Despite having no military experience and with only his moral conviction as his guide, a British actor has left the comforts of his home and a promising career in Hollywood to join Kurdish forces in the fight against the Islamic State.
Actor Michael Enright, who appeared in different roles in the "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest," "Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D." and "Law & Order: L.A.," decided to join the Kurdish People's Protection Units in Syria.
With only limited experience in the use of real firearms, the 51-year-old left his family in the US after hearing about the victims of ISIS' executions, particularly the Jordanian pilot who was burned alive and the journalists who were beheaded by the ISIS militants, ABC News reported on Monday.
Enright, who was born in Manchester, England, said in an interview with Dubai-based Al Aan TV that what really spurred him into action was when he saw a fellow Englishman who became an Islamic zealot, nicknamed Jihadi John, on television taunting the West and doing the beheadings. The actor, who lived in the U.S., said he felt he owed a debt to America as well as the need "to help right a wrong."
"For me, the biggest regret of my life was not going to Afghanistan when 9/11 happened," Enright told The Daily Mail. "The beheading videos brought out the same kind of feelings in me, and a real sense that I had a duty to America. I really feel a debt to the country. You know, they welcomed me with open arms."
"And then what added to it all was that it was an Englishman (who did the beheadings), that he had an English accent. And I just, it just touched me personally, in a very deep way."
Enright said the ISIS militants "need to be wiped off completely from the face of this earth," calling them "a stain on humanity,"
"This is a call on humanity to obliterate them," he added.
The actor said he was ready to die for the cause, saying: "I didn't come here to run. I came here to fight and if I have to die, then I die. I didn't come here to play games."
Enright said he will initiate his contingency plan in case he falls into the hands of ISIS. In Syria, it is common knowledge that the ISIS will pay £65,000 ($100,000) for a Western hostage.
"If I'm about to get caught, then you know, we keep one bullet back for ourselves," he said.
Enright said he did not inform any of his family or Hollywood friends about his travel to Syria to join the fight. He only wrote to them once he arrived there and told them he loved them and he might not see them again.
"I wrote my mother a letter. My sister just got diagnosed with cancer; she's going through radiotherapy right now. And so I'm just hoping that we both get through it," he said.
He said most of his friends would have tried to prevent him from leaving if he told them about his plans before leaving.
"I didn't really want to hear that negativity," he said.
"So I just went, and then told them on Facebook. I apologised to all my friends for not being able to say a proper goodbye to them. Because, you know, I might not be coming back, I don't know."
He said a British friend who worked in the Special Air Service and who served in Iraq was the one who put him in touch with the Kurdish YPG, who in turn told him to contact them through a Facebook page called Lions of Rojava.
The actor said he has learned about Islam and has changed his name to Mustafa Michael Ali while he was in Kurdistan.
Enright said he is angry that Britain is not bombing ISIS in Syria, focusing instead on Iraq. More air raids would have defeated the ISIS in months, he said.
"We're outgunned, and we're outmanned. We need the air support."
Asked if he misses home, Enright said: "No, I'm very happy to be here, to be doing something that I think will outlast me."
