Ronen Rubinstein

Ronen Rubinstein (/ˈruːbɪnstaɪn/,[2] ROO-bin-stahyn; born November 7, 1993) is an American actor, writer, director, environmentalist, and activist, best known for his roles as Nathan in the Netflix series Orange Is The New Black and as T.K. Strand in Fox series 9-1-1: Lone Star created by Ryan Murphy.[3][1]

Ronen Rubinstein
Born
Ronen Rubinstein

(1993-11-07) November 7, 1993
Rehovot, Israel
NationalityAmerican
EducationNew York Film Academy
Occupation
  • Actor
  • director
  • environmentalist
  • activist
Years active2011–present
Height6 ft (1.83 m)[1]

Early life and education

Ronen Rubinstein was born in Rehovot, Israel, the son of Russian-Jewish emigrants from the Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic, part of the Soviet Union.[4][5] At the age of five, he moved with his parents and older sister to the United States, where he grew up in the Staten Island borough of New York City.[4] Speaking in 2016, Rubinstein said he felt like an outsider growing up, taking English as a third language classes and having difficulty adapting to the American culture.[6]

He was introduced to acting in his sophomore year of high school by his guidance counselor who suggested he try theater as a form of therapy and escape from the opioid epidemic in his neighborhood.[7][5][8] After attending New Dorp High School, he decided to pursue an acting career and graduated from the New York Film Academy.[9][10][11]

Career

Early work

At 16, Rubinstein wrote Something In the Way, his first short film he later directed and starred in.[12]

He made his screen debut at the age of 17 as a teenage rebel named Gangsta in the 2011 psychological drama film Detachment, starring Bryan Cranston, Adrien Brody, and James Caan.[13]

In his senior year of high school, Rubinstein landed a leading role in It Felt Like Love, Eliza Hittman's coming-of-age film shot in intimate close-ups with minimal dialogue, which premiered at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival.[14][15] He portrayed Sammy, a tough, misogynistic college boy from a working-class Brooklyn neighborhood, described by The New York Times as "a weed-smoking, pornography-watching bad boy whose contempt for women is as potent as his pheromones".[15] The film received a nomination for best cinematography at the Film Independent Spirit Awards as well as nominations at the Gotham Awards.[16][17]

In the following year, he was cast as the lead in Some Kind of Hate, portraying a young introverted victim of severe bullying.[18] He also appeared in another Sundance Film Festival drama film Jamie Marks Is Dead, starring Cameron Monaghan and Liv Tyler.[19]

2015–2019

In 2015, Rubinstein guest starred in episode 10, season 3 of Netflix's most-watched[20] original series Orange Is the New Black, portraying the respectful and caring Nathan, Tiffany "Pennsatucky" Doggett's love interest, which brought him to mainstream attention.[13][21][22]

In 2016, he was a series regular as Alex Powell in Freeform's Dead of Summer.[23]

In 2018, he appeared in the role of Mike in the comedy drama Dude alongside Lucy Hale and Awkwafina.[24] The film was Olivia Milch's directional debut. Rubinstein, having worked with several first-time female directors (which he called "an absolute honor"),[25] advocated for gender equality in filmmaking and praised Milch as "a future star director". The film also had a female cinematographer which he called "so rare", stating that "there is not enough women in the industry".[26][27]

His other credits include a supporting role in the comedy drama Smartass (2017) opposite Joey King,[28] a supporting role in Less Than Zero, a 2019's adaptation of Bret Easton Ellis's debut novel,[29] as well as the lead role in the anthology film Bushwick Beats (2019).[30]

2020–present

9-1-1: Lone Star

In 2020, he stars as an openly gay firefighter and recovering addict Tyler Kennedy “T.K.” Strand in Ryan Murphy's Fox series 9-1-1: Lone Star, alongside Rob Lowe, who plays Captain Owen Strand, T.K.’s father, and Liv Tyler.[7][31] The series has become Fox's most watched new show of 2020 among 18-49 adults[32] and has received acclaim for its interracial gay storyline and diverse characters, such as a hijab-wearing Muslim female firefighter and a black transgender male firefighter (portrayed by the transgender actor Brian Michael Smith).[3][31] In a 2020 interview with A BOOK OF, Rubinstein said: "I think people for the first time, at least on network television, are seeing themselves on screen, and they feel represented, and they feel represented in a really positive, lovely, good way."[33] He has praised Ryan Murphy and the writers for normalizing a gay relationship on primetime television by not including a coming out story: "A lot of times you'd see a gay couple on television there's something really dramatic and usually sad involved with it. And this is just like, 'Yeah, this is just normal. This is just how it is'."[34] The series has been renewed for a second season.[32]

