivor,” says Rahav, best known for his breakout performance as Yanky Shapiro in Netflix’s 2021 series “Unorthodox.” “So the topic of the Holocaust was surrounding me and my family since I can remember.”
Based on Georgia Hunter’s bestselling book about her own family’s experience, “We Were the Lucky Ones” tells the story of her grandfather Addy (Logan Lerman) and his siblings’ fight to survive the Holocaust and reunite.
Rahav plays her grandfather’s lawyer-turned-photographer brother, Jakob. Joey King stars as their sister Halina.
Rahav’s work in “We Were the Lucky Ones” was a way of honoring his grandmother. Before flying to Los Angeles from his home in Tel Aviv for the series premiere, Rahav showed her a trailer for the show.
“My dad was there. My sister was there. We were all very teary,” Rahav says. “It was definitely a moment that I’ll never forget.”
We Were the Lucky Ones shot in Bucharest, Romania, for several months.
“Sometimes it was just hard to disconnect [at the end of the day] because you’re so engaged with the work and the sets were so incredible,” Rahav recalls. “They were so realistic. It was painful to walk around the sets and see the extras. It was scary. You’re an actor and you know that you’re there to do a job, but it seemed so realistic. It was like a feeling of time traveling. I mean that in the best way and in the worst way.”
“We all lived in the same hotel, so we could have lots of dinners together,” Rahav says. “We explored the city together. We had so many game nights. We used to watch movies together and just joke around and have slumber parties all the time.”
Rahav was nervous how the series might be received as antisemitism is on the rise and Israel is at war with Hamas. He worried viewers might be wary of the heavy subject matter. “I think it’s important for us not to forget and see how cruel human beings can become and for this to be sort of like a cautionary tale,” he says. “After it premiered, I realized how important this show is currently and how crucial it is for people to see it.”
