‘Unorthodox’ Star Amit Rahav Shares Video of Transformation Into Character Yanky Shapiro

Shiryn Ghermezian

Amit Rahav in an Instagram video showing how he transformed into his ‘Unorthodox’ character, Yanky Shapiro. Photo: Screenshot.

Israeli actor Amit Rahav, who stars as Yanky Shapiro in the Netflix mini-series “Unorthodox,” posted on Instagram on Thursday a video that showed him getting clip-on sidelocks, also known as payot, to help him transform into his ultra-Orthodox Satmar character.

The sped-up clip shows the 24-year-old sitting in a chair as his makeup and hair artist Jens Bartram gives him the sidelocks, sported by many ultra-Orthodox Jews, by attaching the ringlets to the sides of his short hair.

Bartram clips the payot to each side of Rahav’s head before blending them in with the rest of the actor’s hair.

Rahav praised the artist’s work in the video’s caption, explaining that Bartram soaked the payot in oil overnight “so I’ll have the shiniest curlers on screen.”

In the Netflix mini-series, Yanky Shapiro is the spouse of the lead character Esty (played by Israeli actress Shira Haas), who feels like she is suffocating in the ultra-Orthodox community she was raised in and ultimately decides to flee to Berlin.

Watch Amit Rahav’s transformation into Yanky Shapiro in the clip below: