Avi Korein

Who is Avi Korein?

Avi Korein is a security specialist and owner of Screen International Security Services in Los Angeles. The Israeli bouncer-turned-bodyguard has provided security services for Bruce Willis and, since about 1996, Mel Gibson.

His company provides protection for some of the biggest names in Hollywood, including Will Smith, Ozzy Osbourne, Angelina Jolie, Jennifer Aniston and Brad Pitt, Cameron Diaz and Tom Cruise. Korein was a nightclub owner before riding the coattails of Bruce Willis during his rise to fame in the 1980s, managing to establish his company as a major security provider to the stars in Hollywood.

In 2002 he made a $500.00 donation to the National Republican Congressional Committee. In 2004, however, he gave money to John Kerry’s presidential run.

Roger Friedman of Fox News in 2006 noted what he perceived as the irony of Korein working for Mel Gibson, who caused controversy when he uttered anti-semitic comments during a DUI incident in Malibu, California. FOXnews.com

Despite keeping a low profile, Korein landed two movie roles, as a bouncer in 1994's Color of Night and as Eliyahu Golomb in Hanna's War in 1988.

He has declined to answer media questions about whether he is U.S. citizen.