Lou was born in Montreal and studied theatre at McGill University. Although he began acting at age 11, he performed mostly in theatre and small films before moving to Toronto in 1997, where, among other things, he studied improv at Second City and Bad Dog Theatre. A former classmate, now the producer of a local teen TV program, hired Lou as a guest star on that show for several episodes over three seasons. Lou also appeared in the local syndicated show "Style By Jury", serving on a dozen panels over four seasons. His first infomercial aired in 2006 for a mobility scooter, a commercial that aired nationwide.Lou is a Star Trek (1966) expert (he is known as Canada's Classic Trekspert) and often hosts his own "game show", called, not surprisingly, "Trek Trivia Starring Lou Israel", based on information from all incarnations of that show. An accomplished songwriter, columnist and improviser, he also dabbles in stand-up and sketch comedy.