British actor Michael Enright quits Hollywood to fight Isis in Syria

53-year-old starred in Pirates of the Caribbean alongside Johnny Depp, and Knight and Day with Tom Cruise

The 53-year-old from Moss Side left for Iraq in 2015 before later travelling to Syria (Screenshot)

A British actor who once starred alongside film stars like Tom Cruise and Johnny Depp is now "the first to put my hand up to volunteer" for operations against Isis in Syria.

Michael Enright joined the Kurdish rebel force YPG in 2015 after seeing footage of US journalist James Foley being beheaded by Mohammed Emwazi, known as Jihadi John.

The 53-year-old previously starred in films from Knight and Day starring Tom Cruise and Pirates of the Caribbean Dead Man’s Chest.

But despite brushing shoulders with A-listers, Enright said he wanted to find a higher purpose.

“As an actor I played roles before where I was a SWAT team policeman going into a heavy situation. It looks very intense. In actual fact it’s not like that at all,” he told The Sun. “You just don’t freak out about it until you’re literally right on top of a fight.”

Enright, who was given the name Mustafa Rojava by his Kurdish colleagues, is originally from Manchester, where a suicide bomber killed 23 people at an Ariana Grande concert in May.

“The attack in Manchester especially brought a lot of emotions. I’m used to a lot of death, and terrorist attacks, but this was different, it’s my home town,” he said.

“I was heartbroken because of the age of the targets, those little girls.”

He said the attacks in London Bridge and Manchester had “hardened his heart” and has made him all the more determined to fight.

“Daesh are only tough guys when they’re fighting innocent, defenceless people," he said. "But I’ve arrested and interrogated loads of them, and when their hands are tied they become sheep.

“I’m not going to leave until IS are gone. At which point I’ll give all the Kurds a big kiss, then go home to Manchester and give my mother a big kiss.”

Despite the militant group placing a £116,000 bounty on his head, Enright vowed to fight on.

“I’ll give Isis no quarter. I won’t expect much mercy from them and I will not give them much mercy, that I can promise you,” he said.

His comments came as Isis is slowly being squeezed out of its former strongholds in the Iraqi city of Mosul and the Syrian city of Raqqa.

Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi congratulated coalition troops earlier this week on their victory against Isis in Mosul, although fighting continues in small pockets of the city still under militant control.

“Praise be to God, we managed to liberate (the city) and proved the others were wrong, the people of Mosul supported and stood with our security forces against terrorism,” Mr Abadi said.

Instructions have already been issued on rebuilding the city - devastated by Isis improvised explosive devices (IEDs) and coalition bombing - and improving the security situation, he added.