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Eli Gorenstein

Eli Gorenstein

Actor · Born August 31, 1952 (74) · Tel Aviv, Israel

Eli Gorenstein (born August 31, 1952) is an Israeli actor, voice actor, director, singer and cellist. Gorenstein was born in Tel Aviv and was raised in Ramat Gan during his childhood. His maternal grandfather was philosopher Felix Weltsch. He went to New York City to study theatre and music and he even holds a master's degree at Tel Aviv University. He began his career sometime during the 1960s and as a theatre actor, he made frequent on-stage collaborations with Zachi Noy. He performed at many theatres across Israel such as the Habima Theatre and the Haifa Theatre. Gorenstein often starred in theatre adaptions of Shakespeare plays as well as the musical theatre. Gorenstein appeared as a guest on children's shows such as Rechov Sumsum (the Israeli production of Sesame Street) and Parpar Nechmad. He also made appearances in movies, most notably the 2007 film Israeli Intelligence and the 2018 film The Awakening of Motti Wolkenbruch. He often appeared on Zehu Ze! and performed a song on that show alongside Shlomo Gronich. Gorenstein has also had a successful career as a voice actor. He often performed the Hebrew voices of Disney villains as well as sidekicks and supporting characters particularly during the Disney Renaissance period. His roles include Scar from The Lion King, Frollo from The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Professor Ratigan from The Great Mouse Detective, Jafar from Aladdin, Clayton from Tarzan, Sebastian from The Little Mermaid, Eeyore from the Winnie the Pooh franchise, Lumière from Beauty and the Beast, Dr. Facilier from The Princess and the Frog, Gilderoy Lockhart from Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, The Wolf from Hoodwinked!, Professor Paljas from Alfred J. Kwak, Grimmel from How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World and many more. He has frequently collaborated with Rama Messinger, Dov Reiser and Yuval Zamir. Gorenstein is also a singer and musician. He plays the cello and often performs songs in the style of Frank Sinatra. Known for his bass vocal range, he often performs as an opera singer at the New Israeli Opera and he performs jingles for the openings of television shows and commercials. Gorenstein participated in numerous music festivals, including the Israeli Children’s Songs Festival in 1976 in which he came second place. He also worked with the Israel Chamber Orchestra and the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra. In 2011, Gorenstein released his debut album, which features the work of artists such as Yoni Rechter, Yehonatan Geffen, Nathan Alterman, Nurit Galron and others. Gorenstein is married and has three children. His daughter Roni, is also an actress. Source: Article "Eli Gorenstein" from Wikipedia in English, licensed under CC-BY-SA 3.0.

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Biography from TMDB.

Born
August 31, 1952 (74)
From
Tel Aviv, Israel
Works as
Actor
Titles
8 on Motif · 27 credits in all
Links
IMDb (opens in a new tab)TMDB (opens in a new tab)Wikidata (opens in a new tab)

Known for

TMDB popularity, last 39 days to Oct 28Down 23% in 30 days

What are Eli Gorenstein's films like?

Across their 7 Motif titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Morality and Bonds.

Genres

Biography2 titlesTypical Motif score: 74th percentile, at or above their average across these genres
: browse their Biography movies
Comedy2 titlesTypical Motif score: 43rd percentile
: browse their Comedy movies
Drama2 titlesTypical Motif score: 67th percentile, at or above their average across these genres
: browse their Drama movies

Their Motif films by primary genre. The badge is the typical Motif score of the genre's films, the median percentile; an up arrow marks a genre at or above their average across these genres.

