Originally posted by: SaraFatma
just out of curiosity, i was wondering how the audiences have reacted to Engin Akyurek in india.
could you all share some snippets or articles or fan reviews from india here on this thread?
A short story by Engin which I don't think has been shared here. Credit to Engin Akyurek Fan Club on FB.
" Silence "
By : Engin Akyrek (Translated by Snjena Eliza )
Winter day. Ankara has become like a refrigerator. There was a loud whistling wind. The snow covered the street with its soft white. The edges of the roof looked like lace of wedding dress, it was the very picture of innocence. I put the tea to cook, but I stayed in bed, in order to not interrupt my dream. I tried to sleep, put my head under the covers but my ass was left outside. From the street came this sound. Next door I heard the symphony of muted and silenced voices. I leaned my head on the moist window and my eyes saw the reason of these silenced voices. Selim's father died, of one of my best friends. People have been transmitted the message silently . I stormed out on the street without my boots and my coat on. My mother's voice made me returned to put on formal clothes.
I went in the house Selim. In front of the door there was a lot of shoes, evidence on what was happening inside .. At one point I realized that the whole neighborhood was there. Everyone is wearing what they found .. Some came with summer slippers in a hurry to share the pain of the death of the neighbor. I thought, "Gee, Mom, will you now say that I came into the house of the deceased with the boots and the coat." Carrying this thought of what others will say I snuck into the house of the deceased. I rang the door. A small girl opened . Her frail youth made me feel the death even more tangible . She showed me Selims room. I went in. Selim and other kids from neighborhood were trying to ease the pain of death with the silence. In the next room the mother of Selim and several elderly aunt mourned the deceased. On the opposite side was another room. There was elders uncles and older people from the neighborhood stearing at the carpet on he floor, not lifting their look from it .. They have reacted to the death with silence. Everyone had a design on the rug that belonged only to him. I said, "My condolences, Selim." "Thanks," he said
I could not think what else to say before the face of death. I, like others, ducked my head and I tried to find a figure on the carpet that is totally, reflecting the state of my soul. They brought chay (Tea) . All the crying has stopped for a cup of tea. I and other kids from the neighborhood we wanted to defy death by starvation. We decided not to put any food in the mouth, so we fight for our boyish hearts. Of course, we understood ourselves without even looking at each other, and not taking our eyes from the ground, but the voice of grief was even bigger than our stomachs rumble. At one point is an auntie put before us gurabie and cookies. It was a real torture, as when a man struggling with a physical desire, but we did not want to give our victory up over the first temptation. They poured us tea. Selim raised his head and said: "Eat, guys." At that moment late father of Selim became our dad. I forgot who first began to push, but I remember that we threw ourselves on the food as if it were prey pushing each other hands. When in the body lies a child, a little smile, at the right time of life, is enough to wake this child. Selim laughed. We crammed cookies and gurabie in our mouth and he hid his mouth for no bursting into laughter. Despite the postulates of psychological science, Selim was just a child. Our confusion was short and we began to burst with laughter. Auntie brought tea and Selim said: "Quiet, it's a shame my son. Your father died today," and explained how to meet death. He continued to laugh and I said, 'Selim, you want to go get some air? " Our faces are shining and it was our victory over death. Without telling anyone, we flyed so nobody sees us and speeding like thieves we caught jackets and rushed out. We hurried down the street without knowing why and where we run. We followed Selim. Too tired from the chase We crashed to the ground. We knew that today we'll do what ever Selim would asked (told us). I asked: "What do we do now?". Selim looked at us with sad eyes, said to follow him and stood at the head of the group. First we went to a room full of computers. With a single stroke we free the access to games from small children .. We started to play on computers. Everyone was letting Selim to win. We were to small to let us play billiards, but we pretended to / illegible / and we entered. We didn't know how Selim felt at this right moment...We could not know everything. Better this way. Tired of our large pool that was just our size, we took to the streets again. One child stopped us. "Brother Selim everyone in the house is asking for you." "Well, go home, I'm coming." said Selim. He wanted to live his pain with us, despite the cold breath coming out of his mouth, we went out on the streets of Ankara. We were his best friends, for kids that means as close as brothers. We walked around the neighborhood. Our causeless smiles were welcome in cold weather. It was the most natural way to warm us up. A single smile in the snow can do that on the roofs flourish flowers. As we walked around smiling everybody watched Selim with looks saying: "So that is the way the child, whose father has died, behave."
