Michael Enright, who starred alongside Johnny Depp in the blockbuster film Pirates of the Caribbean, has now swapped his cutlass for a kalashnikov.
Michael Enright with Anne Hathaway
Manchester-born Mr Enright, 51, told the Gulf-based Al-Aan TV he moved to join Kurdish fighters battling the Islamist militants after learning more about the group’s treatment of hostages and its persecution of Iraq’s Yazidi minority.
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“This is not just a Kurdish call, this is a call to humanity to obliterate [Isil], said the actor, calling the extremist group a “stain on humanity”.
The well-organised Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) has emerged as a key partner for the US-led alliance against Isil in Syria. Mainstream rebels fighting Syrian President Bashar al-Assad have mostly been eclipsed by jihadists, complicating a US plan to train and equip Syrian opposition forces.
Mr Enright is one of dozens of foreign fighters have travelled to the self-styled Kurdish enclave of Rojava to join the fight. Most have a military background. Many have been recruited via Facebook, and some have funded their airfare on crowdfunding websites.
Michael Enright in the Kurdish enclave of Rojava
“I didn’t come here to run, I came here to fight. If I die, I die,” said Mr Enright, adding that he had written letters to his family as a way of preparing them for his death. He has previously said that he did not inform his famous friends of his departure, for fear they would try and stop him.
The Hollywood actor has featured in a host of box office hits, appearing alongside Tom Cruise, Robin Williams and John Travolta.
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