The Turkish film industry is booming. The country’s cinema has long had a low-budget, B-movie feel to it, but with the rise of Nuri Bilge Ceylan and other directors, Turkish films are now earning international acclaim. In the past decade, Turkey has produced half a dozen Oscar-nominated films, and actors like Haluk Bilginer have won prestigious awards abroad.
The country’s entertainment industry is hoping to capitalize on that momentum both at home and abroad. To do that, they’re looking to Hollywood. The next step? Produce more A-list stars like the ones who dominate the American market.
Bilginer, a veteran actor who starred in an American sitcom in the 1980s called Never Too Young, says there aren’t enough household names to make Turkish movies competitive on the global stage. He thinks that if Hollywood could produce one Turkish superstar — think Denzel Washington or Brad Pitt — it would create a domino effect for stars back home. “We are searching for a big name,” he told BuzzFeed News during a brief phone interview from his home in Istanbul. “Maybe it will be me.”
Turkish-Americans don’t have a great track record as actors in Hollywood. Turkish-American actors are few and far between, and that’s being generous. Most of the ones who do get cast in movies and television shows are usually typecast as terrorists, cab drivers or other stereotypes.
But with the rise of Turkish cinema and soap operas, the hollywood system is starting to take notice. The most recent example is actress Beren Saat, who starred in the Turkish television show “Fatmagul.”
According to the Hollywood Reporter, she’s just been cast in ABC’s upcoming fantasy drama Once Upon A Time In Wonderland. She’ll play Jafar’s wife, who is described as “a mysterious woman from Wonderland.” This marks her first American project but it probably won’t be her last.
It’s usually the case that Turkish actors and actresses who want to go international start out by going to Europe, where they have a much easier time breaking into the industry. That’s what Kivanc Tatlitug did when he started out, and then went on to become a heartthrob in the Middle East. But it’s also the case that many of these actors and actresses find it difficult to make it in Hollywood, even with their European success.
Beren Saat is one of Turkey’s biggest stars, but even with her many awards and her huge popularity, she still hasn’t been able to crack Hollywood. There are others who have tried and failed as well. Maybe it’s just because Hollywood is hard to break into for anyone and everyone, but maybe there is something else that makes it more difficult for these Turkish actors and actresses.
It could also be said that these Turkish stars haven’t been trying hard enough or haven’t wanted it enough. But now we have Engin Altan Duzyatan who wants it all – he wants Europe, he wants the Middle East, he wants Hollywood – so let’s see if he can achieve his dreams.
he recently starred in the NBC comedy “The Village.” He’s also guest-starred on “Chicago Med” and “Chicago Fire.”
For years, the film and television industries have been under fire for failing to provide more opportunities to non-white actors. But now, following a number of success stories, they’re beginning to change their ways.
The first Turkish actress to get international attention was Ayşe Özyılmazel, who moved to the U.S. in 1998 at age 15 and recently starred in the TV series “The Protector.”
Consider the case of Turkish actor Mehmet Gunsur. He is a big star of TV and film in his home country (and has been for years) and he is about to become a household name here in the United States. Gunsur has filmed five movies and one TV series in the U.S., with another movie and two more TV shows in various stages of production.
Gunsur’s first U.S. project, the crime thriller Killer Joe, will be released in select theaters on July 27, 2012, followed by wide release on August 17th. After that comes The Last Stand, which marks Arnold Schwarzenegger’s return to feature films after a hiatus to serve as Governor of California. This action flick also co-stars Johnny Knoxville and Jaimie Alexander (Thor). In October 2012, he’ll be seen opposite Josh Brolin and Elizabeth Olsen in Spike Lee’s Oldboy, an adaptation of the Korean cult classic of the same name.
Gunsur made his English-language debut on television opposite John Leguizamo on NBC’s RUSH HOUR, which is scheduled to air later this season; he also starred opposite Stephen Dorff in the Turkish film Backstabbing for Beginners, which premiered at Toronto International Film Festival this year;
The Turkish-American actor and comedian, who most recently starred in the CBS sitcom Life in Pieces, is focused on emerging as a leading man. After sitting down with his agents to discuss how to position himself for bigger roles, he realized that most of the parts he was being offered were ethnic characters. “I said, ‘Why am I only getting these?’ They said, ‘You’re just getting what’s going out there.’ And I said, ‘Well, let’s create something of my own.’ ”
A native of Istanbul who moved to the United States at age 12, Koleoglu decided he wanted to star in an action movie. “The [genre] I would like to do is a big Jason Statham movie,” he says. “Jason Statham is a total bad-ass — that’s what I want to portray.”
Koleoglu already has a script: a spec action screenplay by Konrad Kay called The Last Passenger. The story revolves around a New York City cabdriver who uncovers a terrorist plot and winds up defending his passengers against an army of mercenaries.
The project has yet to find financing or distribution but has been garnering buzz among top reps and producers around Hollywood. Koleoglu plans on keeping it under wraps until it
Actor Kenan Thompson has been with “Saturday Night Live” for 13 seasons, the longest-tenured cast member in the sketch comedy show’s history. As a black man on a cast that has received criticism for its lack of diversity, Thompson has faced his share of controversy. But he says it’s not his job to speak out about race issues.
“I feel like I’m on ‘SNL’ to be funny,” he told “CBS This Morning” co-host Charlie Rose in an interview Thursday, adding that the show is “not The Cosby Show.”
Thompson said the media might be making too much of his reluctance to address race issues.
“People have always been talking about diversity in Hollywood since I’ve been here,” he said. “They’re always saying there’s not enough roles. And people are just now paying attention, and I don’t know why people are just now paying attention.”
Thompson appeared on the TV drama “Kenan & Kel” when he was a teenager, but it wasn’t until he joined “SNL” at age 23 that he learned how difficult it is to sustain a career as a working actor.
“That’s the hardest thing about the entertainment business,” Thompson said. “It’s not being able to
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