Suddenly in front of us appeared Selim's uncle. Seeing him smiling, he gathered the bushy eyebrows up, so the snow on the edges of roofs turned into ice. "Are you not ashamed? What kind of business you have to be outside? Your father died today," he said, emphasizing what he said with his thick eyebrows. Selim bowed his head in silence. Perhaps he searched in the snow a design that was on the rug. "I was going home, uncle" The noise-free, but gentle Selim voice, did that our childish bodies suddenly got grown masculinity. Selim became a soldier, Hakan got married, Velia got a bunch of kids. We walked down the street like grown men. We talked how we are experiencing pain. Only Selim talked about some nice things. His uncle had to prepare the funeral, so he turned into the alley. Selim then paused, looked us in the eye and said: ". I do not feel like going home" We listened to Selim, and well we did. We came to a place (some unknown) and we started to talk about the various adventures. If you try to close your eyes, and go back to your childhood, led into it with a couple of sentences, I do not know exactly which ones, but certainly you'll like, and it will be close to what Selim was just telling us . We were starving. With the last remaining coins that we found in our pockets we bought soda and chips. Everyone was talking about the girl, and when stucked between love and lies we laughed again. But the freezing in Ankara was not harmless as children's lie. We threw some looks around to make sure that no one of the neighborhood saw us. Fearing that we could be seen or heard, we tried to open the chips even without the rustle. When Selim began talking about a girl, who is his love, we all believed. We wanted to believe him. Before our eyes Selim turned into Kerem or Meynun. We were left to assume the role as liars and just for fun we told our invented stories, sipping from a bottle of mineral water. Selim put the bottle on his head, looking at the clouds, and then he lowered his head and looked at us sadly, but with his eyes laughing . Perhaps as he looked at the clouds he saw his father. Maybe it was he, smiling, among them. Just the way Selim smiled at us. When we started to talk, he was silent. He just smiled. I said some things. It does not matter what I was talking about. All that matters is that we are together trying to counter pain. We were kids and sitting on cold stone so we wanted to stay children. Everyone sometimes wished to remain forever a child. I think even those whose childhood was hard, when they grow up, they are ready to swallow anything in order to go back to being children. Maybe it's my childhood, but if we sat together on the cold stone, drank soda and then you might think the same. Veli quietest boy among us, said: "Bears, how you ate those cookies this morning." We all laughed again, but this time we exchanged some kicks. Because of laughing my chips was blown from my mouth. I put a bottle of mineral water on the head and said, "Cheers!" Selim looked at the clouds. His eyes were full of tears. "Shut up, shut up!". We stopped and we asked together, "Selim, are you all right?" On this day Selim was our father, brother, our conscience, it was part of our hearts. "Shut up hell. Today my father died!"
" A little story about love "
By : Engin Akyrek (Translated by Snjena Eliza )
The most elevated words for who? After having made someone a hero should there be attached victories or criticism to A4 sheet? It comes with the velocity of light, settles at the most covered rooms of our heart,and if it doesn't conquer all the continents and doesn't put down the most outrageous revolts, there is still mumbling of the most enthusiastic melody of tomorrow within our internals. The intention of a hero is not to be a hero. Have only the campaigns made the Napoleon - Napoleon? The hero, if only to do everything like a hero, will take its place in a story with photographs at the appropriate moment. And the biggest heroism of Super Mario is collecting gold, he's got technologies, he's got three lives , but he can't get through to the hearts. Everything is pushed into our pockets by the modern life,like molasses health,sparkling on our cheeks and our casual manner. It's like if Majnoun was looking for his Leila , the likes of social networks falling on our bodies and every taste and every soul to be Majnoun , to get blind, leave us condemned. In the same way that we have natural gas in our houses, the words that have been called love are being thrown in different directions with the crackling noise of the burning fertilizer, our phones ring and with the total sum of the likes we comprehend the new future. There is no love formula in the findings of the Swiss scientists that have been written on the last pages of newspapers, the tree trunks as if crying when we carve the hearts with the jack knives - this is the fare. The helplessness of the scientists that created atomic bomb is the helplessness of mind. Elderly scientists can't find the reason that lights our hearts. The medicine for vanity hasn't been found and unfortunately not our laziness, or ignorance ignorance or sacrifice can solve it. Either the scientists are so lazy or we are so used to getting nine months installments on the credit card at the appropriate moment. In the world where everyone accused the greatest poets of these lands the inspiration of our fairies doesn't call
Ynus Emre: Boyandm rengine solmazam ayruk.. km lmezem ayruk..
