Nihat Haluk Bilginer (; born 5 June 1954) is a Turkish actor. For his role in '' Şahsiyet'' (2018), Bilginer won the Best Actor award at the 47th International Emmy Awards. His movie '' Kış Uykusu'' won the

Palme d'Or The (; ) is the highest prize awarded to the director of the Best Feature Film of the Official Competition at the Cannes Film Festival. It was introduced in 1955 by the festival's organizing committee. Previously, from 1939 to 1954, the festiv ...

at the

Cannes Film Festival The Cannes Film Festival (; ), until 2003 called the International Film Festival ('), is the most prestigious film festival in the world. Held in Cannes, France, it previews new films of all genres, including documentaries, from all around ...

. In addition to his acting career in Turkey, he has also worked in the United Kingdom and remains best known for his role as Mehmet Osman in the television soap opera ''

EastEnders ''EastEnders'' is a British television soap opera created by Julia Smith (producer), Julia Smith and Tony Holland which has been broadcast on BBC One since February 1985. Set in the fictional borough of Walford in the East End of London, the ...

'' during the 1980s. He has also starred in

Hollywood movie The cinema of the United States, primarily associated with major film studios collectively referred to as Hollywood, has significantly influenced the global film industry since the early 20th century. Classical Hollywood cinema, a filmmakin ...

s as a

character actor A character actor is an actor known for playing unusual, eccentric, or interesting character (arts), characters in supporting roles, rather than leading ones.28 April 2013, The New York Acting SchoolTen Best Character Actors of All Time Retrie ...

, including ''

Halloween Halloween, or Hallowe'en (less commonly known as Allhalloween, All Hallows' Eve, or All Saints' Eve), is a celebration geography of Halloween, observed in many countries on 31 October, the eve of the Western Christianity, Western Christian f ...

'' (2018). He often plays villains and unsympathetic characters.

Life and career

Bilginer was born in

İzmir İzmir is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, third most populous city in Turkey, after Istanbul and Ankara. It is on the Aegean Sea, Aegean coast of Anatolia, and is the capital of İzmir Province. In 2024, the city of İzmir had ...

, Turkey. He graduated from the

Ankara State Conservatory The Hacettepe University Ankara State Conservatory (), the first conservatory to be founded in the Republic of Turkey, was established in 1936 by a directive of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk. The conservatory is part of Hacettepe University. History ...

in 1977 before going to England where he graduated from the

London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art The London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA) is a drama school located in Hammersmith, London. Founded in 1861, it is the oldest specialist drama school in the British Isles and a founding member of the Federation of Drama Schools. In ...

. He landed his first role in the long running UK soap opera ''

''.

''EastEnders'' (1985–1989)

Bilginer made his first appearance in ''

'' as Mehmet Osman on-screen in June 1985, four months after the show originally aired. His arrival coincides with a cot death storyline of Sue and Ali's baby, Hassan. Mehmet appears as a recurring character from 1985 to 1987, setting up a cab firm named Ozcabs from inside Ali's café; however, he becomes a regular in 1988, when both he and his wife Guizin (Ishia Bennison) are made partners in Ali's café, which is renamed Café Osman. Described as "the Terrible Turk", Haluk Bilginer was one of the more popular male cast members on ''EastEnders'' during the 1980s, and he reportedly received sackfuls of fan mail, "despite playing a villain and a womanising snake". Hilary Kingsley has said that what made the character so popular was Bilginer's

Omar Sharif Omar Sharif (, ; born Michel Yusef Dimitri Chalhoub ; 10 April 1932 – 10 July 2015) was an Egyptian actor, generally regarded as one of his country's greatest male film stars. He began his career in his native country in the 1950s. He is bes ...

-style good looks and charm. Following the departure of Holland and Smith, Mehmet was eventually written out of the serial in May 1989, in a storyline that signified the disbandment of the Osman family. On-screen, Mehmet returns to his native Cyprus after a fight with Guizin regarding her suspicions about Mehmet's fabricated affair with Sue. The Osman family were among many characters to leave the serial that year. Writer Colin Brake has commented, "the pace of comings and going was fast and furious during 1989, as the programme tried to find a new direction." Bilginer went into musical theatre after leaving ''EastEnders'' starring in Ken Hill's popular musical adaptation of the Guy de Maupassant novel The Wicked World of Bel-Ami at the Theatre Royal Stratford East, working with Fiona Hendley, Toni Palmer, Peter Straker and Colin Atkins.

