Enea Zheku (1964-2022) | “Tomka and his misbehaving”

Enea Zheku (1964-2022)
An actor who promised a lot and was destined to become one of the great actors of Albanian cinema.

Born on July 9, 1964. Finished his studies at the High Institute of Arts for an actor. Started his activity in the Albanian film when he was still a child (12 years old), being engaged by the well-known director Dhimiter Anagnosti, to perform in the film “Poppies on the Wall” in 1976, where he performed the role of Lelo.

A year later, in 1977, he stands out with the role of Zigur in the film “Man with Cannon” and especially shines with that of Tomka in “Tomka and his friends”, a role that makes him known and identified among Albanian art lovers.

Enea, aware of the first two roles, had understood what it meant to be a part of a film, what was required of him, so he learned the role of Tonka very quickly, that he would interpret it very well even outside the shooting.

Placing himself in the center of attention with this role, especially after the screening of the film, spoiled quite a bit by his grandparents and even being the favorite of many directors, Enea would feel important, and almost untouchable, so years later, when he grew up, life would not come to him as much as when he was a child, when he could easily forgive his mistakes.

In 1986, again successfully performed a leading role in the film “One more life”.

And that’s it!

With the end of this film, Eneas’ beautiful dreams are also interrupted. After this film, there would be no others. The rest of Eneas’ life resembles a tragic movie, where “Tomka” continues to play the main role, but in the genre of tragedy.

The free and slightly rebellious spirit that had been created little by little within him began to emerge more in the high school years. So much so that the name Enea Zheku would be recorded in the registers of almost all high schools in Tirana.

As soon as he was expelled from one school, he was sent to another, until he ended up in night school. Many continued to identify Tomka as the prodigal boy.

Enea felt good about this nickname, which would follow him even when he managed to enter the Academy of Arts, where Enea would feel for the first time the desire to become an actor, while everything had happened before in the square shooting, he didn’t take it that seriously.

There at the Academy, the miracle would happen that would not last long. Because in the first year, Enea Zheku would be expelled from school again for “bad behavior”.

The first sentence he received was only for one school year. While in the second year, another punishment he would receive, for bad behavior, would definitely exclude him.

“Tomka” continued to be misbehaving, so life would become more and more vicious. In 1989, he was locked up in a psychiatric hospital for 15 days, and then he was locked up for the second time for about a month.

In 1990 Zheku emigrated to Greece and after a few years to Italy. In the first days of his return to Tirana, he would go to the Academy of Arts because he wanted to start where he left off years ago.

Zheku quickly realized that life was not like the movies that times were no longer the same as when he was shooting for Tomka. That’s why he opened his own business, a bar-restaurant that he called “Vila 31”, but which has become better known as Tomka’s bar.

Because even now that he was a businessman, people continue to identify him with Tomka.

However, in 2013, the director Besnik Bisha brings him to the staff of the series “Millenium”, playing a leading role together with the well-known actor Ndricim Xhepa.

Enea passed away after a serious illness on May 29, 2022

© Reserved material | Exclusivity on Facebook: July 2020

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Albanian Cinematography in activity since 2013
Reference: Encyclopedia of Albanian Cinematography – Toena 2002 / A. Hoxha / p. 440 as well as information about “Albanian newspapers”.

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