What happens when a tough- as-nails action star and a glamorous actress/TV host hit the road together in Central Asia? In “Off Road,” Lior Raz (“Fauda,” “Gladiator II”) and Rotem Sela (“The Baker and the Beauty”) trade the safety of scripted series for the unpredictable — rough roads, leaking tents, raw emotions and sheep-related sports you didn’t know existed. It’s part soul-searching, part therapy session and part voyage through the unbelievably stunning landscapes of Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan.
The two actors, who previously collaborated on the feature film “Soda” and the TV drama “A Body That Works,” have been close friends for the past three years. So when Raz approached Sela with the idea for “Off Road,” she immediately said yes — even though off-roading in a Jeep through remote terrain was never exactly her dream.
They presented the concept to Netflix and were given a green light. “Off Road” is the first unscripted Israeli series produced by the streaming giant.
The decision to explore Central Asia came from their shared desire to visit somewhere they’d never been before. Over six episodes and 25 days of filming, viewers are treated to sweeping landscapes, wild horses galloping across endless green hills and intimate conversations — some of them with a psychologist. They also encounter kok boru, a traditional Central Asian sport often described as “dead goat polo,” in which teams on horseback compete to toss a goat carcass into a goal. Sela found the game so upsetting that she opted to return to the Jeep, while Raz stayed behind, politely watching as men kicked around a freshly slaughtered goat.
Another shared challenge: the food. In a country where much of the cuisine is meat-based, both actors struggled. Sela has been a vegetarian for years, and Raz had recently become one. On the first day, they politely declined their host’s offering of horse meat.
But for Raz, the biggest challenge wasn’t the food — it was being exposed to the camera 24/7.
“Being filmed nonstop and feeling so exposed was the hardest part,” he said in a Zoom interview with The Journal. “I hardly give interviews. I’m usually very measured in what I say — and this wasn’t like that. I had to let go of something inside me. But once I did, it became easier. I learned that I can loosen up and let go of the parts in me that I tend to hold tightly.”
Despite both actors being well-known — Rotem primarily in Israel and Raz internationally — most of the people they encountered had no idea who they were. This led to some amusing moments as they explained their celebrity status to clueless strangers.
Spending that kind of intense, uninterrupted time with a friend — especially under pressure — can often test the friendship. And while the two are seen arguing in nearly every episode, they also laugh a lot and genuinely support one another. “It was an intense journey. We were in very close quarters,” Sela said. “There were lots of difficult moments, which you can see on the show, but our friendship ultimately stood the test — we’re still very close. In a way, it even made us stronger, because most of the time, we really enjoyed each other’s company. It’s true that once we got back home, we needed a little break from one another,” she laughed, “but in the long run, it was amazing for our friendship.”
“Off Road” isn’t your typical National Geographic-style travelogue. At times, it becomes a deeply personal journey of reflection and self-discovery. “I think it was a triple journey,” Raz said. “An outer journey, an inner journey and a journey of our friendship. What I learned about Rotem is that she’s incredibly brave, a great friend and a sharp, intelligent woman. I already knew that—but under extreme conditions, those qualities really sharpened.”
Raz is best known as the co-creator and star of “Fauda,” where he plays Doron Kavillio, a commander in an elite undercover unit pursuing terrorists in the West Bank. But “Off Road” reveals a much softer, more vulnerable side of him. He opens up about his father, who left the family when Raz was 11, and about his first girlfriend, who was murdered in a terror attack while they were both serving in the army.
“I never planned to open up like that — honestly, it scared me,” Raz admitted. “You never see me that exposed. Even as an actor, I’ve never shown that level of vulnerability. But I learned to let go. There’s something about Rotem — our friendship — that helped me do that. It gave me the freedom to release.”
Sela also revealed a traumatic event in her life which she refrained to talk about in the past. “It happened many years ago, when I was 14 or 15, my grandfather committed suicide. I wasn’t there when it happened, but my grandmother called me and screamed on the phone — it was around 7:30 — to tell me, ‘Grandpa is dead.’ Like a crazy person.”
Sela and Raz had played lovers in previous projects, which naturally raised the question — weren’t their spouses a bit concerned about the two going on a road trip together?
Rotem is married to Ariel Roter, a real estate professional, and is a mother of three. Raz is married to actress Meital Berdah and is a father of four.
Their trip reignited an age-old question: Can a man and a woman truly be platonic friends?
In a conversation before their journey, Sela shared what her mother had told her before she embarked on her trip — that her father was a bit worried. “Why is he concerned?” Sela asked.
“You know … going on a month-long trip with a man,” her mother replied.
“But Mom, this is Lior! We’ve been friends for three years — we’ve traveled abroad together countless times.” She then turned to Raz and said, “People just don’t know that I’m not attracted to you.”
“Not at all?” Raz asked and the two burst out laughing.
“If we were going to fall in love, it would’ve happened long ago,” Raz said.
Since returning to Israel, a few things have changed. Raz is no longer a vegetarian.
“I stopped eating meat after I was in LA and ate steaks and didn’t feel good afterward in my body and soul, so I decided to take a break from meat, but after returning to Israel, I started training hard and needed meat,” he explained.
Sela, on the other hand, fell in love with off-roading and even bought a Jeep Bronco — the same one Raz owns. A longtime Jeep enthusiast, Raz also drives a Toyota Land Cruiser and often goes off-roading.
If the series gets a second season, Raz already has some destinations in mind.
“I’d love to go to Argentina and Brazil … maybe India and Myanmar. There are so many places I’d like to visit,” he said.
There’s no doubt he’d want Sela to join him again. After they returned from Kazakhstan, Raz received numerous messages from friends asking why he hadn’t invited them along. “I still get texts from people saying, ‘It would’ve been more fun if you took us instead!’”
Both countries they visited are predominantly Muslim, but being Israeli didn’t cause any friction.
“We met amazing people who were incredibly hospitable,” Raz shared. “Us being Israeli wasn’t an issue. At one point, we asked a family we met about it, and they said, ‘We don’t pay attention to that stuff. To us, you’re just human.’”
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