Ilir has always been interested in the arts and creativity in all forms. However, growing with five siblings to an Albanian family in the seventies, provided him with little opportunity to follow his dreams.When he left the country, Ilir moved to Greece where he found a use for his talent for performing – after a fashion. He learned to play the required ‘roles’ to find work in his new, unfamiliar world, be that as a farmer, a tomb-builder, or fitting in with the ever-changing crews aboard the oil tankers that navigating the globe.Then, one day, he arrived in New York. Ilir finally found home! Over twenty years on and he is happily married to his partner of twenty-five years and the proud father of two wonderful boys. It was a chance conversation with a colleague that got him his first gig – playing a Mafia Guard on The Irishman (2019). Since then, he has appeared in Joker (2019), Catfight (2019), and Tell (2020), as well a more substantial roles on shows like The Deuce (2017).
