Aleksandër Prosi (; 6 January 1920 – 24 March 1985) was an Albanian actor. He is considered one of the greatest actors of 20th-century Albanian cinema, and played hundreds of roles in Albanian stage and cinematography. He is best known for his portrayal of Ismail Qemali Bey Vlora in '' Nëntori i Dytë'' (1982).

Life and work

Prosi was born in

Shkodër Shkodër ( , ; sq-definite, Shkodra; historically known as Scodra or Scutari) is the List of cities and towns in Albania, fifth-most-populous city of Albania and the seat of Shkodër County and Shkodër Municipality. Shkodër has been List of o ...

, Albania, in January 1920. His family moved to

Tirana Tirana ( , ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in Albania, 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 ov ...

when he was 14, where he graduated at Qemal Stafa High School. Prosi's father was originally from Moscopole and was an Aromanian. His first role was in

William Tell William Tell (, ; ; ; ) is a legendary folk hero of Switzerland. He is known for shooting an apple off his son's head. According to the legend, Tell was an expert mountain climber and marksman with a crossbow who assassinated Albrecht Gessler, ...

drama from Schiller. He went to study

dentistry Dentistry, also known as dental medicine and oral medicine, is the branch of medicine focused on the Human tooth, teeth, gums, and Human mouth, mouth. It consists of the study, diagnosis, prevention, management, and treatment of diseases, dis ...

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

, Austria, but did not finish his studies. In 1947, he participates in the competition at the

National Theatre of Albania The National Theatre of Albania () was the main theatre in Tirana, Albania. In March 2020, the National Theatre of Albania was selected by Europa Nostra among the 7 most endangered monuments in Europe, as an exceptional example of modern Italia ...

and wins. He has interpreted more than 100 roles in the theater and in movies. He has created unforgettable characters such as ''Vuksani'' in "The second face" (), ''Horatio'' in

Hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play. Set in Denmark, the play (the ...

, ''Otello'' in

Otello ''Otello'' () is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Arrigo Boito, based on William Shakespeare, Shakespeare's play ''Othello''. It was Verdi's penultimate opera, first performed at the La Scala, Teatro alla Scala, M ...

, ''Miller'' in

Intrigue and Love ''Intrigue and Love'', sometimes ''Love and Intrigue'', ''Love and Politics'', or ''Luise Miller'' (, ; literally "''Cabal and Love''") is a five-act Play (theatre), play written by the German dramatist Friedrich Schiller. His third play, it was ...

from Schiller, ''Dhaskal Todri'' in "Letter's way" (),

Ismail Qemali Ismail Qemali, or Ismail Kemal, (; 16 January 184426 January 1919), was an Albanian politician and statesman who is regarded as the founder of modern Independent Albania, Albania. He served as the first Prime Minister of Albania, prime minister o ...

in "Second November" (), etc. He was a professor in the Academy of Arts of Albania during 1962—1975. He was given the People's Artist of Albania award by the Albanian government. He is considered one of the greatest Albanian actors of all time. His death in 1985 created many controversies in Albania, as it was talked as a suicide, these were just never proved gossips, and the media never reported his end of life as such. In 2010, Prosi was awarded the Honor of the Nation title () by the President of the Republic of Albania.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Prosi, Sander Albanian male stage actors 1920 births People from Shkodër Albanian people of Aromanian descent 1985 deaths Albanian male film actors People's Artists of Albania Qemal Stafa High School alumni 20th-century Albanian male actors Actors from Tirana Musicians from Tirana 1985 suicides Suicides in Albania