Mehmet Esen

Mehmet Esen was born on October 13, 1958, in Istanbul, Turkey. His love for the stage emerged at the age of six when, inspired by a performance of Münir Özkul, he staged and performed a one-man show at Cihangir Primary School. While studying at Ankara Atatürk High School, he continued his interest in theatre, trained at the Ankara Experimental Stage, and played his first role in the play "Bozkır Dirliği". At that time, he dreamed of joining the Ankara Art Theatre, but through Erkan Yücel, whom he later described as one of the most important actors in the world, he joined the Revolutionary Ankara Art Theatre. During this period, he endured torture, detention, and mistreatment. Later, working on construction sites to earn money, he and his friends established the Ankara People's Theatre, but upon the advice of Haldun Taner, he moved to Istanbul. In Istanbul, he became an apprentice to Münir Özkul and performed in the meddah plays "Düş ve Gerçek" and "Kaşif-i Eyvah Nadir Efendi" under his direction. During the September 12 military coup, he was arrested and spent 11 months in prison. After his release, he joined the Dostlar Theatre, where he met Genco Erkal, whom he considered his mentor. The death of Erkan Yücel deeply affected him, and he took a four-year hiatus from art. In 1986, he returned to cinema. With the support of the then governor of Izmir, Nevzat Ayaz, he went to Germany, where he joined the theatre formation Tiyatrom. After being given the lead role in the play "Suçlular ve Suçsuzlar" by Kerim Afşar, he achieved great success. In 1990, he began incorporating improvisation into his performances, which drew significant interest. He also worked on screenplays. In 1997, he went to Germany again to work in theatre at Theater Forum in Berlin. Throughout his acting career, he has appeared in numerous films and television series, including "Behzat Ç. Bir Ankara Polisiyesi" (2010), "20 Dakika" (2013), "Ayla" (2017, as Colonel Celal), "Cep Herkülü: Naim Süleymanoğlu" (2019), "Son Yaz" (2021), "Yalı Çapkını" (2023), and others. In 2021, he served as producer, director, screenwriter, and actor in the film "Yapayalnız". For his role in the short film "Kayıp" (2022), he received the Best Actor award at the Montreal Independent Film Festival. Mehmet Esen is one of the continuers of the Turkish meddah (traditional storyteller) tradition. He enjoys reading and literature. Mehmet Esen has been married to psychiatrist Julia Esen since 1991. The couple has a child.