Engin Akyürek
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Engin Akyürek (born 12 October 1981) is a Turkish actor, screenwriter and author. Akyürek began his acting career in the year 2004. He has starred in many acclaimed series and movies. Akyürek received no official schooling for acting, stage or screen. Yet, he had a passion for writing and drama. He graduated from the history department of the language-history and geography faculty at
Ankara University Ankara University () is a public university, public research university in Ankara, the capital of Turkey. It was the first higher education institution founded in Turkey after the History of the Republic of Turkey, formation of the Turkish republ ...
before he took part in the ''Türkiye'nin Yıldızları'' (''Turkey's Stars'') TV contest for acting. He was one of the stars of the contest alongside
Beren Saat Beren Saat (; born 26 February 1984) is a Turkish actress. Since the beginning of her career, she has received critical acclaim and numerous accolades for her acting. While studying at BaÅŸkent University, she participated in the acting competi ...
, who went on to become one of the most famous actresses of Turkish TV dramas. He received his first leading role in '' Bir Bulut Olsam'', in which he played the role of Mustafa Bulut. His spectacular portrayal of the character bought the series into attention of audience. Engin Akyürek is well known for portraying many lead roles in TV series, such as Kerim Ilgaz in ''
Fatmagül'ün Suçu Ne? ''Fatmagül'ün Suçu Ne?'' ( ''What is Fatmagül's Fault?'') is a Turkish television drama series produced by Ay Yapım and broadcast on Kanal D. The series is based on Vedat Türkali's scenario, ''Fatmagül'ün Suçu Ne?'', which was made into ...
'', Ömer Demir in ''
Kara Para Aşk ''Kara Para Aşk'' ( English: ''Black Money Love'') is a Turkish television series broadcast on ATV screens on Wednesday evenings. The leading cast are Tuba Büyüküstün, Engin Akyürek and Erkan Can. The production of the series is undert ...
'', and Sancar in '' Sefirin Kızı''. His role as Ömer in ''Kara Para Aşk'' led to him winning the best actor award in 
Seoul International Drama Awards Seoul International Drama Awards (), simply known as SDA, is an annual award ceremony based in Seoul, South Korea which honors excellence in television drama In film and television show, television, drama is a category or genre of narrat ...
 (2015) and a nomination for best performance by an actor at the 
International Emmy Awards The International Emmy Awards, or International Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the television industry. Bestowed by the New York–based International Academy of Television Arts and Sc ...
. Apart from television, Akyürek has also starred in movies. His debut film was '' Kader'', in which he starred as Cevat. He also played the role of Tekin in the film '' Bi Küçük Eylül Meselesi'', written and directed by Kerem Deren. He is also the brand ambassador of
Shell Shell may refer to: Architecture and design * Shell (structure), a thin structure ** Concrete shell, a thin shell of concrete, usually with no interior columns or exterior buttresses Science Biology * Seashell, a hard outer layer of a marine ani ...
and
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Türkiye.


Early life and education

Engin Akyürek was born on 12 October 1981 in
Ankara Ankara is the capital city of Turkey and List of national capitals by area, the largest capital by area in the world. Located in the Central Anatolia Region, central part of Anatolia, the city has a population of 5,290,822 in its urban center ( ...
,
Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...
. His family is from Tercan,
Erzincan Erzincan (; ), historically Yerznka (), is the capital of Erzincan Province in eastern Turkey. Nearby cities include Erzurum, Sivas, Tunceli, Bingöl, Elazığ, Malatya, Gümüşhane, Bayburt, and Giresun. The city is majority Turkish Sunni w ...
,
Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...
. His father is a government official and his mother is a homemaker. He has a younger brother. Akyürek graduated from the
Ankara University Ankara University () is a public university, public research university in Ankara, the capital of Turkey. It was the first higher education institution founded in Turkey after the History of the Republic of Turkey, formation of the Turkish republ ...
Department of History in 2002, where he had expertise in languages and history.