Development. School years. Which year you would ask about there immediately comes only one picture to the mind. If you are very interested let me tell you how it is. The years when our favourite girl can't be found in any social networks. School years among teenagers brought our minds to the extremes, many people don't like to remember the teenage years and will look at those photos cursing them.I am in the middle class of the lyce . My closest friend is Mehmet. Don't look that I said the closest, we praise the brotherhood of blood, we don't divide anything to such extent we are brothers. Mehmet and me are at the same class,and I know that during narration Its important to affect the moods, and what was happening in the country in those times the same way we were. My blood brother Mehmet is self - contained and I can not sing as a nightingale. However, it was me who made speeches on the occasions. The neighborhood kids during school and at the mathematics and even our doors, everything said about good neighborly relations to one another. If our neighbors were lying down hungry we couldn't fall asleep. Until that time as our teachers noticed the novelty of the situation we continued our business and got the three digit marks in front of their surprised faces(100 is the highest mark at the lyce). We laughed a lot, the easiest thing from everything we spend our time for is to laugh.
We are stubbornly told that we should be serious. We have already given reasons that new smiles can't be invented only physically in the laboratory environment. But if we find the drawback we wouldn't know on whose opinion or what our mistakes were for. However, so confidently called word more and more inflames our cheeks coming into our lives years later. After having played enough "the street fighter" to break the confidence of our bodies, to lead to the state of national pride Mehmet says loudly: "they hooked into the game people from all over the world , we've got nine friends already." Then to support the Indian Dhalsin (one of the characters of "the street fighter"), we would withstand taking Asian side.
I felt happy from the fact that Mehmet was my friend. When the person learnt to cooperate in those years the future would sparkle brightly. We would share all our secrets.When our childishly thin girls in checked skirts talked we would become serious people. Love only love remained in our language not adding meaning as is, by reason or no reason.
Enclosure : After the holidays at the end of the semester a new girl came into our class. Her name was Bilge (translated as wise , prudent). When this wisdom passed by wiggling sat at the desk cross cross from me I felt myself a complete know nothing. I know the reason is in her hair, as she was moving along the class she was spreading some grown up aroma rather than perfume.The things called love at a quarter of a second divided my heart into eight pieces and I said " hey, I love". To love platonically, to look from far, not to sleep, to write letters, to try to start a conversation and as a result to fail to hit the topic. Lyce was the most suitable place for platonic relationships. If to look at love after years with the stern look of the philosophers that I have read , then a man would have a problem in the world where everything seems to be a problem. A month passed, but still our conversations were so serious.. as if we are 2 people who were about to save the world..
I was determined to explain my condition to my friend (who is more precious to me than my soul) Mohamed.. At the end of the week, i was watching the snow man outside our house while rehearsing my self on the words I wanted to say to her..
Some days are never forgotten in the year.. that day was among them.. it was Monday.. Morning words as usual from the school principle.. then lines into the classes.. the first lesson was an excellence in Math and excellent presence from beautiful Bilge.. even when years passed... all what the teacher gave us in that hour remained in a place inside my mind.. if they asked me back then to write the Arithmetic of my love, then X would've been my unable condition to contain my inner love anymore..
The bell rang for break time when I found my friend (who is more precious for me than my soul) Mohamed right in front of me..
