Özgürcan Çevik

Photo Source: netflix, kasaba

Özgürcan Çevik is a Turkish actor. He acted in Fatih Harbiye (In Between, also: Neslihan), Şevkat Yerimdar, İkizler Memo-Can (Twins – Memo & Can), Dağ (The Mountain/Forgotten Soldiers), Annem Ankara (My Mother’s Tale), Adile Naşit (also: Seda), Kasaba (Netflix – The Town, also: Kerem Can, Okan, Ozan & Büşra) and more.

Facts:

• has stated that he was a confident child in social settings and that he decided to become a theatre actor at the age of twelve
• while studying at university, he also worked as an extra at state theatres
• after graduating, he began working at Ankara Art Theatre
• after performing on stage in various theatres, he made his on-screen debut in 2008, portraying a lawyer in the television series Bizim Evin Halleri
• after the Şevkat Yerimdar films, which were successful, he initially resisted adapting the character for television
  • however, the TV series became a huge success and made him even more widely known
  • Şevkat Yerimdar began as a sketch character and he shaped it almost entirely himself through improvisation, turning it into a distinctive, audience-loved figure
• says that while he supports the football team Beşiktaş among the big four, he actually supports Gençlerbirliği
• he acknowledges that his obsessions have likely held him back at times, but says he is now more flexible and less bound by rigid patterns
  • avoids defining himself through fixed labels, holding only certain principles rather than strict rules
  • believes letting go of prejudices and self-imposed limits has helped him succeed, while accepting that uncertainty and setbacks are always part of life
• has been living permanently in Istanbul since August 2016, after previously staying there only temporarily for earlier projects
  • says that when he first came to Istanbul in 2010, he struggled because he tried to live by his own rules instead of adapting to the city
  • over time, he realised that living in a place requires understanding its “language” and way of life and that resisting this only leads to frustration
• says his perspective on fame and legacy has changed over time, while he once wanted to be remembered after death, he now feels that such a desire can feed the ego and become limiting
  • letting go of that mindset has made him more at ease, and today he believes that whether his name is remembered or not is ultimately unimportant
• although he had been involved in acting from a young age, studying Tourism and Hotel Management gave him confidence and stability before he fully committed to acting
  • looking back, he believes starting later benefited him emotionally and professionally and he has no regrets about not entering acting school at a younger age
• says he was initially mistaken in believing that television acting would be easier than theatre
  • he realised that although theatre is demanding because it is live and unforgiving of mistakes, television acting is also physically and mentally exhausting due to long working hours, disrupted sleep and the lack of a normal social life
• acting has always been his own choice, with starting later being a practical decision for family reasons, he hopes to direct in the future and dreams of acting in a Fatih Akın film, even imagining a love monologue opposite Natalie Portman
• he is influenced by films like El Bar and A Separation, appreciates Spanish cinema, prefers British comedies to relax and generally avoids Hollywood and superhero films
• considers V for Vendetta the greatest film of all time, saying it gives him hope and lifts his spirits and notes that he has watched it around twelve times
• considers The Revenant overrated and believes Leonardo DiCaprio won the Oscar more as a formality than for that performance
  • feels DiCaprio deserved the award earlier, particularly for Catch Me If You Can and even thinks his performance in The Great Gatsby was stronger than in The Revenant
• has started but not finished shows like Lost, Prison Break and Banshee, enjoyed 3% and Black Mirror and praises Family Guy and Turkish Series Sıfır Bir Adana
• Chile (Copacabana) is the place he most wants to visit and his favorite city is Ankara
• says he’s not very up to date with newer music, but regularly listens to artists like Queen, Metallica, Ella Fitzgerald, Louis Armstrong, Frank Sinatra, Bülent Ortaçgil, as well as composers such as Handel and Beethoven
• says he would like to talk with Indian Philosopher Jiddu Krishnamurti about morality and life’s expectations and also mentions Che Guevara as someone he would like to discuss Latin America with