Sandler’s ‘Zohan’ born of Israel admiration

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Adam Sandler cited a childhood admiration for Israeli military prowess as the inspiration for his latest film.

In Sandler’s comedy “You Don’t Mess With The Zohan,” the Jewish actor plays a Mossad hit man-turned-hairdresser. The Brooklyn-born Sandler said he grew up on stories glorifying Israel’s armed forces.

“Anytime anyone comes after them, they take care of business,” Sandler told reporters this week of Israelis. “As a Jewish kid, you were proud of that. So I admired them.”

 

“An Israeli guy used to cut my hair, and I just thought it’d be funny to see an Israeli soldier, a bad-ass fearless warrior who had a little secret dream of wanting to do something else, but was embarrassed to share it with anyone,” he said.

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