After ''EastEnders''

During the course of the show, he came to Turkey to star in the 1987 mini series Gecenin Öteki Yüzü based from novel and mini history series Ateşten Günler based from novel and the 1995 mini comedy series "Medeni Haller" where he met his eventual first wife Zuhal Olcay, famous Turkish actress and singer. After dividing his time in London and Istanbul for six years, he left the show to stay in Turkey permanently and married Olcay in 1992. He guest starred in an episode of '' Young Indiana Jones'' as

İsmet İnönü Mustafa İsmet İnönü (24 September 1884 – 25 December 1973) was a Turkish politician and military officer who served as the second List of Presidents of Turkey, president of Turkey from 1938 to 1950, and as its Prime Minister of Turkey, pr ...

, and went on to star in the Yavuz Özkan film "''İki Kadın''". He then starred in various movies including ''İstanbul Kanatlarımın Altında'' and the famous ''Usta Beni Öldürsene''. After critical acclaim for these roles, he earned his first award as a supporting actor in '' Masumiyet''. He played in series "Gülşen Abi". After deciding he wants to pursue career on stage, he founded "Tiyatro Stüdyosu" (Theatre Studio) with his wife Zuhal Olcay and Ahmet Levendoğlu in 1990. After starring in various plays for six years, he had to return to screen in 1996 because of a fire that destroyed the theater. He and his wife starred in television and movies to raise money to found another theater.

''Eyvah Babam'' and ''Tatlı Hayat''

During this era, he starred in '' Eyvah Kızım Büyüdü'', starting his second era in television. After years of work, he and his wife managed to start a second theater, called "Oyun Atölyesi" (Play Workshop). In 2001, His most famous role however came after he started his second theater. He landed a role in ''Tatlı Hayat'', a remake of ''

The Jeffersons ''The Jeffersons'' is an American sitcom television series that was broadcast on CBS from January 18, 1975, to July 2, 1985. Lasting 11 seasons and a total of 253 episodes, ''The Jeffersons'' is one of the longest-running sitcoms in history ...

''. He played the role of İhsan Yıldırım, an angry and foul-mouthed, yet lovable dry cleaner. He was accompanied by legendary actress Türkan Şoray who has starred in the most feature films for a female actress worldwide with 222 films to her name in the Guinness Book of Records, Asuman Dabak playing the witty cleaner, Neco playing the Greek neighbor (The enmity between Greeks and Turks were put instead of the Black-White one in the original) and

Çolpan İlhan Çolpan İlhan (8 August 1936 – 25 July 2014) was a Turkish cinema and theatre actress. In 1998 she was awarded the title of State Artist of Turkey. She acted in more than 300 films and theater plays. First years İlhan received her seconda ...

playing Neco's wife. He and the show's breakthrough character İrfan (played by Celal Kadri Kınoğlu) are regarded as the best characters in Turkish TV history. He divorced Zuhal Olcay in 2004 and began a relationship with Aşkın Nur Yengi, a famous Turkish singer. They married in 2006 and had a daughter. After ''Tatlı Hayat'', he starred in films ''Neredesin Firuze'', "Hırsız Var", "Hacivat Karagöz Neden Öldürüldü?", "7 Kocalı Hürmüz" and "Güneşin Oğlu". His most recent role in film ''Polis'' however, is his most critically acclaimed role after ''Tatlı Hayat''. His portrayal of the troubled police legend Musa Rami has gained critical acclaim from both critics and viewers, who thought the movie was too experimental. Bilginer, however, has said that he will work in all of Onur Ünlü's (screenwriter and director of Polis) movies, even as an extra if required. Bilginer played the role of

Mustafa Kemal Atatürk Mustafa Kemal Atatürk ( 1881 – 10 November 1938) was a Turkish field marshal and revolutionary statesman who was the founding father of the Republic of Turkey, serving as its first President of Turkey, president from 1923 until Death an ...

in an İş Bank commercial, which first aired on 10 November 2007 during the 69th commemorations of Atatürk's death. He played in rom-com series "Sevgili Dünürüm" alongside Nevra Serezli, Sumru Yavrucuk, Engin Altan Düzyatan,

Rojda Demirer Rojda Demirer (born 12 August 1980) is a Turkish actress. Early years She was born in Ankara to parents originating Diyarbakır. Her family is of Kurdish origin, her father was a descendant of Sheikh Said, from the Raman tribe. Her cousin is t ...