"Brother, come i'll buy you a sausage with swiss" he said "I don't like sausages" i said "i'm not hungry either" I didn't want to add a garlic smell to my scene with Bilge.. "How stubborn you are brother ya.. come on" It was not from my best friend's habits to insist on something, but when he did, there used to be a real reason behind it.. "Brother, i want to talk to you about something.." He said As far as i knew him, when he says that he wanted to talk to me about something, that thing isn't really a good thing,, "Brother, until now i haven't shown it to you, but i fell in love" he said Some sentences aren't important to be said.. letters just stop one by one and return back to the places it came from. .however you can understand them.. "As if you've prepared pages of sentences to say" I said.. "But you didn't ask me who she is" he said "Bilge?" "How did you know?! And i was trying not to show it to you!" And some questions don't have answers.. "Brother, you can pull words out of her tongue.. can you know the girls feelings?" He asked It had been sometime since Mohamed haven't asked about me... it seemed he was rehearsing well for the play.. I was silent and having some long looks on Bilge.. my friend began to suspect my silence and me not commenting on his love.. We didn't talk about it again and we silently started to take Bilge out of our hearts.. As time passed, tastes slowly but intensely returned back to its places.. salt became more salty and sweets were over sweetened to the extent of being sticky.. On another day, we were in the P.E lesson doing whatever we have to do to become athletes.. in stretching movements, I was facing Bilge.. she held my arm and while she was pulling(stretching) it towards her,it wasn't only my arm pulled.. she was pulling the veins of my heart along..
I wanted to look into her eyes but I couldn't.. my arm became as soft as cotton.. "Are we in a dispute or something?!" She asked
The lesson finished and the redness of my heavy PE shirt had passed to me and i was already feeling the heat of my ears at the time her hair was touching my face and burning my soul!
"I love you, idiot!" She said, went to the class without looking back.. At that time with the redness of my shirt, i was taking a lesson in life.. Next week i told her "i love someone else".
A long time passed, the sacrifice i made to my friend (who is more precious to me than my soul) became the head line in the school wall newspaper and gossips whispered in the school.. they named me as a hero and respected me in a really special way.. I wasn't treated as a student anymore.. I was a Rock star.. my entrance to the school was like a Marshall entrance..
Years passed, I was talking to Mohamed about it.. he had a smile on his face and asked "if it happens nowadays, will you do the same thing again?" "I don't intend to be a hero" I replied.. At the time i was walking around in the school like Attila's soldiers who came to town, feeling the love in my friend's (who is more precious to me than my soul) eyes with red cheeks I said "I was born to be a hero"
"Becoming a dream, I followed my dreams"
An article is written by: Engin Akyrek
My deep and diligent sleep finishes its shift in the bed and, like a watchman, is relieved from its duty by the fleas accompanying me with their hats and whistles. The fleas with their whistles and rowdy walks on my body were covering the most obscene parts of my sleep at the most private parts of my dalmatian briefs. While my dream is disappearing in black and white areas of my Dalmatian briefs, fairies and brunette girls with rosy cheeks whom I wouldn't come across even in fables are also vanishing without even looking at my face. I thought "Damn you fleas," but everything has already scattered and vanished like a cloud of dust.
What's going to happen now when I open my eyes? How am I going to write this dream's ending? Should I just make it up? Writing is to make things up anyway, isn't it? I guess I can finish this dream as I completed all the stories that I wrote before. Why do I always write my dreams and hide behind my dreams that walk freely in my sleeps like a little child? Why can't I take this country's distresses and troubles and pains reflected on its people's face away and why don't these damn dreams leave me alone? Where have all my dreams that I saw every night gone? Maybe, they are hiding somewhere in my room and I am not aware of it. I eat my heart out like a monster: "Oh man, how did this dream end?" In my dreams, am I a pervert who rapes anyone and therefore, I don't remember how my dreams end? Maybe I am a Don Juan without a brief and all girls get into a catfight over getting into my dreams. Whatever! I have to figure out how these dreams end; therefore, I never want the night to come and I want to put the "sleep" word onto a coffin rest and bury it as soon as possible. Then, I will probably take a shower and get rid of those fleas with hats and whistles.
I saw many civilizations, fought many wars, and talked to many kings in my dreams. If I could only write them and remember their endings; this book that I wrote would be a best seller. For example, I played a backgammon with Socrates for a soda once; I told him "Let's play for Fruko" [popular soda brand in Turkey] by looking at him surprisingly. But, I don't remember who had won the game; I guess the fleas didn't let me. Even though our backgammon game brought a philosophical harmony to my sleep's itchy and flea-ridden moments, the way how Socrates rolled the dices was describing the rationalism as if he was showing off and was making (backgammon) blocks like his rationalism as if he was building an Ancient Greek city; I guess Socrates won the soda and I probably said to his face "Socrates, you cogged the dice; you'd better keep teaching people your innate knowledge." Maybe, Socrates had gotten mad at me after I told these and cursed me by caressing his beard that I saw in a philosophy book.