Rubinstein stars as the antigonist Alexei in Follow Me, a thriller about the dangers of influencer culture on social media,[35] which had an international theatrical release on July 16, and is to be released in the United States and on demand on September 18 under the title No Escape.[36][37][38] He speaks Russian in the film.[39]

Rubinstein has been announced as the lead in Bret Easton Ellis's Smiley Face Killers, a thriller film based on true events that support the smiley face murder theory about an organized gang of serial killers committing murders of young, handsome athletic men throughout the United States. It is to be released in 2020.[40][41]

Other work

Rubinstein stars in CeCe's music video for "Broke AF" (2017).[42]

In 2018, he appeared as himself in the documentary Tyler Shields: Provocateur.[1][43]

Personal life

Rubinstein's first language is Russian. Hebrew and English are his second and third languages.[44][45]

The actor is an outdoor enthusiast.[46] He has played basketball since he was a child[47] and has named Kobe Bryant as his biggest idol, role model, and "the first American thing" he knew after moving to the Untied States from Israel.[48]

He is a devout fan of Red Hot Chili Peppers and has expressed his admiration for Harry Styles' work and his "own identity and the way he presents himself."[7]

In March 2020, he officially endorsed Bernie Sanders in the Democratic presidential race.[48]

In 2020, Rubinstein switched from pescetarianism to veganism.[49][48]

Activism

Environmental activism

Rubinstein is a survivor of Hurricane Sandy, which led him to become a climate activist. In July 2020, he described that the hurricane caused devastation to his entire neighborhood in Staten Island, destroying his family's home and everything inside it. With nowhere to live, he stayed at a friend's house, and was provided with food and clothing from the Red Cross.[37] The hurricane killed 24 of his neighbors.[50]

Rubinstein, who was eighteen years old at that time,[37] has stated that his acting career "will coincide with trying to save the planet".[51] He made it his "mission" to raise awareness for the urgency of environmental issues, promoting sustainable living and using his platform and publicity to educate the public.[52][53] He has garnered attention for his vintage and sustainable fashion choices, of which he has stated that he is trying to be "as eco-friendly as possible", and has praised Stella McCartney and Yves Saint Laurent for recognizing the importance of sustainability in the fashion industry.[7]

He is an ambassador for Project Zero, a global movement to protect and restore the ocean,[54][55] and marched with protesters in the September 2019 climate strikes, the largest global climate protest in world history.[56][57] He also has supported the Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation.[5] In April 2020, he was one of the environmental activists who participated in Earth Day Live, a three-day climate mobilization that was streamed online amid the Covid-19 pandemic.[58][59] In his segment, he highlighted the importance of transitioning from fossil fuel to clean energy by switching to zero-emissions fuel cell electric vehicles, which run on hydrogen and omit only water and heat.[60]

Other activism and advocacy

In addition to sustainability advocacy, Rubinstein has lent his support to the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation,[61] the No Kid Hungry campaign, Mercy for Animals,[62] the Black Lives Matter movement,[63] Marsha P. Johnson Institute protecting the human rights of black transgender people, Feeding America,[64] the Humane Society, and Rebecca Corry's Stand Up for Pits Foundation, working on rescuing and ending the abuse of pit bull dogs.[5][65]

In March 2020, during the Covid-19 pandemic lockdown, Rubinstein created a global fundraising candle light initiative in support of the healthcare workers and first responders on the frontlines of the pandemic.[66] He also participated in live reading adaptations of Shakespeare's Hamlet and Jane Austen's Pride & Prejudice to help raise funds for Acting for a Cause, a non-profit organization created by Brando Crawford for a charitable cause during the pandemic.[67][68]

Filmography

Film
Year Title Role Notes
2011 Detachment Gangsta
Katya[28] Insurgent 2 Short film
2012 A Promise Is a Promise[28] John
2013 It Felt Like Love Sammy
Something In the Way James Manning Writer, director, editor
2014 Jamie Marks Is Dead Ronnie
2015 Condemned[69] Dante
Some Kind of Hate Lincoln Taggert
2017 Smartass Nick
West of Time[28] Son Short film
2018 Dude Mike
Tyler Shields: Provocateur himself Documentary
2019 Less Than Zero Trent
Bushwick Beats Benny Anthology
2020 No Escape Alexei
2020 Smiley Face Killers Jake Graham Post-production[70]

Television
Year Title Role Notes
2015 Orange Is the New Black Nathan Season 3
2016 Dead of Summer Alex Powell 10 episodes
2020–present 9-1-1: Lone Star T.K. Strand Season 1, 2

Music videos
Year Title Role Performer Ref.
2017 "Broke AF" boyfriend CeCe
gollark: I'm actually *older* than the admin of this server?
gollark: How's *this* for bad help?
gollark: ++help
gollark: Really? You had to write the `help` command yourself?
gollark: NOOOOOOOOOOOO! It still works fine!

