Nik Xhelilaj

Nik Xhelilaj was born on 5 March 1983 in Tirana to a family originally from Southern Albania, specifically the Labëria region, with his father coming from Vlorë and his mother from Tepelenë.{{cite web |url=https://www.anabelmagazine.com/news/47879/nga-sulejmani-te-kuzgun-yjet-e-kinemase-turke-me-origjine-shqiptare |title=Nga Sulejmani te Kuzgun: Yjet e kinemasë turke me origjinë shqiptare |date=9 January 2020 |website=Anabel |language=sq |trans-title=From Suleyman to Kuzgun: Turkish cinema stars of Albanian origin |access-date=5 May 2024}}

Both of his parents are high military officers by profession. So, at the age of 14, also thanks to his father's interest, he went to Istanbul 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.{{cite news |date=17 December 2020 |title=Nik Xhelilaj tregon të pathënat e jetës së tij |trans-title=Nik Xhelilaj tells the untold stories of his life |url=https://www.balkanweb.com/nik-xhelilaj-tregon-te-pathenat-e-jetes-se-tij/#gsc.tab=0 |language=sq |publisher=News 24 |access-date=5 May 2024}}

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.{{cite web |url=https://tvklan.al/opinion-historia-e-rralle-e-nik-xhelilajt |title=Opinion – Historia e rrallë e Nik Xhelilajt! |date=10 April 2024 |publisher=TV Klan |language=sq |trans-title=Opinion – The rare story of Nik Xhelilaj! |access-date=5 May 2024 |via=YouTube}}

In 2003, at the age of 20, Nik entered the Academy of Arts to study acting. In 2004, having just finished his freshman year, 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 ({{langx|sq|Trishtimi i zonjës Shnajder}}), which had strong autobiographical elements. The plot itself dealt generally with the life of director Milkani in the 1960s, during his studies in the then Czechoslovakia. Although he didn't speak any 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 that year, but was not nominated.

Xhelilaj was part of the first season of the reality show Dancing with the Stars, 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.{{cite news |date=30 March 2010 |title=Nik Xhelilaj nga "Dancing with the Stars" |trans-title=Nik Xhelilaj from "Dancing with the Stars" |url=http://thashethe.me/vip-shqiptar/nik-xhelilaj-nga-dancing-with-the-stars/ |language=sq |publisher=Thashetheme |access-date=5 May 2024}}

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• {{IMDb name|2956046}}

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Category:Albanian male film actors

Category:Actors from Tirana

Category:1985 births

Category:Living people

Category:University of Arts (Albania) alumni

Category:21st-century Albanian male actors

Category:Albanian male stage actors