Yes, the end of my dream with Socrates was obvious but the curiosity that caused by my other dreams whose endings I can't remember couldn't help but kept wondering. In fact, my dreams were wandering between fear and wakefulness and trying my entire day to give it a life sentence. Should I have charged my brain during my sleep or should I have installed a hidden camera onto my sensors? At least, I could have watched what I did at night while having my breakfast and if there wasn't anything too profane, I could have called my friends, while drinking our strong teas, like meddahs [public storytellers], they could have unsophisticatedly talked about their dreams that they couldn't see. If it goes on like this, I won't be able to finish this book. Maybe, I should squeeze Socrates into the Middle Age period between the papers of the philosophy dictionary instead of writing about my backgammon game with him. This way, I can get even with him. I guess, I'd better write a love story and make the leading man fall in love with the most beautiful girl of the neighborhood and not let his father, a bad man, give his daughter to him. Nah! This will probably be a very familiar story. I'd better tell you about my lover that I saw in my dream the other day. I don't remember if my lover was beautiful or I kissed her; but, I kind of remember myself trembling like an aspen leaf and getting pricked by my bed's springs and that she started the conversation. "Hello" "Hello" "I love you" "Come off it, you liar! We've just met. See, even your "hello" hasn't taken its place in the past tense, yet." "It's ok, this is just a dream." "Of course, it is a dream; otherwise, how could you tell me that you loved me?" "If you want it that much, I can say it again. Here you go; I love you." "No, I don't want it." "As you wish." "By the way, what's your name?" "Why do you care, I know your name." "So, you don't want to tell me your name?" "Just call me Dream Girl" "Ok, I will call you Dream Girl." "You can kiss me if you want." At this part of my dream, like an idiot, I had gotten up, drunken water, gone to the bathroom, hit my head on the door thrice, and vanished under the warm parts of my quilt. I guess I had exchanged a romantic atmosphere with a urinal event and the sound of a running and flushing water. But I had continued. "I can't remember your face when I wake up; are you beautiful?" "Is it important for you? Look at me carefully." "I am looking." "Am I not beautiful?" My rolling under the cover as if I am exiling "romanticism" word and the search of my toe tips for a warmer place had ruined everything. "Can't we see each other in real life?" "I don't know." "You don't know anything!" "I am about to wake up." "Would you come tomorrow, too?" "I don't know." "Then, let's talk a little bit more." "Would you like to go for a pudding like a high-school lovers?" "Where will we find an open patisserie at this hour of my sleep?" "Come on, maybe, we can find one. And don't forget that I am Dream Girl and you can go to the places of your subconscious." The sun had finally decided to rise and penetrated through the lacy parts of the curtain and Dream Girl had disappeared before my eyes like a cloud of dust. "Dream Girl, where are you? F*ck... She left again."
As always, my sleep's dreamy symphony had vanished in a dump well. I am very sorry that I couldn't kiss my beloved whose face I can't remember; but, I also wonder how I am going to write this love story. I keep thinking if this girl was beautiful. If I go out and search for her shadow on sidewalks or try to find her looks in the "fresh simit" looks of a simit seller, will I be able to find her? We may meet in the same bus and she may want to sit and, looking at old men's faces, I may give her my seat. Nah! Becoming like a dream in my dream, maybe she lands down just next to me with her wings, who knows? As if I have nothing to do, I will keep thinking about this girl now until I fall asleep. Man, can this Dream Girl be an ugly, spinster, and gossip girl who wanders in people's dreams and hits on everybody? Maybe, I should ask my friends; "Did you go for a pudding last night?"
English translation by: Engin Akyurek Universal Fans Club
Engin Akyrek's interview with "SONAT BAHAR" in "Sabah Newspaper" 31.8.2014
ENGIN AKYREK FAN CLUBTHURSDAY, DECEMBER 24, 2015
Interview with Engin Akyurek - by Sonat Bahar (Sabah Newspaper) [Translated by Engin Akyurek Universal Fans Club]
http://www.sabah.com.tr/pazar/2014/...
For example: - Engin Bey, can we take your picture on the railway? - Of course - When the shooting is over, let's get to work before the sun sets. - Of course.
