Netflix’s latest action thriller Hit & Run is now streaming. The series, which takes place in Israel and the United States, features Lior Raz, Sanaa Lathan, Kaelen Ohm, Gal Toren, Moran Rosenblatt, Lior Ashkenazi, and Gregg Henry.
“In this new action thriller, a happily married man’s life is turned upside down when his wife is killed in a mysterious hit and run accident in Tel Aviv,” reads the official synopsis. “Grief-stricken and confused, he searches for his wife’s killers, who have fled to the U.S. With the help of an ex-lover, (Sanaa Lathan), he uncovers disturbing truths about his beloved wife and the secrets she kept from him. ”
ComingSoon Editor-in-Chief Tyler Treese spoke with Hit & Run stars Lior Raz and Kaelen Ohm about the thriller, their unique roles, and filming in Israel. Check out the video interview below or read the full transcript.
Tyler Treese: Lior, I was very impressed by your ability to not only act in Hebrew and English but to blend both languages together in the same scene, how difficult was it to mix languages?
Lior Raz: First of all, it’s not easy for me because it’s not my mother tongue language. So to act in a different language, I’m expressing myself in Hebrew most of the time and it wasn’t so easy, but when you’re doing it and you continue doing it so it becomes natural. So sometimes, even now when I have my Israel friend here in the U.S. so they speak, and we really try to do that because we know that immigrants from all over the world. When they are coming to a place, they are speaking both languages and they mix it. So it was on purpose to see, and to find a way that we can mix the languages, Hebrew and English together.
Kaelen, can you speak to filming in Israel and getting to really embrace the culture?
Kaelen Ohm: Yeah. I fell in love with Israel. As soon as I got there, it’s an incredible place full of incredible people, incredible food, and scenery. Being a Canadian, having the ability to work on an American show overseas just really being immersed as you say in the culture, and then being able to witness the different artistic processes of everyone involved. We had a very international crew, but so many folks on the crew and cast as you know were Israeli. It was really a life-changing experience for me and I learned so much.
Lior, thanks to streaming your art and entertainment in Israel is now reaching a global audience. We’ve seen a rise in anti-Semitism lately. Do you feel that entertainment can help broaden people’s understanding and their empathy for other cultures?
Raz: Definitely because it’s all about we’re telling stories and we’re telling stories about people, ordinary people, regular people, and it doesn’t matter who you are and what you are. What’s your gender, what’s your religion. It’s really doesn’t matter. We all have the same feelings, we’re all doing the same things, and we want to show that to the world. I hope so that people will see that show and understand that everyone are equal. It doesn’t matter who you are and where you’re from.
Kaelen, you have a unique role. It’s not often that you star on a show and you die in the very first episode, but we get to see your character throughout the series, as her secret life’s told. How fun was it getting to play such a mysterious role?
Ohm: It was a blast. Right off the top, reading the script for the pilot, and later on for the rest of the series, it was so compelling to see someone who dies pretty quickly, and slowly we get to see pieces of her life and of the way that she handles relationships and her own journey. It was really something that I personally hadn’t done before as an actor. That’s what drew me to it as well as the team involved in all of the incredible shows that they had done before. So for me, it was really a great honor and privilege to be able to do it and it didn’t take much to convince me that’s for sure.
Lior, your character is not the prototypical good guy or a hero he’s kind of has a troubled past, and he isn’t against getting his hands dirty. Do you like operating within shades of gray and getting to portray a more realistic character?
Raz: Yeah, definitely. I think this character for an actor is like a gift because it’s not just that you’re going with an action, a journey or just emotional journey. This one is combined everything together. This guy is dealing with his loss, is dealing with his grief, and he’s dealing with his need for revenge. He needs to find out who killed his wife, why they killed his wife, and to try to find those people. So he’s in a beast mode. He’s a hunter, but also is grieving at the same time. So this complexity, I think this is what makes Segev so interesting.
Kaelen, what do you hope people really take away from a Hit & Run?
Ohm: That’s a great question. I hope people just take away a story about love and connection. I think the importance of grieving a loss and really doing what you need to do to have peace.
