Halit Ergenç

Having started his higher education in the Department of Shipbuilding and Marine Sciences of Istanbul Technical University, Halit Ergenç soon switched his career search to arts and completed his higher education in the Department of Opera and Musical Acting of Mimar Sinan University (now named Mimar Sinan University of Fine Arts) where he enrolled in 1987.

Devoting much of his life to theatre, Ergenç engaged in acting in musicals, opera and theatre. While still in university, he joined the Dormen Theatre and acted in the musical play “Şarkılar Susarsa (What If Songs Go Silent)”, and his first theatre play “Sevgilime Göz Kulak Ol (Keep an Eye on My Beloved)” again in the Dormen Theatre. His first feat was the leading role in “Kral ve Ben (King and I)” in Istanbul State Opera and Ballet, while Ergenç was still a university student. That same year he acted as the character Kürşat in the serial “Kara Melek (Black Angel)” as his introduction to TV series, followed by “Zerda” and “Aliye”. He achieved international fame, on top of broad domestic acclamation, as the leading male Onur in the series “Binbir Gece (One Thousand and One Nights)” in 2006. Then his leading role as “Suleiman the Magnificent” in the serial “Muhteşem Yüzyıl (Magnificent Century)” aired in 2011, and as “Major Cevdet” in the serial “Vatanım Sensin (Wounded Love) aired in 2016 brought record-breaking international sales and performance awards, cementing his international fame.

Ergenç’s cinema career gave cinema fans “Acı Aşk (Bitter Love)”, “Dersimiz Atatürk (Our Lesson: Atatürk)”, “Misafir (Guest)”, “Ali Nino” and finally “İstanbul Kırmızısı (Stamboulin Scarlet)” released in 2017.