Themes

share of theme weight
Morality
32%
Bonds
19%
Self
19%
Power
16%
Survival
8%
Society
5%
Oppression2 titles, browse their movies with this themeSacrifice2 titles, browse their movies with this themeJustice2 titles, browse their movies with this theme

What they feel like to watch

their average across 7 films
ToneFeelDemandtheir average · filled zone: the category
Serious: How heavy the subject matter and outlook get. Browse their serious movies.
Tone · Weight
lightdark

A split, not a type: Light 2 · Serious 1 · Dark 4

Stylized: How far its world departs from everyday reality. Browse their stylized movies.
Tone · Style
naturalisticheightened

A split, not a type: Grounded 5 · Stylized 1 · Heightened 1

Charged: How hard the emotional peaks hit while you watch. Browse their charged movies.
Feel · Intensity
gentleintense

Gentle 2 · Charged 3 · Intense 2

Steady: How much it swings between very different feelings. Browse their steady movies.
Feel · Swings
steadyswings

Steady 6 · Shifting 1 · Whiplash 0

Straight-faced: How much of the runtime is played for laughs. Browse their straight-faced movies.
Feel · Humor
noneconstant

Straight-faced 5 · Some laughs 2 · Funny 0

Slow burn: How fast it moves from scene to scene. Browse their slow burn movies.
Demand · Pace
slowrelentless

Slow burn 6 · Even-paced 1 · Relentless 0

Engaged: How much focus it asks of you — look away and lose the thread? Browse their engaged movies.
Demand · Attention
casualfull focus

Casual 1 · Engaged 5 · Full focus 1

Affecting: How much it costs you emotionally; whether you need recovery time. Browse their affecting movies.
Demand · Emotional cost
easyheavy

A split, not a type: Easy watch 2 · Affecting 1 · Heavy 4

Open-ended: How much is left for you to interpret. Browse their open-ended movies.
Demand · Resolution
resolvedambiguous

A split, not a type: Resolved 4 · Open-ended 2 · Ambiguous 1

Roles they play

1 analyzed role

Moods and endings

endings are an aggregate; no title is named

Dominant moods · mentions across their titles

Tense
6
Melancholic
4
Contemplative
2
Dread
2
Warm
1
Other
3

How their films linger

Thought-provoking3 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteFeel-good2 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteUnsettling3 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteInfuriating2 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteBittersweet2 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteFun2 titles, browse their movies with this aftertaste

How their films end

  • Happy2
  • Tragic1
  • Ambiguous4

AI-generated from each title's plot synopsis and cast list, with extra plot summaries, reviews and Parents Guide notes for titles the model may not know, and the model's own knowledge of the ones it recognizes. Only analyzed titles count, so this covers part of the filmography; the feel axes count films only for now.

Where can I watch Eli Gorenstein's films?

As of October 24, 2026, 7 of their 8 Motif titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on Tubi (5).

Also on these channels

Subscription and free streaming for Eli Gorenstein's titles on Motif; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Motif score, highest first, at most 12 per service; a dashed chip is a producer credit or a minor one, such as a thanks. A service opens the browse page, which counts movies only, so its number can differ.

Filmography

27 credits, 8 with a Motif page.

  • The Wedding Entertainer (or the Tale of Moishe Badhan) (not in the Motif catalog yet)(2026)

    Actor

  • Kafka's Last Trial(2025)

    Actor

    Motif score: 95th percentile of all films (provisional, few ratings)

  • What the Hell? (not in the Motif catalog yet)(2024)

    as Puppet

  • Waitress - The Musical (not in the Motif catalog yet)(2023)

    as Joe

  • Hila (not in the Motif catalog yet)(2023)

    as Shmuel

  • The Devil's Confession: The Lost Eichmann Tapes (not in the Motif catalog yet)(2022)

    as Adolf Eichmann

  • Kafka for Kids (not in the Motif catalog yet)(2022)

    as The Bearer of Bad News

  • God of the Piano(2019)

    Actor

    Motif score: 73rd percentile of all films

  • The Art of Waiting(2019)

    as The doctor

    Motif score: 73rd percentile of all films

  • The Awakening of Motti Wolkenbruch(2018)

    as Rabbi Jonathan

    Motif score: 60th percentile of all films

  • Alaska (not in the Motif catalog yet)(2018)

    as Lolek

  • Ella's Men (not in the Motif catalog yet)(2017)

    as Father

  • Saving Neta (not in the Motif catalog yet)(2017)

    as פנחס

  • Antenna (not in the Motif catalog yet)(2016)