After always-agreeable introduction phase full of of course' words, we waited for the shooting to end. Dirty Money Love team was so hospitable that we didn't understand how the time passed. Now and then, my photographer friend Cem Ucak looked at me with weepy eyes saying "The sun will set, the light will go away" but none of his fears came true. The luck was on our side. We did the photo shoot during the most beautiful hours of the day, first at Haydarpasa Train Station and then at 360 located at the terrace of Double Tree Hotel. The resulting pictures made us very happy. Before starting the interview, let's give a brief biography of Engin Akyurek. He is 33 years old. He was born in Ankara. He graduated from Ankara University where he majored in Languages and History. He was interested in theater during his college years and played in many theater plays. He gained recognition during Turkey's Stars TV competition in 2014. First, he appeared in Foreign Groom TV series and then in a movie named "Kader." For his portrayal of Cevat in this film, he received the "Most Promising Actor" award for both the 39. Turkish Cinema Awards and for CASOD (Cagdas Sinema Oyuncular Dernegi) Awards in 2006. "I wish I were a cloud" and "What is Fatmagul's fault?" TV series are the turning points of his career. For the last two seasons, he plays "Omer" in "Dirty Money Love".
- You studied history but then you became an actor. If there is a project about Turkish history, which period of Turkish history would you like to be involved?
- Good question. I guess we don't have any period of our history that wasn't filmed. Personally, I always wondered and interested in Istanbul before it transformed because of migration. I would love to see and know about the culture created by real Istanbulites and pristine Istanbul before it became overpopulated. Our cinema wasn't able to relay its condition before migration. The period which Istanbul slowly began to degenerate as a result of migration creates a cinematographic feeling on my mind. We had many interesting and valuable events in our near history; but, I really wonder how this feels. We need to see Istanbul after the establishment of Republic, picturesquely
If your life was filmed, would it be sitcom, drama, or action? - I guess it would be both comedy and action. It would be an interpenetrated story. I think I am very lucky because I didn't have big traumas or dramatic events in my life. It would be a film without a trauma.
Engin Akyurek with Sonat Bahar (The editor)
- You are from Ankara. I wonder your initial arrival to Istanbul.
- I was born and raised in Ankara. I came to Istanbul by train when I was 22 years old. Air travel was not very frequent during those days. And Istanbul-Ankara train makes you feel very nostalgic. It was a very cold day and snowy. The year was 2003. I came to Istanbul to join the initial eliminations of the competition that I won later on. So to speak, I grabbed my luggage, got on the train, and got off the train at Haydarpasa Train Station. I had my uncle here. Then it all started.
- That young man got off the train and the huge city of Istanbul was right before his eyes... He would join the competition. But, was he able to imagine these days?
- I didn't anticipate this much. That competition was the first competition about acting. Since I didn't see any example before, I couldn't imagine this. Of course, everybody has dreams. I came to Istanbul from Ankara and I had dreams, too. I wanted to do good things. There weren't many TV series filmed. There wasn't any example of such a competition. I couldn't anticipate these days. I wanted to be an actor and I was very excited about it. I felt that I was going to do something good.
- How does a person from Ankara perceive Istanbul initially? - Anywhere out of Istanbul is rural. Istanbul makes you feel like it is very complex and big. You can't easily comprehend it or keep up with its pace and it is very scary. I wanted to be an actor. Istanbul is very beautiful and special city because it doesn't let newcomers go and it didn't let me go either.
- Is that why you prefer to live on the Anatolian side? - I lived on the European side for years. After moving to Anatolian side, I thought why I had been so unfair to myself for all those years. I got mad at myself. Anatolian side is very quiet and settled. And it is very natural thing for a person from Ankara to prefer Anatolian side.
- Maybe that's why you've never been caught drunk while getting on a taxi... I don't remember such a thing. - I don't remember, either. I don't know whether I did this to protect myself; but, I can say that I did this for my comfort. I shaped my life like this to be able to live more comfortably and to be able to breathe.
- Let's talk about your family... - My mother is a housewife. My father, like 80% of Ankara population, is a government official. During my childhood, my friends' fathers were government officials as well. And our life was like that: It wasn't a problem if my friend's father was a government official. I could be friend with him/her; because my parents would think that my friend would have specific cultural background and education if his/her father was a government official. I have a brother. He is doing his military service right now. We just sent him off for his military service. He is in Kastamonu and he will go to Batman. He is a banker. My parents still live in the same place. Our life there continues as it was before. After I moved out and started acting, our life didn't change much. People whom my mother didn't see for years feel the need of calling her after watching the series. I've never drifted away from my family. I visit them during bayrams and at every chance I get.
