Rikard Ljarja

Rikard Ljarja was an Albanian actor, screenwriter, director and writer. He starred in over 25 feature films and directed 11, and is most known for his role as Deda in .

Life and career

He was born in Shkodër on 1 April 1943, in Italian-occupied Albania. In 1960, he completed secondary education in Jordan Misja High School in his hometown. After completing his tertiary education at the "Aleksandër Moisiu" High School for Actors in 1965, he became part of the "Migjeni" Theatre in Shkodër for the following 8 years. From 1973 to 1996 he worked full-time as an actor, screenwriter and director for the nationalized Kinostudio Shqipëria e Re and its successor Albafilm-Tirana. After retiring in 1996 he worked as artistic director in RTSH until 2002.
He also wrote books, publishing works such as A Godforsaken Place Around Here, Josifopedia, 9 të shkurtra, Prill .
Ljarja died on 20 April 2020 after a long battle with cancer.