    Actor

  • Sara Stein: From Berlin to Tel Aviv (not in the Motif catalog yet)(2016)

    Show 1 episode · as Saul Shaphiro

  • The Man in the Wall (not in the Motif catalog yet)(2015)

    as Doron

  • Gett(2014)

    as Judge (rabbi)

    Motif score: 96th percentile of all films

  • Urban Tale (not in the Motif catalog yet)(2012)

    Actor

  • Israeli Intelligence (not in the Motif catalog yet)(2007)

    as Kuchik the scientist

  • No Rain (not in the Motif catalog yet)(1996)

    Actor

  • Hanna's War(1988)

    as Aba

    Motif score: 51st percentile of all films

  • The Emperor's New Clothes(1987)

    as Sergeant

    Motif score: 13th percentile of all films

  • The Frog Prince(1986)

    as Cook

    Motif score: 60th percentile of all films

  • 5 and 5 (not in the Motif catalog yet)(1980)

    as Langer

  • The Troupe (not in the Motif catalog yet)(1978)

    as Zamar (Zami) Klein

  • Oy Vey! (not in the Motif catalog yet)

    as The Cobbler

  • Sirens (not in the Motif catalog yet)

    as Dr. Rozen

Career shape

Star power in the 61st percentile of 239,109 people with a billed film role, over a full career of 25 titles, 23 of them dated from 1978 to 2026; peak year 2014.

Biggest box office

Gett (2014)

$1.3M worldwide

Highest rated

Gett (2014)

Motif 96th

Most popular right now

The Art of Waiting (2019)

Film career

19782026

Peak 2014 · steadily prominent in film for years. Film roles by billing, audience size and rating; 25+ votes. A show carries a single first-air date, so shows are not on the curve.

By role

only this rolewith another role
Acting25 of 25: 25 only acting, 0 with another role · typical Motif score60th

By decade

1970s1 · acting1980s4 · acting1990s1 · acting2000s1 · acting2010s9 · acting2020s7 · acting

Counts from TMDB across their full career, self appearances out; a title counts in every role they held on it. The ring is the typical Motif score (the median percentile) of the role's titles that are on Motif, shown from 5 scored.

How do Eli Gorenstein's films land?

Their typical Motif film has a Motif score in the 67th percentile, the median of all 8; across their 7 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 68th percentile for acclaim.

Acclaim · how much people like their films

68thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 7

Approval · how many liked their films

63rdpercentile
Typical film, the median of 7

Reach · how many have seen their films

34thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 7

Motif score across 8 titles, by percentile

  • 75th and up2
  • 50th to 74th5
  • Below 25th1

Shape of the crowd

4 of their 8 titles are Mixed.

  • Universally Loved2
  • Crowd Pleaser2
  • Mixed4

Most divisive · actor

The Emperor's New Clothes (1987)

68th percentile spread · 43% rated it 4 or lower

Most loved · actor

Gett (2014)

Motif 96th · 84% liked

Reviewers score the acting 67/100 in their films, across 5 reviewed titles; fans 78, detractors 49. The element that speaks to their work as an actor.

Percentiles are each film's standing among all films on Motif; the typical film is the median, so one outlier cannot drag it. Percentiles and reviewer scores count the films IMDb credits them on, for now; the Motif score bands, the shape of the crowd and the two cards count their Motif titles, shows included (a show ranked among shows), appearances as themselves left out. A descriptor is the shape of a title's IMDb rating distribution against the catalog; "most divisive" needs a spread wider than half of all titles, and a card names only a principal credit: a craft role, and on a show a crew role or a run of episodes, never a courtesy credit or a one-off guest spot.

Who does Eli Gorenstein work with?

People who share at least 2 of Eli Gorenstein's Motif titles, grouped by what they did on them; Menahem Golan shares the most, 3.

Actors

Producers