- It seems that this government official mentality was reflected on you as well... You climbed the career stairs determinedly... - Certainly; I was raised with this mentality.
- For which qualities of yours do you thank your parents? - It is a very difficult question. I resemble my mother physically.
- Were you a popular young man of your neighborhood or school? - Girls in the neighborhood didn't sigh "Oh my god, Engin!" when I passed them by. Puberty is very problematic for boys. If someone says that everybody admired him during his puberty, I would like to talk about him about what his secret was. One is not very attractive with his face full of acnes during that period. I began to get attention during my college years when my personality shaped up more and when I started playing in theaters. When everything fell into place, I had already moved to Istanbul. That is, my middle school and high school years were very ordinary.
- Does an actor understand another actor's situation better than other people? - Absolutely. It is like this in the set as well. Only another actor can understand your mood at that moment because we are actually very lonely in the set. Everyone has things to think about or handle. Since an actor relates to his character, he always about thinks about sentences and words. That's why you feel very lonely.
- How does it feel like to get ready for a role? - Someone imagines a character and you try to give that character a life. Getting to know a person in real life needs time and it is the same for getting to know a character. There may be situations which you couldn't get to know the character or which you interpreted him wrong. Sometimes, one cannot be objective to oneself and may not want to see his weak sides. But, if your character is like that, then you bring him out from your soul and you face your own weaknesses. A character needs your feelings and details from your life. But that character is not you. Therefore, you need to have a sincere and truthful relationship with the character. If you want to try to fool or manage him, it responds you with a bad acting.
- It must be difficult for a person to protect himself from his acting! - Absolutely. There is Engin as well. You should be able to balance out Engin and the character.
- Is every role a test? - No. However, every role is a chance to know someone. When I accept a character, I get excited because I will meet a new person. The thing we call test is to know someone, to begin a journey with him, and to have the feelings you never had in your life before. Acting is a very interesting job. It gives you a chance to know and be interested in the things you've never been interested in before. For example, being a police officer. I learned about it in Dirty Money Love.
- What did Zeki Demirkubuz teach you? - When I worked with Zeki Abi, I was very young. An actor should work with directors that will push him at the turning points of his career. And I had this chance with Zeki Abi. We worked together very brief period but he helped me to understand how acting in cinema was.
- You define "I wish I were a cloud" series as your turning point of your career. In "What is Fatmagul's fault" you grew your hair and did we then realize that you were a leading actor?
- Mustafa Bulut was an anti-hero. You may not want to see that character as a leading actor. But, my role in Fatmagul was a leading role.
- Well, we can't ignore the effect of your hair... - Probably. (He laughs)
- You stare beautifully. Did you work on to stare like that? Or is it a a natural-born characteristic? - This is in my nature. I don't think about how to look or laugh at that moment. I am more interested in feelings. I don't especially look for that moment.
- Do you think that you fulfill the romantic-man demand in TV Series sector? - It depends on the character that I play. I don't know whether I am instinctively preferred for these kind of roles. The projects that people knew me and that I had connection with viewers are like that (means romantic and emotional). I don't categorize myself. I can crush the romantic-man image by playing something else one day. And this perception is mostly based on the characters rather than Engin.
- There are many women who sigh when they hear Engin Akyurek name. Do you like it? - Of course, I like it. It is a very good feeling to be liked. I am very happy to be loved because of what I do. And they (his fans) are very consistent and beautiful people. Since I don't use social media much, I follow them through my agent. Their support makes me very happy. Since I am not a singer or politician, I can't be in their life as a person. But, I am a part of their life with the characters I play.
- What will viewers see during the second season of Dirty Money Love? - Viewers know the truth now. This will bring some tension. I don't know where the story goes but when I thought about the characters and what they are going to live through, I can tell you that there will be very exciting days. And there will be love in this season as well.
- Season trailers of Dirty Money Love were already broadcasted. While Omer gets arrested by his brother, he prepares a surprise for Elif. What will happen?
- Omer will be torn between Elif and his brother. His brother is on one side and his beloved is on the other side. The woman he loved is a criminal and his brother is a murderer. This season will be about how Omer will find out and solve this.
