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The 'cool Jew' is back and Brits are leading the way

This summer we saw the beginning of the return of the handsome Jewish leading man.

September 21, 2023 14:15
Jonah Hauer-King credit getty (3)
TORONTO, ONTARIO - SEPTEMBER 08: Actor Jonah Hauer-King of 'The Song of Names' attends The IMDb Studio Presented By Intuit QuickBooks at Toronto 2019 at Bisha Hotel & Residences on September 08, 2019 in Toronto, Canada. (Photo by Rich Polk/Getty Images for IMDb)
3 min read

Jewface? Schmooface? Jewish geek? No! Do I have sweet 5784 news for you: the cool Jew, the handsome Jew, is back. And it is British men who are leading the pack.

In case you need to be reminded why the cool Jew is not a new phenomenon think Paul Newman, Kirk Douglas, James Caan, Richard Dreyfuss and Harrison Ford. I mean, even Dustin Hoffman managed to shtup a mother and daughter in The Graduate. But then came Woody Allen, and somehow Hollywood Jews became geeky and phlegmy and losery (looking at you Seth Rogan).

But this summer we saw the beginning of the return of the handsome Jewish leading man.

Jonah Hauer-King may have been second on the billing in A Little Mermaid but he was playing a Disney prince.

In the meantime, he was also the leading man of the Second World War epic World on Fire with two gorgeous women in love with him. And Jonah’s next role will be his most Jewish yet: he’s playing Lale Sokolov in Sky’s eagerly-awaited adaptation of the best-selling book The Tattooist of Auschwitz.

Meanwhile, Jonah’s World on Fire co-star Gregg Sulkin, who played the Jewish character David in the show, can next be seen with Susan Sarandon and Kerry Washington in the upcoming American war film Six Triple Eight.