Okan Yalabık

Okan Yalabık was born on 13 December 1978 in Istanbul, the second child of a family originally from Balıkesir. He attended Maçka Primary School, then Şişli Terakki High School and Sakıp Sabancı Anadolu High School, where in 1993 he helped found the school's theatre club. In 1997 he enrolled in the theatre department of Istanbul University State Conservatory, later earning a master's degree in Film and Drama at Kadir Has University. He made his stage debut at Kenter Theatre in 1998. He gained wide recognition through the series "Yılan Hikâyesi" (1999), and later through the historical drama "Muhteşem Yüzyıl" (Magnificent Century, 2011), in which he played Pargalı İbrahim Pasha. His other notable works include the series "Hatırla Sevgili," "Analar ve Anneler," "Hekimoğlu" (2019–2020), and "Hakan: Muhafız" (The Protector, Netflix). His film credits include "Kolay Para," "Av Mevsimi" (Hunting Season, 2010), and "Annemin Yarası" (My Mother's Wound, 2016). For his role in "Av Mevsimi" he won the Best Supporting Actor award at the 4th Yeşilçam Awards (2010). He decided to become an actor after his brother Ozan brought home a cassette of Ferhan Şensoy's play "Ferhangi Şeyler" — Yalabık memorized every line and set his mind on acting. He is also active as a voice actor, having voiced characters in the animated film "Kötü Kedi Şerafettin" (Bad Cat, 2016) and in Turkish dubs of the Uncharted video game series. He has never been officially married. He previously dated actress Gamze Özçelik, his co-star in the series "Serseri." For several years (roughly 2018–2022) he was in a relationship with actress Ezgi Ayvalı, eleven years his junior; the couple never married and eventually separated. He has no children.