- In the series, it seems that people around Omer get themselves into trouble and that Omer is the only person staying out of trouble. Will this continue like this way? - Actually, Omer is the most innocent character of this story. So does Elif. We tell the story of two innocent people coming together.
- How will Elif's dirty money laundering affect Omer? And there is a marriage proposal as well... - Omer already tells a message with his mentality of justice and his stance: "Love or your values?" These will keep Omer very busy this season. Most of us can guess how a modern person reacts in such a situation. Omer is a person who could tell things outside of accepted norms and he will.
- How was your summer? - I spent my summer by diving in Kas. I've become interested in diving for the last couple of years and I enjoy it a lot. I want to try diving abroad. For me, diving is a feeling of freedom. Some people love to see fish, and some people love deep diving. I like the feeling of blue and being in the water. It is an area where you can't speak and you are all by yourself. You don't think anything, it is like a meditation. I also spent some time in Ankara.
- Who does criticize you the most? - People I love.
- Whose advice do you listen to the most? - I listen to advice of the people I love. I am not very stubborn and don't insist that I am always right. I have a sense of justice for the right thing. Because of our profession, I need to have my own truths and I need to insist on those truths. But, I have to express them with the right energy. I am not an aggressive person.
- Who is your best friend? - I have many. I see my friends in Ankara. I have a very nice group of friends.
- Are you organized? - Sometimes, I am. But, sometimes, I am very messy. I get messy at home, but I clean it up. My books and movies at home are very organized. But, my bag is very messy. I can't find anything in it. I guess it depends on my mood.
- What do you get mad at in your relationships? - I can't stand insincerity. If you are not sincere, you bring many negative feelings with you.
- Do you think that you know people better as you learned your job and as you get older? - The more you get to know yourself, the better you understand people and you begin to feel empathy for them. Your carelessness and inattentiveness during your 20s are because you don't know much about yourself. Since you are messed up, you don't want to know about what other people think or feel.
- Your profession is egocentric. Do you compete with yourself or with others? - I don't feel like I am in a competition. We are here to live our lives. I am just doing my job. I don't have such worries.
- What kind of advantages has a man in his early 30s? - You feel surprised because some things are changing. I am not talking about what you see in the mirror; something inside of you changes. You make firm decisions. Your preferences and friends in your life, your perspective, and the rhythm of your life start falling into place. I think it is going to be very different in my 40s. I will be more like a man' then. I will be at a very pleasant point in my life. I will start enjoying my life in my 40.
The journalist says that he is very tall, thin and warm-hearted. He has long, thin fingers and he looks like an intellectual. He has a boyish beauty. He is not a star, he is just a very handsome, polite guy. She says that the translator was late and Engin wasn't speaking English so they were both just looking at the Acropolis!! He was born and raised in Ankara, studied History and Geography but he was always dreaming of becoming an actor. He started from theatre and considers himself a theatre actor. He talks a little about his character kadir and that he learnt the secret how to make a good baklava! But he doesn't cook in real life.He says that he can't predict the type of woman he will end up with. "she might be progressive, traditional, smart, caring, short, tall." he doesn't like clichs and in relationships everything is about chemistry. The journalist says that he indeed doesn't like cliches because he hasn't told her any of the cliches that foreign people usually tell her when they visit Greece.
This is his first time in Greece but he knows a lot about the country, "when you study history, you can't do otherwise." He names the places that he wants to visit in Greece (all of them are important archaeological sites). He believes that Greeks and Turks are very much alike and that's the reason the series is successful in both countries. He believes that the similarities we have are more than the differences and thats why he never had any ethnic stereotype for greeks. He also says that religion is something personal for individuals and if two people love each other, they can make it work.
Then they talk what is going to happen to his character and when the journalist asks him if a new love is coming, he replays: "doesn't always?". That makes the journalist say that despite his age, he is wise enough to take life as he should, as a big joke. When she says to him that he is a big star in Greece, he
Laughs, blushes and says that he doesn't understand why! Engin says that now he is looking for a job in theatre and the journalist comments that when he talks about theatre his dark eyes "glow" and it's the only moment that his natural introversion abandons him! He doesn't have a social lifestyle, he stays at home, eats with friends and although he doesn't admit it, the journalist believes that he dreams about big roles. Those that will leave him "naked" and breathless on theatre stage.
(Thanks to Vasilia)
comment:
p_commentcount