, Didem Balçın, Cengiz Bozkurt. Bilginer co-starred in the 2009 American thriller '' The International'' as Ahmet Sunay, a Turkish high-tech missile guidance system dealer. He was accompanied by

Clive Owen Clive Owen (born 3 October 1964) is an English actor. He first gained recognition in the United Kingdom for playing the lead role in the ITV series '' Chancer'' from 1990 to 1991. He received critical acclaim for his work in the film '' Close ...

and

Naomi Watts Naomi Ellen Watts (born 28 September 1968) is a British actress. Known for her work predominantly in independent films with dark or tragic themes, she has received various accolades, including nominations for two Academy Awards, a Primetime ...

in this movie.

After ''Ezel''

He joined in second season of hit series Ezel. With Ezel's co-star

Cansu Dere Cansu Dere (born 14 October 1980, Ankara) is a Turkish actress, model, TV host and beauty pageant titleholder who was crowned Miss Turkey Universe 2000. Early Life Her mother partly descends from the Turkish community in Thessaloniki, Greec ...

, he starred in the series '' Şahsiyet'', playing a retired court clerk who is diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease. The later role won him an International Emmy Award for Best Actor. He worked again with same director & screenwriter duo Onur Saylak & Hakan Günday in Netflix series "Uysallar". Bilginer played an actor who acts woman in series Hayatımın Rolü adaptation of Mrs. Doubtfire. He plays Aydın in '' Kış Uykusu'', which won the

at the Cannes Film Festival in 2014. With Ali Atay, he works including series "Masum", "Şeref Bey" for many times. He appeared in Netflix series "Sıcak Kafa" based from sci-fi novel. In 2016, he appeared in "Ben-Hur". In 2018, Bilginer played Dr. Ranbir Sartain, the new psychiatrist of Michael Myers, in the slasher sequel ''

''. In 2020, he played the lead villain Dr. Grief in the first season of the hit

Prime Video Amazon Prime Video, known simply as Prime Video, is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming television service owned by Amazon. The service primarily distributes films and television series produced or co-produced by ...

series ''

Alex Rider ''Alex Rider'' is a series of spy novels by the English author Anthony Horowitz. The novels revolve around the teenaged spy Alex Rider and are primarily aimed towards young adults. The series comprises 14 novels, as well as seven graphic ...

'', based on the bestselling novels by

Anthony Horowitz Anthony John Horowitz (born 5 April 1955) is an English novelist and screenwriter specialising in mystery and suspense. His works for children and young adult readers include the '' Alex Rider'' series featuring a 14-year-old British boy who spi ...

. In 2023, Bilginer starred as Barbara Nadel's fictional Istanbul detective Çetin İkmen in the

Paramount+ Paramount+ (formerly known as CBS All Access in the United States and 10 All Access in Australia) is an American Video on demand#Subscription models, subscription video on-demand Over-the-top media service, over-the-top Streaming media, stream ...

series '' The Turkish Detective''.

Personal life

In 1987, Bilginer traveled to İstanbul to film the TV series ''Gecenin Öteki Yüzü ''(The Other Side of the Night), where he met actress/singer Zuhal Olcay; they married in 1992 and divorced in 2004. He married singer Aşkın Nur Yengi in 2006 and has a daughter from this marriage; they divorced in 2012.

International Filmography

Films

Series

Turkish Filmography

Web Series

TV Series

Films

Awards

* 47th International Emmy Awards, (2019)

References

External links

*
''Biography of Haluk Bilginer''
- Biyografi.info
''Filmography of Haluk Bilginer''
- Sinematurk.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Bilginer, Haluk 1954 births Best Actor Golden Boll Award winners Best Supporting Actor Golden Orange Award winners Golden Butterfly Award winners Living people Male actors from İzmir Turkish male stage actors Turkish male film actors Turkish male television actors Turkish male voice actors Turkish game show hosts Alumni of the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art Turkish male soap opera actors International Emmy Award for Best Actor winners Ankara State Conservatory alumni Golden Boll Life Achievement Award winners