Kreshnik Xhelilaj (born 5 March 1983), known professionally as Nik Xhelilaj, is an
Albanian
Albanian may refer to:
*Pertaining to Albania in Southeast Europe; in particular:
**Albanians, an ethnic group native to the Balkans
**Albanian language
**Albanian culture
**Demographics of Albania, includes other ethnic groups within the country ...
actor.
He began his international career with the film
The Sorrow of Mrs. Schneider, directed by Piro Milkani and Eno Milkani, and has starred in three critically acclaimed Albanian films, two of which were included in the
in 2008 and 2009. Nik has won several "Best Actor" awards at various international film festivals.
Biography
Nik Xhelilaj was born on 5 March 1983 in
Tirana
Tirana ( , ; aln, Tirona) is the capital and largest city of Albania. It is located in the centre of the country, enclosed by mountains and hills with Dajti rising to the east and a slight valley to the northwest overlooking the Adriatic Sea ...
to a family originally from
Southern Albania
Southern Albania ( sq, Shqipëria jugore) is one of the three NUTS-2 Regions of Albania. This ethnographical territory is sometimes referred to as ''Toskeria'' ( sq, Toskëria).
It consists of five counties: Berat, Fier, Gjirokastër, Korçë ...
, specifically the
Labëria
Labëria is a historic region that is roughly situated in southwestern Albania. Its inhabitants are known as Labs (referred to as sq, Lab, pl. ''Lebër'', also dial. sing. ''Lap'') and its boundaries reach from Vlorë to Himara in the south, to ...
region, with his father coming from
Vlorë
Vlorë ( , ; sq-definite, Vlora) is the third most populous city of the Republic of Albania and seat of Vlorë County and Vlorë Municipality. Located in southwestern Albania, Vlorë sprawls on the Bay of Vlorë and is surrounded by the foothi ...
and his mother from
Tepelenë
Tepelenë ( sq-definite, Tepelena) is a city and a municipality in Gjirokastër County, in the south of Albania. The town is located on the left bank of the Vjosa River, about three kilometres downstream from its union with the Drino.
Until the a ...
.
Both of his parents are high
military officer
An officer is a person who holds a position of authority as a member of an armed force or uniformed service.
Broadly speaking, "officer" means a commissioned officer, a non-commissioned officer, or a warrant officer. However, absent context ...
s by profession. So, at the age of 14, also thanks to his father's interest, he went to
Istanbul
Istanbul ( , ; tr, İstanbul ), formerly known as Constantinople ( grc-gre, Κωνσταντινούπολις; la, Constantinopolis), is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, serving as the country's economic, ...
to attend the military high school. But his new way did not last more than 4 months and he decided to give up the military career and return to
Albania
Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea and shares ...
.
2003–2008: Early career and ''The Sorrow of Mrs. Schneider''
Nik originally wanted to pursue a career in law, but failed to win a place at university in the qualifying round. While waiting for the next round in the following year, he became interested in acting and started attending acting classes. Eventually he got involved with other young artists in the ''Sirea Film'' projects, with film directors Leonard Bombaj and Alfred Trebicka, who advised him to apply to the
Academy of Arts
An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary or tertiary higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membership). The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, f ...
.
In 2003, at the age of 20, Nik entered the Academy of Arts to study acting. In 2004, having just finished his
freshman year
A freshman, fresher, first year, or frosh, is a person in the first year at an educational institution, usually a secondary school or at the college and university level, but also in other forms of post-secondary school, post-secondary educatio ...
, Nik was chosen by the experienced film director Pirro Milkani to play the lead role of Lekë Seriani in the film
The Sorrow of Mrs. Schneider ( sq, Trishtimi i zonjës Shnajder), which had strong
autobiographical
An autobiography, sometimes informally called an autobio, is a self-written account of one's own life.
It is a form of biography.
Definition
The word "autobiography" was first used deprecatingly by William Taylor in 1797 in the English peri ...
elements. The plot itself dealt generally with the life of director Milkani in the 1960s, during his studies in the then
Czechoslovakia
, rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי,
, common_name = Czechoslovakia
, life_span = 1918–19391945–1992
, p1 = Austria-Hungary
, image_p1 ...
. Although he didn't speak any
Czech
Czech may refer to:
* Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe
** Czech language
** Czechs, the people of the area
** Czech culture
** Czech cuisine
* One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus'
Places
*Czech, ...
, the young actor memorised his Czech lines for the whole film and learned how to pronounce them.
It was also here that he became widely known by his stage name or nickname Nik, as the film's producers found the Albanian name Kreshnik difficult to pronounce and suggested a shorter version.
The film was released in 2008 and was the Albanian submission for the
Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film
The Academy Award for Best International Feature Film (known as Best Foreign Language Film prior to 2020) is one of the Academy Awards handed out annually by the U.S.-based Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It is given to a ...
that year, but was not nominated.
2010: ''Dancing with the Stars''
Xhelilaj was part of the first season of the reality show
Dancing with the Stars
''Dancing with the Stars'' is the name of various international television series based on the format of the British TV series '' Strictly Come Dancing'', which is distributed by BBC Studios, the commercial arm of the BBC. Currently the forma ...
, which took place between 18 February and 7 May 2010. The couple, consisting of the actor and professional dancer Olta Ahmetaj, were the fifth to be eliminated from the competition (out of 12 couples), thus forfeiting the first prize of €50,000.
Filmography
Film
Television
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Xhelilaj, Nik
Albanian male film actors
Actors from Tirana
1985 births
Living people
University of Arts (Albania) alumni
21st-century Albanian male actors
Albanian male stage actors