Ilker Kaleli

İlker Kaleli was born on May 11, 1984, in Istanbul, Turkey. His mother is of half-German, half-Turkish descent, and his father is a Turkish citizen of Kurdish origin from Van. He graduated from Istanbul Kültür University's Arts Management Department and received classical acting training at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA). He also studied at Şahika Tekand's Studio Players. He began his acting career in 2012 with the series "Son" (The End). He gained widespread popularity for his leading role as Ahmet Poyraz Karayel in the series "Poyraz Karayel" (2015-2017), for which he won the Golden Butterfly Award for Best Actor (2016). Among his other works are the series "Kayıp Şehir" (Lost City, 2012-2013), "Kayıp" (Lost, 2013-2014), "Öğretmen" (The Teacher, 2020), "The Serpent" (2021) as Vitali Hakim, "Arak/Kara" (2023-2024), and "La Pasion Turca" (2024), as well as the film "Silsile" (Consequences, 2014). He is fluent in English, speaks Spanish, and knows Middle Eastern dialects. He is a trained musician, playing guitar, piano, and drums. Since 2004, he has been a PADI Open Water Scuba Diving Instructor. He was in a relationship with actress Burçin Terzioğlu from 2014 to 2018. Since 2021, he has been in a relationship with singer Sıla.