Mazel tov to the very talented Raviv Ullman and his equally talented wife, Julia Pott, for welcoming their first baby. The “Phil of the Future” star just shared an adorable picture of his wife and their new baby, Maximillian, along with an ode to Pott, the animator and illustrator behind the show “Summer Camp Island,” and his newborn:
“Absolutely in awe of these two. Watching the person you love most carry a child for 10 months is inspiring, thrilling, terrifying, and makes your heart do gymnastic routines you didn’t know were possible,” he wrote. “Maximillian arrived June 24 at 9lbs 12oz and we’ve been in a state of sleep deprivation ever since. I hear it only lasts 18 years.” (Many of our readers can, in fact, confirm this.)
He called his wife “incredible” and shared how excited he was to build their “wee family” together, and ended with an ode to all “the parents who came before, I salute you as hard as my exhausted arm can muster. Already feeling all the love and so grateful for our extended family.”
Ullman and Pott, who is British, got married under a chuppah at the Hackney City Farm last May. Goats were on the premises, which I feel is what makes a wedding perfect (especially if you sing “Chad Gadya“). He talked about his engagement with E! back in 2022, divulging that like many a millennial couple, they met on a dating app and that they live together in a cute home in LA.
Many younger millennials do know Ullman best from his time as Phil Diffy in the Disney high school comedy “Phil of the Future,” which aired on the channel between 2004 and 2006. Back then, Ullman, who was born in Israel and raised in an observant Jewish home in Connecticut (he is related to former senator Joe Lieberman) went by the first name Ricky. He made the choice to change his name professionally because “as a young American-looking boy named Raviv, I wasn’t able to get auditions for American boys because casting directors were like, ‘No, sounds too ethnic,'” he told Hey Alma in 2021. He has since changed his stage name back to Raviv, and you can even hear him share Jewish insights and wisdom in his former podcast “The Study,” which he co-hosted with Rabbi Adam Greenwald between 2020 and 2021.
He has also starred in Lifetime’s “Rita Rocks,” and had guest roles in shows like “House,” “Big Love” and “Broad City.” Ullman is definitely a Renaissance man: Aside from acting in TV and podcasting, he has also directed operas, is quite a talented photographer, and even a pretty delightful amateur puppeteer, who shares the adventures of bear puppet Paul, including this incredible Shabbat shalom message from the furry miniature mammal.
But Ullman’s first love is theater, and has has been in a number of stage projects since starring in “Phil.” He is currently starring in the play “Gallille, 34” in which he plays Saul of Tarsus, aka the man who became Paul the Apostle.
Ullman grew up Orthodox, and still keeps kosher and hosts Shabbat dinners. After October 7, he shared a nuanced message in which he grieved the loss of life in Israel and in Gaza.
“The echo chamber is becoming deafening,” he wrote, “I’ve never been made to answer for the atrocities of Trump and the evils of the American government, and so I get confused when people think it’s ok to blame Israelis or Jews at large for the actions of the Israeli government. No citizen should be blamed for the atrocities of our power-hungry ‘leaders’, and if you disagree take a long hard look at yourself and America’s foreign and domestic policies. Thousands upon thousands of Israelis have been protesting the Netanyahu regime,” he shared, mentioning peace activist Vivian Silver who at the time of writing was believed to be held hostage by Hamas, but who was later discovered in Be’eri, having been murdered on October 7.
“I don’t blame anyone for not understanding the deep complexities of Middle Eastern issues, and l’ve witnessed so much propaganda out there. While the history of the Middle East is immensely complicated, the massacre of a thousand innocent lives is not,” he continued, adding that he “recognize[s] both the Nakba and the need for a Jewish state. I recognize the misaligned power between the IDF and Gaza. Above all I recognize my privilege to share this from relative safety as my grandmother and cousins are in harms way,” before ending the message with a prayer for peace.
We hope Ullman and Pott get to raise their sweet bub in a world full of peace and understanding, and with many adorable performances from Paul the puppet.