References
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  2. Ronen Rubinstein - Creating In Captivity (video). Project Zero. May 14, 2020. Event occurs at 0:04–0:11. Retrieved June 4, 2020 – via YouTube.
  3. Keveney, Bill (January 19, 2020). "Rob Lowe: '9-1-1: Lone Star' spinoff charts its own path, but keeps 'those OMG TV moments'". USA Today. Retrieved June 2, 2020.
  4. Nicola, Violetta (May 24, 2020). "Ronen Rubinstein". N Magazine. Retrieved June 5, 2020.
  5. Miller, Gerri (January 15, 2020). "Fighting Fires and Personal Demons in '9-1-1 Lone Star'". The Jewish Journal. Retrieved July 12, 2020.
  6. Clark, Terri (August 30, 2016). "Exclusive Interview with Dead of Summer's Ronen Rubinstein". Talk Nerdy With Us. Retrieved June 6, 2020.
  7. Sohu, Angel (February 3, 2020). "RONEN RUBINSTEIN 9-1-1: LONE STAR". Flaunt Magazine. Retrieved June 3, 2020.
  8. Ronen Rubinstein (interviewee) (June 22, 2016). The Permanent Rain Press Interview with Ronen Rubinstein (video). The Permanent Rain Press. Event occurs at 0:56–1:11. Retrieved June 11, 2020 – via YouTube.
  9. Priola, Victoria (September 15, 2016). "'Orange is the New Black' star returns to New Dorp High School as mentor". Silive. Retrieved June 5, 2020.
  10. Ronen Rubinstein (interviewee) (June 22, 2016). The Permanent Rain Press Interview with Ronen Rubinstein (video). The Permanent Rain Press. Event occurs at 0:38–1:11. Retrieved June 11, 2020 – via YouTube.
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  13. Potts, Kimberly (July 6, 2015). "Ronen Rubinstein: 5 Things You Need to Know About Your 'Orange Is the New Black' Crush". Yahoo. Retrieved June 3, 2020.
  14. Ronen Rubinstein (interviewee) (May 13, 2020). How 911: Lone Stars Ronen Rubinstein is Surviving the Quarantine, AfterBuzz TV (May 11, 2020) (video). AfterBuzz TV. Event occurs at 1:10–1:22. Retrieved June 5, 2020 – via YouTube.
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  23. Petski, Denise (February 4, 2016). "Zelda Williams, Alberto Frezza & Eli Goree Join 'Dead Of Summer' Freeform Drama Series". Deadline. Retrieved July 12, 2020.
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  29. Otterson, Joe (August 1, 2018). "Hulu's 'Less Than Zero' Pilot Adds Six to Cast, Including 'Dead of Summer' Alum". Variety. Retrieved July 13, 2020.
  30. Wiseman, Andreas (October 2, 2018). "Valparaiso Pictures To Produce & Finance Rom-Com 'Straight Up' Starring 'Man Seeking Woman' Actress Katie Findlay". Deadline. Retrieved June 11, 2020.
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  33. Ronen Rubinstein (interviewee) (April 18, 2020). A BOOK OF: RONEN RUBINSTEIN INTERVIEW (video). ABOOK OF. Event occurs at 19:43–19:56. Retrieved June 6, 2020 – via YouTube.
  34. Ng, Philiana (February 17, 2020). "'9-1-1: Lone Star's' Ronen Rubinstein on T.K. and Carlos' Blossoming Romance (Exclusive)". E!. Retrieved June 9, 2020.
  35. O'Shea, Ben (July 17, 2020). "Horror movie Follow Me, starring Keegan Allan, Holland Roden and Ronen Rubinstein, has shock ending you won't see coming". The West Australian. Retrieved July 17, 2020.
  36. Troncoso, Guillermo (July 6, 2020). "'Follow Me' Trailer: Vlogging Gets Deadly in New 'Saw'-Like Horror Movie". Screen Realm. Retrieved July 10, 2020.
  37. Muerte, Saul (July 16, 2020). "Interview: Follow Me star Ronen Rubinstein". Surgeons of Horror. Retrieved July 16, 2020.
  38. Miska, Brad (August 13, 2020). "'No Escape' Trailer: When 'Saw' Collides with 'Escape Room' [Video]". Bloody Disgusting!. Retrieved August 13, 2020.
  39. Ronen Rubinstein (interviewee) (March 30, 2020). Ronen Rubinstein Of "9-1-1 Lonestar" Goes Over The Hit FOX Procedural Drama (video). BUILD Series. Event occurs at 14:47–15:40. Retrieved July 16, 2020 – via YouTube.
