Israeli actor Gil Cohen-Alloro has worked with Madonna and Samuel L Jackson. But it is his latest project that is giving him a buzz.

Mr Cohen-Alloro is currently staring in Star Power, a comedy about a group of actors trying to make the big time, which opened at the Landor Theatre in London last week. He plays Nick, a neurotic playwright.

“I found the humour very Jewish,” Mr Cohen-Alloro, 41, tells People. “The character I play is neurotic, very charming, insecure and very sarcastic, and I love that kind of humour.”

Born in Jerusalem, he began his acting career at the Habima Theatre in Tel Aviv. In 1993 he won a scholarship to the London Studio Centre, where he won awards for Best Drama Piece and Best Choreography. He made his West End debut in Jolson at the Victoria Palace.

He recently worked opposite Samuel L Jackson in the film 1408, and alongside Madonna in a commercial for clothing chain H&M. What was she like to work with? “Great. She was very professional and very focused. She really knows what she wants and she surrounds herself with the people who can make it happen. I really admired her focus.”

Mr Cohen-Alloro lives in Bermondsey, South-East London.