Özcan Deniz (born 19 May 1972) is a

Turkish Turkish may refer to: *a Turkic language spoken by the Turks * of or about Turkey ** Turkish language *** Turkish alphabet ** Turkish people, a Turkic ethnic group and nation *** Turkish citizen, a citizen of Turkey *** Turkish communities and mi ...

actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), li ...

singer Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...

, composer, writer and director, who is of Kurdish descent.

Life

His family is of

Kurdish Kurdish may refer to: *Kurds or Kurdish people *Kurdish languages *Kurdish alphabets *Kurdistan, the land of the Kurdish people which includes: **Southern Kurdistan **Eastern Kurdistan **Northern Kurdistan **Western Kurdistan See also * Kurd (dis ...

origin. Deniz's family is originally from

Ağrı Ağrı ( ku, Agirî; ) is the capital of Ağrı Province in eastern Turkey, near the border with Iran. Formerly known as Karaköse ( ku, Qerekose) from the early Turkish republican period until 1946, and before that as Karakilise ( ota, قره‌� ...

but he was born in

Ankara Ankara ( , ; ), historically known as Ancyra and Angora, is the capital of Turkey. Located in the central part of Anatolia, the city has a population of 5.1 million in its urban center and over 5.7 million in Ankara Province, maki ...

and grew up in

Aydın Aydın ( ''EYE-din''; ; formerly named ''Güzelhisar'', Ancient and Modern Greek: Τράλλεις /''Tralleis''/) is a city in and the seat of Aydın Province in Turkey's Aegean Region. The city is located at the heart of the lower valley of B ...

. He is the nephew of a famous traditional Kurdish singer named

Şakiro Şakir Deniz also known as Şakiro (born in 1936 in Eleşkirt–1996, Izmir, Turkey), was a Kurdish Dengbêj singer. His songs were often recorded on cassettes and distributed illegally, when the Kurdish language faced limitations in cultural expr ...

. He started acting during his highschool years itself in theater plays, which he wrote himself and attended local amateur theater clubs. He performed his first orchestra work in 1985 in Aydın. In 1988 he moved to

Istanbul Istanbul ( , ; tr, İstanbul ), formerly known as Constantinople ( grc-gre, Κωνσταντινούπολις; la, Constantinopolis), is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, serving as the country's economic, ...

and in 1998 to Germany to pursue a music career. He was discovered by a group of producers in

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...

, Germany. Deniz‘ debut album ''Ağlattın Beni'' was released in 1992. With the album ''Meleğim'' released in 1993, he became well known. In 1994, he released his album ''Beyaz Kelebeğim''. In 1994, he acted in the film 'Ona Sevdiğimi Söyle' directed by

Memduh Ün Arif Memduh Ün (14 March 1920 – 16 October 2015) was a Turkish film producer, director, actor and screenwriter. His film, '' The Broken Pots'', was entered into the 11th Berlin International Film Festival The 11th annual Berlin Intern ...

. After his military service he released another album called ''Yalan mı'' in 1997 and started acting in the TV series ''Yalan mı'' in the same year. In 1999, he starred in another TV series called ''Aşkın Dağlarda Gezer'' which he wrote himself too. In 2002, he had the leading role in the very popular TV series ''

Asmalı Konak ''Asmalı Konak'' ("The Mansion with Vines") was a Turkish TV series directed by Çağan Irmak Çağan Irmak (born 4 April 1970) is a Turkish film and television writer and director, who has managed to attract a large audience in Turkey and is ...

''. Deniz both directed and wrote the screenplay for the film '' Ya Sonra?'' in 2011.

Discography

Albums

* ''Yine Ağlattın Beni'' (1992, Prestij Müzik) * ''Hadi Hadi Meleğim'' (1993, Prestij Müzik) * ''Beyaz Kelebeğim'' (1994, Prestij Müzik) * ''Yalan Mı?'' (1997, Prestij Müzik) * ''Çoban Yıldızı'' (1998, Prestij Müzik) * ''Aslan Gibi'' (2000, Prestij Müzik) * ''Leyla'' (2002, Popüler Müzik) * ''Ses ve Ayrılık'' (2004, Deniz-Spotek Production) * ''Hediye'' (2007, Doğan Music Company) * ''Sevdazede'' (2009, Avrupa Müzik) * ''Bi Düşün'' (2012, Poll Production)

Singles

* "Her Şey Değişir" (with Pamela and Fuat) (2009, Pasaj Müzik) * "Merakımdan" (2012, Poll Production) * "Aşk" (2019, DNZ Production) * "Allah Büyük" (2020, DNZ Production) * "Ben Yine Kendimle" (2020, DNZ Production) * "Ayrıntılarda Gizli" (2020, DNZ Production)

Filmography

References

External links

* * Turkish male television actors 1972 births Living people Turkish people of Kurdish descent Golden Butterfly Award winners Turkish male singers {{Turkey-actor-stub