  40. McBride, Jessica (January 27, 2019). "Who Are the Smiley Face Killers? Does the Gang Exist?". Heavy.com. Retrieved August 14, 2020.
  41. "Smiley Face Killers". The Film Catalogue. Retrieved August 14, 2020.
  42. Ronen Rubinstein (actor) (August 8, 2017). CeCe - Broke AF (video). CeCe. Retrieved June 4, 2020 – via YouTube.
  43. Ronen Rubinstein (December 6, 2018). Tyler Shields: Provocateur - Free Preview (video). tylershields. Retrieved July 11, 2020 – via YouTube.
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  54. "Our Ambassadors". Project Zero. Retrieved June 5, 2020.
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  56. Ronen Rubinstein (interviewee) (September 21, 2019). Millions Mobilize For Climate Strike (video). The Young Turks. Event occurs at 5:56–6:24. Retrieved June 5, 2020 – via YouTube.
  57. Laville, Sandra; Watts, Jonathan. "Across the globe, millions join biggest climate protest ever". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 21 September 2019. Retrieved June 5, 2020.
  58. Irvine, Martha (March 24, 2020). "US climate activists to livestream Earth Day due to virus". ABC News. Retrieved June 9, 2020.
  59. Shaffer, Claire; Shaffer, Claire (April 16, 2020). "'Earth Day Live' to Celebrate 50th Earth Day With Star-Studded Lineup". Rolling Stone. Retrieved June 9, 2020.
  60. Ronen Rubinstein (interviewee) (April 23, 2020). Message From Ronen Rubinstein Earth Day Live (video). Future Coalition. Event occurs at 0:01–1:38. Retrieved June 7, 2020 – via YouTube.
  61. "FOX TV and 9-1-1: LONE STAR Teams Up with the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation to Honor and Support Our Nation's Firefighters". National Fallen Firefighters Foundation. February 5, 2020. Retrieved July 10, 2020.
  62. @MercyForAnimals (May 30, 2020). "TOMORROW: Actor and Mercy For Animals friend @RonenRubinstein is taking over our Instagram. Don't miss it! www.instagram.com/mercyforanimals/" (Tweet). Retrieved July 13, 2020 – via Twitter.
  63. @RonenRubinstein (June 9, 2020). "Black Lives Matter Black Hopes Matter Black Dreams Matter Black Fears Matter Black Futures Matter Black Businesses Matter Black Feelings Matter Black Views Matter Black Opportunities Matter Black Votes Matter Black Thoughts Matter Black People Matter" (Tweet). Retrieved July 13, 2020 – via Twitter.
  64. @RonenRubinstein (April 14, 2020). "In honor of @911LoneStar being Renewed for Season 2, I have Donated $2,000 to @FeedingAmerica THANK YOU for everything you guys are doing during the #Covid19 Epidemic" (Tweet). Retrieved July 13, 2020 – via Twitter.
  65. "Comedienne Rebecca Corry Stands Up for Pit Bulls". Variety. October 29, 2014. Retrieved June 6, 2020.
  66. "QUARANTINED RONEN RUBINSTEIN". Bitmap Magazine. Retrieved July 10, 2020.
  67. Spellberg, Claire (May 8, 2020). "Jacob Elordi, Kat McNamara, and More Young Stars to Live Stream 'Pride and Prejudice' Reading". Decider. Retrieved July 16, 2020.
  68. Ronen Rubinstein (interviewee) (April 24, 2020). 'Hamlet' Feat. Willa Fitzgerald, Brandon Flynn, Maddie Brewer, Auli'i Cravalho -Dir. Brando Crawford. Acting for a Cause. Retrieved July 16, 2020 – via YouTube.
  69. Kit, Borys (March 31, 2020). "FilmDylan Penn Horror Film 'Condemned' Finds Its Cast". Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved June 8, 2020.
  70. McNary, Dave (October 6, 2017). "Film News Roundup: Crispin Glover, Ronen Rubinstein to Star in Horror Movie 'Smiley Face Killers'". Variety. Retrieved June 6, 2020.


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