Ricky Ullman

Raviv Chanan "Ricky" Ullman (; born 24 January 1986) is an Israeli-American actor, director, and musician. He is best known for playing Phil Diffy, the main character in the Disney Channel series Phil of the Future. Early life Ullman was born in Eilat, Israel, to American Jewish parents Laura Ullman (née Ehrenkranz), a teacher, and Brian Ullman, a printer. He has a younger sister and younger brother named Tali and Nadav, respectively. After his first birthday, his family left their kibbutz in Israel for Norwalk, Connecticut, United States, and then to Fairfield, Connecticut the following year. When Ullman was younger, his father worked as a clown. While attending summer camp, he played Peter Pan, which helped him discover his talents in acting, singing, dancing, and reading drama novels. Ullman was raised Orthodox Jewish. His maternal grandfather, Joseph Ehrenkranz, was an Orthodox rabbi in Stamford, Connecticut. Ullman is a first cousin, twice removed, of former Connecticut Senator Joe Lieberman. Lieberman's mother and Ullman's matrilineal great-grandmother were sisters. Ullman taught himself how to play the trombone. Ullman was selected to attend the Hugh O'Brian Youth Leadership Foundation (HOBY) youth leadership program of Connecticut in March 2002 where he was selected as the "outstanding ambassador" enabling him to attend the HOBY World Leadership Congress in the summer of 2002. He went to Hillel Academy and is a graduate of Fairfield Warde High School. He was active in National Conference of Synagogue Youth.