Kerem Can

Kerem Can is a Turkish actor. He has primarily worked in German and Turkish productions and has also appeared in productions from other countries. His filmography includes GSG 9, Im Angesicht des Verbrechens (In the Face of Crime), Lasko (God’s Fist), Sadece Sen (Only You, also: Barış), Zenne Dancer, Drawers, Der Kriminalist (The Criminalist), Letzte Spur Berlin (Last Trace Berlin), Istanbul Story, Berlin Station, Racer and the Jailbird, The Brave, Il Miracolo (A miracle), SOKO Stuttgart (Stuttgart Homicide), Die Rosenheim-Cops, She Said Maybe, P.A.Y. (also: Birkan), Kasaba (Netflix – The Town, also: Özgürcan, Okan, Ozan & Büşra) and more.

Photo Source: netflix, kasaba

Facts:

• he speaks German, Turkish, English, French, Spanish, Arabic and Italian
• his parents moved to Berlin in their early twenties
  • it wasn’t a classic working-class family story
  • his father graduated from Istanbul Erkek High School, already spoke German and studied Engineering in Türkiye
  • due to political unrest in the country before the 1980s, his parents who were in love decided to go abroad for a while and chose Berlin
  • initially planning to stay for just a year, they ended up staying, got married and he was born there
  • his father worked as a ship engineer in Germany and his mother as a dentist
  • when he was eight, his parents separated; his father returned to Türkiye, while he remained in Berlin with his mother, though he says they never truly became disconnected from one another
• when asked about his father, he says there is no story of pain or absence in his life
  • explains that he did not grow up without a father, as he saw him every summer and stayed connected to his family in Türkiye as well
  • describes his mother as a strong, independent woman and says both of his parents have been important role models in different ways
  • his father remarried and he has a good relationship with his half-sibling, while his mother has had a long-term partner for many years, who is half German and half Belgian
  • as a result, he says he grew up in a multicultural environment and sees himself as a global citizen
• his love for acting began in school theatre and was initially just a hobby he thought would remain that way, especially since there were no artists in his family
  • feeling limited by Berlin at the time, he sought a more international environment and continued his business studies in Paris before moving on to Oxford
  • throughout this period, he kept up his acting training and later earned a master’s degree in International Relations at Oxford
  • ultimately, he realised that he didn’t want a career in business and that acting was his true passion, adding that he was never meant to be confined to an office
• has been working as a professional actor since 2004, building his career through television series, films and theatre
  • despite his extensive academic education, his family now fully supports his choice and no longer questions why he chose acting
  • he is doing the one thing in life that makes him happiest
• he is a very involved father, sharing all responsibilities equally with his wife, explains that in Germany you do everything yourself, without outside help
  • his son’s name, Luan Faik, was inspired by an Albanian boxer named Luan and means “lion” which resonated with his Balkan roots
• when asked whether he ever felt uncomfortable saying “I am Turkish” in Germany during times when slogans like “Türken raus!” (Turks out!) were heard, he says no, on the contrary, he has always seen this as a richness, he explains that he carries both cultures within himself
  • while in Türkiye he sometimes gets frustrated by disorder, in Germany he is equally irritated by how strictly everything is regulated and finds himself missing the chaos and unpredictability of Türkiye
• explains that his Spanish comes from spending six months in Granada with his mother’s partner’s family
  • he has a natural aptitude for languages and later improved it on his own
• he says he never struggled with being Turkish or German, that he accepted his own reality early on and grew up with friends from many backgrounds; French, Turkish, German and others
  • for many years now, his two closest friends have been South Korean and Polish
• received professional acting training at Mountview Academy in London, IFFS and the Académie du 7ème Art in Paris
  • in addition to his formal education, he studied acting with renowned instructors including Elke Petri, Ulrich Matthes, Mel Churcher, Lena Lessing and Michael Hofmann
• is often told that his Turkish is surprisingly good for someone born and raised in Berlin
  • explains this by saying that his ties to Türkiye were always strong and that he spent a lot of time with his grandmother, a retired teacher, who frequently visited and played a major role in his language development
• he is interested in a wide range of sports including tennis, football, rugby, kickboxing, basketball, snowboarding and horse riding