Ran Danker: “I’m Bisexual”

It’s been more than a decade since Ran Danker first appeared on Israeli television in the teen musical Hashir Shelanu and captured the heart of almost every high school girl. He then became one of the biggest stars in Israel and a sex symbol, and famously dated his co-star, Israeli Idol winner Ninet Tayeb, until they finally broke up in late 2006. Now, in a surprising new interview that will be published tomorrow (Friday), Danker comes out as bisexual and reveals he’s been in a relationship with a man for the past three years.

^{Ran Danker (Photo: Facebook)}

“I simply fell in love,” Danker tells Yediot Ahronot. “What’s more surprising to me than being in a relationship with a man is that I’ve been in any relationship for three years. Period.”

This comes as a surprise for many, although rumors have been going around for a while in the LGBT community. “Sexuality is another way for the soul to define itself, it’s complicated and combines many components,” Ran says. “The total of people is the total of sexual possibilities. I’m attracted to both women and men. Why should we narrow ourselves into a definition? I don’t want to define myself.”

“At the end of the day, the issue is being in a relationship,” Ran adds. “To invest in the place which you’re at, to be loyal to your choice. Build a home with a person you love. I think that never in my life have I felt the way I feel now.

The son of actor Eli Danker, who guest-starred during the 1980s in a number of American television series, including MacGyver and Mission: Impossible, Ran was born in Virginia, but grew up in Tel Aviv after he moved to Israel with his mother when he was two. In 2004, he was cast as the lead in Hashir Shelanu and began a successful career in entertainment, which included, along with acting, modeling for Diadora, and singing (his debut album was released in 2007). Ran famously starred in the 2009 Israeli film Eyes Wide Open as the Yeshiva student Ezri, who has feelings for a married, orthodox Jewish father, Aaron (Zohar Strauss).

Danker is currently leading a new play at Habima theater called Ne’etzar Bachashecha (‘Arrested at Midnight’), his third role there, and also started rehearsals for the new Israeli version of the musical Evita, alongside superstar Shiri Maimon. He’s also working on a new solo album. “My motive is challenge and search,” he tells Yedioth Ahronot, “I don’t want to stay in the places I’ve already been. I’m trying to do things that are less my type-cast, like what I get to do in Arrested at Midnight.”