Acting career

In 2004, two years after graduating from university, Engin Akyürek took part in the ''Turkiye’nin Yildizlari'' (Turkey's Star) TV competition. His first place win in this competition landed him a supporting role in the TV series, '' Yabancı Damat'' (2004–2007), produced by Yagmur Taylan and Durul Taylan. In ''Yabancı Damat'', he worked with many cinema and stage veterans like Erdal Özyağcılar and 
Zeki Alasya Zeki Alasya (18 April 1943 – 8 May 2015) was a Turkish actor and film director. Alasya was of Turkish Cypriot descent and was related to Kıbrıslı Mehmed Kamil Pasha. Filmleri 1957 Bir Avuç Toprak 1958 Iftira 1959 Gurbet 1960 Tas Beb ...
 along with young stars such as İlker Aksum and Binnur Kaya. He appeared in all 106 episodes of the show becoming a regular face for TV spectators. The TV series became popular in Greece as well, reflecting the warm Turkish-European relations at that time. The show began in 2004 and made its finale in 2007. His first film debut was
Zeki Demirkubuz Zeki Demirkubuz (born 1 October 1964) is a contemporary Turkish people, Turkish film director, screenwriter, film producer, producer and film editor. Biography Demirkubuz dropped out of high school and started working in a textile workshop. He ...
's '' Kader'' (2006). For his portrayal of Cevat in this film, Engin Akyürek received the "Most Promising Actor" award for both the Turkish Cinema Awards and for CASOD (Cagdas Sinema Oyuncuları Dernegi) Awards in 2006. Thereafter, he starred in the role of Nizipli Halim in the TV series, ''Karayilan'' (2007–2008), a story that took place in
Gaziantep Gaziantep, historically Aintab and still informally called Antep, is a major city in south-central Turkey. It is the capital of the Gaziantep Province, in the westernmost part of Turkey's Southeastern Anatolia Region and partially in the Medi ...
, during the French Occupation. Akyürek received his first leading role and played the male psychotic lover, Mustafa Bulut, in the
Kanal D Kanal D (English: Channel D) is a nationwide television channel in Turkey that is part of Demirören Group. It was founded by Ayhan Şahenk and Aydın Doğan in 1993. The network has also run an international channel, Euro D, since 1996, whic ...
TV series '' Bir Bulut Olsam'', written by Meral Okay and directed by Ulaş İnanc. His spectacular portrayal of the character brought the series into limelight. From 2010 to 2012, Akyürek solidified his position in the industry when he played the male lead, Kerim Ilgaz, in ''
Fatmagül'ün Suçu Ne? ''Fatmagül'ün Suçu Ne?'' ( ''What is Fatmagül's Fault?'') is a Turkish television drama series produced by Ay Yapım and broadcast on Kanal D. The series is based on Vedat Türkali's scenario, ''Fatmagül'ün Suçu Ne?'', which was made into ...
'', a TV series about societal issues surrounding a rape victim. The original scenario of ''Fatmagul'ün Suçu Ne?'' by Vedat Türkali, is written by Ece Yörenç and Melek Gençoğlu for TV drama and produced by Kerem Çatay. He was in the lead role with his friend from the ''Türkiye'nin Yıldızları'' contest,
Beren Saat Beren Saat (; born 26 February 1984) is a Turkish actress. Since the beginning of her career, she has received critical acclaim and numerous accolades for her acting. While studying at BaÅŸkent University, she participated in the acting competi ...
. After a small break, he came and starred as the leading character, Tekin, in the movie '' Bi Küçük Eylül Meselesi'' (2014), written and directed by Kerem Deren. The movie takes place in Bozcaada. Thereafter, Akyürek returned to the TV screens and portrayed the character of Ömer Demir in the popular TV series ''
Kara Para Aşk ''Kara Para Aşk'' ( English: ''Black Money Love'') is a Turkish television series broadcast on ATV screens on Wednesday evenings. The leading cast are Tuba Büyüküstün, Engin Akyürek and Erkan Can. The production of the series is undert ...
'' in 2014 for which he won the Best Actor award at the
Seoul International Drama Awards Seoul International Drama Awards (), simply known as SDA, is an annual award ceremony based in Seoul, South Korea which honors excellence in television drama In film and television show, television, drama is a category or genre of narrat ...
(2015) and was nominated for the International Emmy Award for Best Actor. After ''Kara Para Aşk'', Akyürek took a break from acting for some time and returned to small screen with his next series ''Ölene Kadar'' in January 2017. It was produced by TIMS and written by Elif Usman and Sevgi Yılmaz. Akyürek's next projects were movies, first one being '' Çocuklar Sana Emanet'' (Children Entrusted to You) released on 23 March 2018. It was written and directed by
Çağan Irmak Çağan Irmak (born 4 April 1970) is a Turkish people, Turkish film and television writer and director, who has managed to attract a large audience in Turkey and is best known for the TV series ''Çemberimde Gül Oya'' (2004–2005) and ''Asmalı ...
and produced by Şükrü Avşar. Akyürek's next venture on the silver screen was the movie '' Bir Aşk İki Hayat'' (One Love Two Lives) in 2019. It was produced by
Ay Yapım Ay Yapım is a media production company founded by Kerem Çatay in 2005. The company was once a Turkish partner of "Sparks Network", which has partners in 20 countries around the world. It is one of the biggest production companies in Turkey. Its ...
and written by Burcu Görgün Toptaş and Özlem Yılmaz, whereas Ali Bilgin did the direction. The movie was an adaptation of a Greek movie and was released on 13 February 2019. Between 2019 and 2021 Akyürek to the small screen with his series '' Sefirin Kızı'' (The Ambassador's Daughter) from December 2019 to May 2021. The series was a joint production of O3 Medya and NGM and was aired on Star TV, and was written by Nehir Erdem and Ayşe Ferda Eryılmaz and directed by Emre Kabakuşak. He starred in the series with
Neslihan Atagül Neslihan Atagül (born 20 August 1992) is a Turkish people, Turkish actress. She is best known for her role in ''Endless Love (2015 TV series), Kara Sevda'' (2015–2017), a series sold to more than 110 countries and the first Turkish TV series ...
and subsequently Tuba Büyüküstün after Atagül left the show for health reasons. This was his second series with Büyüküstün. In 2022, Akyürek starred alongside Tolga Sarıtaş in the film ''Yolun Açik Olsun'' (Godspeed), directed by Mehmet Ada Öztekin and released on Netflix. Akyürek made his OTT debut by starring in the debuting
Disney+ The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment industry, entertainment conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios (Burbank), Walt Di ...
's series '' Kaçış'', in the lead role opposite İrem Helvacıoğlu. The story of the series was written by Akyürek himself. The first season received positive reviews from critics, and Akyürek received critical acclaim for both his acting and for writing the story of the series. As of 2023, he has a leading role in the series ''Adım Farah'' with Demet Özdemir. The dizi has been renewed for a second season after its international success and the 1st episode of the 2nd season was released on 27 September 2023.


Filmography


Film


TV series


Theatre


Awards and nominations


Bibliography

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Akyurek, Engin 1981 births Living people Turkish Muslims Turkish male film actors Turkish male television actors Male actors from Ankara Ankara University alumni