Batman and Rambo star Alon Aboutboul dies aged 60 after collapsing on beach
The star had been swimming in waters off the HaBonim beach strip in northern Israel before returning to shore and collapsing in front of horrified tourists.
It's understood that Aboutboul, whose film credits included Rambo III and Batman epic The Dark Knight Rises, initially complained of feeling unwell after returning to the beach.
A popular tourist destination because of its proximity to the Mediterranean, the HaBonim beach strip is considered to be one of the most rugged coastal areas in Israel.
Paramedics attempted to resuscitate the actor at the scene after a call was placed at 8.22am, but they were unable to save his life.
Aboutboul is survived by his partner Shir Bilya, an Israeli writer and director, and their four children.
Born in 1964 to a Sephardic Jewish family in Kiryat Ata, Aboutboul began his acting career as a teenager after graduating from Thelma Yellin High School of Arts in 1983.
His first Hollywood break came just five years later, with the actor taking a small role as Nissem in Peter MacDonald's 1988 blockbuster Rambo III, starring alongside Sylvester Stallone.
Further screen roles included that of a soldier in Steven Spielberg's critically acclaimed drama Munich, a 2005 rendering of Mossad's response to the 1972 Olympics massacre.
He also featured alongside Joshua Jackson in cult science fiction show Fringe, before landing a pivotal role in Christopher Nolan's final Batman offering.
Starring alongside Christian Bale and Tom Hardy, Aboutboul played Dr Leonid Pavel - the Russian nuclear physicist kidnapped by Batman nemesis Bane in 2012 blockbuster The Dark Knight Rises.
After hijacking the CIA plane upon which Pavel is travelling in the film's opening scene, Bane - memorably played by Hardy - is heard telling his terrified captive: 'Calm down, doctor. Now is not the time for fear. That comes later.'
In 2016 he played Pakistani arms trafficker Aamir Barkawi in London Has Fallen, a Babak Najafi directed political action thriller starring Gerard Butler and Morgan Freeman.
Recent TV credits include dramas Homeland, Body of Lies, Legends, NCIS Los Angeles, and SVU.
Until 2022 he worked alongside Damson Idris in Showtime crime-drama Snowfall, playing Avi Drexler - an Israeli drug-lord with links to Mossad.
He left the show after featuring in 25 episodes, across five seasons.
During a 42-year career - much of it spent working in Israeli film and television - Aboutboul also won numerous accolades, among them the Ophir Award and an Israeli Television Academy Award.
Leading the tributes to Aboutboul on social media platform X, Israeli Culture and Sport Minister Miki Zohar said it was 'deeply painful' to hear of his passing.
He wrote: 'Last night I watched an interview with him, where he talked about filming a movie he recently participated in, and the passion for the profession that radiated from him was evident even after so many years in the field.
'Alon was an Ophir Award and Television Academy Award winner and over the years portrayed a wide range of characters to which he brought depth and emotion, leaving a deep mark on Israeli culture. May his memory be blessed.'
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