biography
Shpend Xani is a classically trained Albanian-American actor and a foreign language dialect coach based in New York City. Born and raised in Kosovo, he left his native country in 1999 following the war and moved to the US.
On stage, Shpend has appeared in Shakespeare’s King John at Folger Theatre, Antony and Cleopatra at Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival, Coriolanus, and
A Midsummer Night’s Dream at Shakespeare Theatre-ACA, in the Olney Theatre’s production of Arthur Miller’s The Crucible and Caryl Churchill’s Love and Information at Forum Theatre. Shpend also performed in the following world premieres; Beginning Days of True Jubilation, The Strangers Came Today with SOCIETY Theatre Company, The Vagrant Trilogy at Mosaic Theater Company, Rest Upon the Wind at NYU Skirball Center, The Interstellar Ghost Hour at Longacre Lea, Pawnshop Accordions at FringeNYC, Pocono Christmas at Hudson Guild Theatre.
On screen, Shpend has appeared inThe Blacklist (NBC), New Amsterdam (NBC) as well as other independent features and short films.
He also works as a dialect coach providing foreign language translation and coaching services for tv shows such as The Blacklist, Blue Bloods, Blank Slate, etc. He is fluent in four languages.
Shpend is a founding member of the NYC ensemble theatre company called SOCIETY.
He holds a BFA in Acting from Millikin University in Illinois and an MFA in Classical Acting from Shakespeare Theatre's Academy at the George Washington University in DC.
Shpend also holds a BFA in Acting from University of Prishtina in Kosovo.