Ricky Ullman

The teen Disney made in Connecticut

Raviv Ullman was born in Eilat, Israel, in 1986. His family moved to the United States shortly after, and he began acting at summer camps before he turned ten. He wasn't the typical commercial kid with a perfect smile.

In 2004, the Disney Channel machine picked him to star in Phil of the Future. The series ran for two seasons and put him on millions of screens around the world under the stage name Ricky Ullman. But teen fame often comes with an expiration date scheduled in offices in California.

He signed an exclusive contract tying him to the network for original movies such as Pixel Perfect.

And the gamble paid off.

During those years, his face was on the cover of teen magazines across Spain and Latin America. The studio marketed him as the prototype of the sweet, funny, slightly clumsy guy who worked so well on cable TV at the turn of the century. But Ullman had other plans beyond the film set.

Giving Up His Stage Name

Ullman decided to reclaim his real name, Raviv, as soon as his teen years ended. He wanted to move away from the binder-cover idol image. He moved to New York and started playing in indie rock bands such as Goodbye Weekend or Reputante, where he explored a much darker and more experimental side.

In 2012, he took part in the play Russian Transport on the Off-Broadway circuit. City critics treated him with respect because his portrayal of a young Russian immigrant had nothing in common with his Disney years. But acting was no longer his only priority in life.

Because Ullman now prefers to be behind the lens.

So he began combining stage work with street photography and political activism. In 2018, he became deeply involved in social movements and used his visibility to document protests and uncomfortable realities on American soil. The lightweight comedy actor had completely disappeared.

The Turn Toward Raw Reality

Photography and video editing began to take up all of his working time. In 2020, he premiered the documentary Standing on the Corner, a project shot on the streets of New Orleans over several years. It focused on social justice and the impact of the prison system on local communities.

He invested much of his savings in high-end recording equipment to document these movements without relying on major studios. His visual style steers clear of Hollywood artifice and seeks the grain texture and natural light of the street. He was no longer interested in being the star of the story.

In 2024, his main activity is split between analog photography and directing short documentaries. These works are mostly distributed through independent digital platforms and social film festival circuits. The budget for his latest production did not exceed 50,000 dollars.