Michael Enright, a British-born actor who appeared in the second Pirates of the Caribbean film, has gone to Syria to join the fight against the Islamic extremist group ISIS.
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"ISIS, they need to be wiped off, completely, the face of this earth," Enright said in an interview with the Dubai-based Al Aan television channel last week. "They are a stain on humanity."
The actor told the channel that he was moved to join the fight against ISIS after the group released a series of execution videos in which they killed individuals from both Western and Arab countries. ISIS has been taking over territory in Iraq and Syria since last summer.
Enright, who is from Manchester, England, lived in the U.S. and has featured in minor roles in films and television shows. He appeared in Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest, CSI, and Law & Order: LA.
In the Al Aan interview, Enright said he joined Kurdish forces fighting ISIS because he saw them as a better bet than some of the other groups trying to stop the Islamists.
Actor Michael Enright left #Hollywood 2 fight #ISIS in Syria. @akhbar has 1st tv interview https://t.co/bCoeYGLIyf
Kurdish forces in both Iraq and Syria are often viewed as more motivated and tenacious than the two countries' armies, the Associated Press has reported. In Iraq, Kurds are also the U.S.'s main ally on the ground, although some feel that they're doing the West's dirty work, BuzzFeed News reported earlier this year.
Enright is fighting with the Kurdish People's Protection Units, a group based in Syria that's also known as the YPG, the Washington Post reported.
The actor told Al Aan he was aware of the risks of putting himself on the front line. "I hope to see them again," he said, referring to his friends and family. "But, you know, we're in a war so I don't know if that will be in this life or the next."