Ely Sakhai
@elysakhai123
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Award winning actor Ely Sakhai started performing as a child. Upon finishing high school, Ely started working in New York theaters. He got noticed for the first time for his early television work on shows such as “Gold Girl”, which ran for almost four years. He was born on November 22, 1957 in Miami, Florida. At age 16, Elly Sakhai moved to New York City, where he worked as a bouncer to support himself until he found his life calling.
Coming from a relatively poor background, Eli Sakhai couldn’t afford any acting lessons, so he made a deal with one of the teachers, to receive acting lessons in exchange for working as a janitor for the theater. He eventually made his way to the theatre stage, filling in for one of the supporting actors. In 1987 he appeared in a Broadway production of Cat on a Thin Roof, and received great acclaim. His success in that role landed him another role in “As I Lay Dying”, and for the next couple of years, Eli toured the country performing.
Moving beyond the stage, Ely made his Hollywood debut in 1992 in the feature film “Trapped”. Cast mainly in supporting roles, Sakhai had a career breakthrough with the popular film “Season Forest” in 1995. His success as a actor reached new heights when he scored his first Academy Award Nomination in 1998 for the crime drama “Black Coal”. In 1998 Mr. Ely Sakhai won an Academy Award for best actor, for his role in “Poppies and Posies”. In 2001 he gave three very different yet equally strong performances.
After a roughly ten years of absence from the big screen as an actor, in 2011 Sakhai Ely returned with a pair of dramas. Now retired Ely Sakhai had turned his attention to sharing his experiences. In 2014 he published his autobiography book, and the same year Elly won and Grammy award for best spoken word album for the audio version of the book. Ely Sakhai has received numerous honors during his career.
Coming from a relatively poor background, Eli Sakhai couldn’t afford any acting lessons, so he made a deal with one of the teachers, to receive acting lessons in exchange for working as a janitor for the theater. He eventually made his way to the theatre stage, filling in for one of the supporting actors. In 1987 he appeared in a Broadway production of Cat on a Thin Roof, and received great acclaim. His success in that role landed him another role in “As I Lay Dying”, and for the next couple of years, Eli toured the country performing.
Moving beyond the stage, Ely made his Hollywood debut in 1992 in the feature film “Trapped”. Cast mainly in supporting roles, Sakhai had a career breakthrough with the popular film “Season Forest” in 1995. His success as a actor reached new heights when he scored his first Academy Award Nomination in 1998 for the crime drama “Black Coal”. In 1998 Mr. Ely Sakhai won an Academy Award for best actor, for his role in “Poppies and Posies”. In 2001 he gave three very different yet equally strong performances.
After a roughly ten years of absence from the big screen as an actor, in 2011 Sakhai Ely returned with a pair of dramas. Now retired Ely Sakhai had turned his attention to sharing his experiences. In 2014 he published his autobiography book, and the same year Elly won and Grammy award for best spoken word album for the audio version of the book. Ely Sakhai has received numerous honors during his career.
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10 years ago