Birol Ünel (18 August 1961 – 3 September 2020) was a

Turkish-German Turks in Germany, also referred to as German Turks and Turkish Germans (german: Türken in Deutschland/Deutschtürken; tr, Almanya'da yaşayan Türkler/Almanya Türkleri), are ethnic Turkish people living in Germany. These terms are also used t ...

actor who played in

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

and

Turkish films 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 ...

, television, and theatrical productions. He was perhaps best known for his role as the alcoholic Cahit Tomruk in

Fatih Akin Fatih Akin (Turkish: Fatih Akın, born 25 August 1973) is a German film director, screenwriter and producer of Turkish descent. He has won numerous awards for his films, including the Golden Bear at the Berlin Film Festival for his film '' Head- ...

's 2004 drama film '' Head-On'', for which he received the German film prize for Best Actor.

Life and career

Ünel was born in

Silifke Silifke ( grc-gre, Σελεύκεια, ''Seleukeia'', la, Seleucia ad Calycadnum) is a town and district in south-central Mersin Province, Turkey, west of the city of Mersin, on the west end of Çukurova. Silifke is near the Mediterranean coast ...

Mersin Mersin (), also known as İçel, is a large city and a port on the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean coast of southern Turkey. It is the provincial capital of Mersin Province, Mersin (İçel) Province. It is made up of four municipalities and dis ...

, in southern Turkey. In 1968, his family moved to

Brinkum Brinkum is a municipality in the district of Leer, in Lower Saxony, Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and th ...

near

Bremen Bremen (Low German also: ''Breem'' or ''Bräm''), officially the City Municipality of Bremen (german: Stadtgemeinde Bremen, ), is the capital of the German state Free Hanseatic City of Bremen (''Freie Hansestadt Bremen''), a two-city-state consis ...

in Germany. He studied acting at the

Musikhochschule Hannover A music school is an educational institution specialized in the study, training, and research of music. Such an institution can also be known as a school of music, music academy, music faculty, college of music, music department (of a larger in ...

. Ünel began as a theatre actor at the Berlin Tacheles where he played the lead and also directed the play ''Caligula''. Ünel made his film debut in 1988's '' The Passenger''. He played a private detective in the film ' which he followed up with a role in

's '' In July''. He then portrayed the alcoholic Cahit Tomruk in Akin's '' Head-On'' (''Gegen die Wand''), which won the

Golden Bear The Golden Bear (german: Goldener Bär) is the highest prize awarded for the best film at the Berlin International Film Festival. The bear is the heraldic animal of Berlin, featured on both the coat of arms and flag of Berlin. History The winn ...

at the Berlinale 2004 and brought him international recognition. Ünel also won the German film prize for Best Actor for this performance. In 2005 Ünel acted in the hit Turkish film ''Hırsız var!''; his later films included ''

Transylvania Transylvania ( ro, Ardeal or ; hu, Erdély; german: Siebenbürgen) is a historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and south its natural border is the Carpathian Mountains, and to the west the Ap ...

'' (2006), ''Seven Heroes'' and '' Soul Kitchen'' (2009). His career declined after struggles with alcohol and he was also in the news with minor criminal charges and homelessness. Ünel died at a hospital in Berlin on 3 September 2020, aged 59, after suffering from

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...

. He also suffered from

alcoholism Alcoholism is, broadly, any drinking of alcohol (drug), alcohol that results in significant Mental health, mental or physical health problems. Because there is disagreement on the definition of the word ''alcoholism'', it is not a recognize ...

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Unel, Birol 1961 births 2020 deaths People from Silifke Turkish emigrants to West Germany German male film actors German male stage actors German male television actors Turkish male film actors Turkish male stage actors Turkish male television actors German people of Turkish descent German Film Award winners Deaths from cancer in Germany People from Leer (district)