Actress Joey King, of Netflix’s “Kissing Booth” and Hulu’s “The Act” fame, is currently working on a show with a very Israeli cast — an adaptation of the book “We Were the Lucky Ones” for Hulu, directed by Thomas Kail. So of course, the 23-year-old Hanukkah-loving star had to take a detour after shooting in Romania for some needed r&r in Tel Aviv. It looked, at least judging by her Instagram, idyllic.
King’s intrepid guide through the Israeli city was Amit Rahav (“Unorthodox,” “Transatlantic,” and ideally every show, please cast this man in everything), who is starring as Addy in “Lucky Ones,” the third son of the Jewish Kurc family at the center of the upcoming Holocaust show where King plays the youngest daughter, Halina.
Rahav took King to all the important places — from the shuk (market) to the beach. The two did some seaside handstands, with King unceremoniously falling into the soft Mediterranean sand after a successful stand (Rahav is heard encouraging her to try again). She got a smoothie at the shuk as one does, and indulged in some yummy hummus with Israeli star Lior Ashkenazi, who will play King and Rahav’s onscreen father, Sol. Ashkenazi drank a traditional Israeli Goldstar beer (or perhaps was just pouring a glass for King) and their platter was laden with beautiful, creamy hummus, eggs, a chopped salad, masabacha (hummus with chickpeas on top) and a side of onions for dipping.
King also chilled by the beach and pool with the gorgeous and mega-talented Hadas Yaron (“Shtisel”) who will play Mila, the second eldest Kurc daughter (her husband, Selim, is played by “Shtisel” love interest Michael Aloni, and the two have an infant daughter in the book). Yaron and King both made sure to slather on sunscreen, and King wore a gorgeous tee featuring the Hebrew word “at” — the singular feminine second person Hebrew pronoun.
One very relatable picture showed King passed out on the couch — because that’s exactly what happens when you try to take on Tel Aviv to the fullest. And of course, another sign of time well-spent time is that wild, wavy, post-sea hair, which King is absolutely rocking.
But perhaps most iconic of all, the actress was so inspired by the sensory delight that is Tel Aviv and Jaffa that she went to the Derech Yaffa studio for a tattoo of the word “hummus,” in Hebrew, on the nape of her neck. It’s a brave choice (neck tattoos can be pretty painful) for the actress who already has some pretty sweet tattoos, including a matching ladybug with her sister, fellow actress Hunter King, and a beautiful inking of Ursa Major. It was a smart move to get a Hebrew tattoo at an Israeli studio — we’ve seen some pretty terrifying Hebrew tattoos in our time.
Tattoo artist Ronni Winkler thanked King for being a ray of sunshine and for trusting her, and lauded her for sitting “like a rock.” King called the piece her new favorite ink.
All of these highlights were shared in an Instagram post with the caption, “Me?! Have the time of my life in Tel Aviv?!? Guilty.” No lies spotted here, though we’d still love a picture of King on a camel, a la Henry Winkler, who also had a blast in the Holy Land recently.
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