Number 8 on this year’s big countdown is what might be called this year’s “friend-otism” entry. Previous years’ lists have occasionally contained entries which featured, as I mentioned at the time, one or more people whom I know personally. This time I’m kicking the friend factor up a notch.

Among the actors in the following video is Assaf Cohen. To say I know Assaf personally doesn’t quite cover it: we have been friends since we were kids. Assaf and I grew up doing summer theater together during our high school years. To this day he remains one of my closest friends — one I even get to see fairly often, since we both live in Los Angeles.

More about Assaf in a moment. First, here he is with Thomas Lennon and Robert Ben Garant (Lt. Dangle and Deputy Travis Junior, respectively, on Reno 911!) in a segment from Funny or Die Presents… called “Terrorist on Flight 77.”

Assaf’s TV roles include Hooman Jaka on Weeds, Yair Marx on Entourage and Hesam on Heroes, as well as appearances on 24, Criminal Minds: Suspect Behavior, CSI: Miami, Burn Notice, and Ghost Whisperer, among others. His film credits include Flightplan and the Oscar-winning short film West Bank Story. He is a formidable noodge, and a consistent mensch.