Seray Kaya

Photo Source: gözleri karadeniz, Atv

Seray Kaya is a Turkish actress. She acted in Huzur Sokağı (Peace Street), Kocamın Ailesi (My Husband’s Family), Gülümse Yeter (Just Smile), Kadın (Woman, also: Caner, Özge & Bennu), Kuruluş: Osman (Establishment: Osman, also: Burak Çelik, Ali, Erdem, Emre, Miray, Faruk & Belgin), Mahkum (Adaptation of Innocent Defendant), Bir Küçük Gün Işığı (A Little Sunshine), Kopuk (The Hood, also: Biran), Kızılcık Şerbeti (Cranberry Sorbet, also: Şebnem) and more.

Facts:

• on her father’s side, she is from Giresun and on her mother’s side, from Samsun and of Circassian origin, she was born and raised in Istanbul, but still feels she has a bit of the Black Sea spirit in her nature
• her mother is a homemaker who used to work, her father last worked as a private driver, there is no one involved in the arts in her family and her childhood dream was not acting but becoming a veterinarian
  • says her plans changed because her school life didn’t go as she wanted, while working as a makeup artist, people encouraged her by saying she looked suited for television
  • loved writing and without knowing the rules, began putting her imagined worlds on paper, feeling a growing desire to bring those lives to life
    • that led her to think she should truly try acting, even though she knew no one in the industry and her family was initially against it
  • she found an agency through a close friend who worked there and showed her photo, but when she went, she ended up being scammed
    • she didn’t give money but experienced other disturbing things; she was 17 and went secretly because her family didn’t allow it and later the agency owner made very inappropriate offers to her
    • the agency promised false publicity and shortcuts that didn’t align with her intention to become an actor, but thanks to a clause allowing cancellation if her family objected, she ended the contract and began questioning whether acting was truly possible for her
    • but she followed her inner voice, found another agency at 19, trained at the Sadri Alışık Training Center while working in secret, faced many failed auditions and after two very difficult years finally landed Huzur Sokağı
      • after signing the contract, she told her parents she hadn’t given up on acting and secretly trained and needed their approval, in the end her father supported her, realising it wasn’t just a phase
• recounts losing her father suddenly to a heart attack in 2019, describing it as the most painful and transformative period of her life
  • she and her father shared a common father–daughter struggle: they loved each other deeply but never said “I love you” which became her greatest regret
  • the grief deeply changed her emotionally and physically, led her to therapy and reshaped how she views loss, love and forgiveness
  • later discovered that her father had secretly kept every article and interview about her career, realising fully how deeply he loved and supported her
• the strongest factor that drew her to acting was the sense of freedom in the moment, explaining that while she may not always feel free in life, the stage is her world where she feels limitless
• on days off from set, she spends time with her family, her dogs and close friends, feels very peaceful in her own small world, enjoys being alone and loves riding her bike with a book, stopping somewhere to read and write
• she would choose a mentor who pushes boundaries and isn’t afraid to take risks when creating characters and would want to learn how to experiment fearlessly, trust instincts and rediscover every role from scratch
• says she would love to play either a genius woman or a disciplined, warrior woman skilled in Far Eastern martial arts, as roles that push her both mentally and physically deeply excite her
• her biggest supporters are her family, who once had concerns about the industry but grew reassured after witnessing how she works and the trust she has with the people she collaborates with
• says she does everything she can to support street animals, takes part in social responsibility efforts within her means and believes that words are not enough, what truly matters is action and real change for all living beings