Dizi Planet
Altan Erkekli
Photo: Wikimedia Commons · 25 Film · CC BY 3.0

Altan Erkekli

Actor · 70 years old

Profile

Age70 years old
Birth dateNovember 18, 1955
BirthplaceIstanbul
ProfessionActor
Zodiac signScorpio

In the rankings

Worked most often with

Filmography / Projects

Altan Erkekli — Biography

Altan Erkekli is an actor who carries the discipline of Turkish theatre to the wide audiences of film and television. Roles such as Nazmi Doğan in Vizontele, Halil Aslanbaş in Beyaz Gelincik and a part in Afili Aşk have made him familiar to several generations, and he also trains students in voice work and acting.

Raised in Kadıköy, Erkekli attended primary and middle school as a boarder in Diyarbakır and finished high school at Kadıköy Maarif Koleji. He became interested in theatre at school but, put off by the difficulties, decided to become a civil engineer; at the insistence of his English teacher he changed his mind and in 1975 entered the theatre department of Ankara University's DTCF. As a student he stepped into a lead role when the original actor could not appear, and at Rutkay Aziz's invitation began working professionally at Ankara Sanat Tiyatrosu, where he played in Sakıncalı Piyade, Rumuz Goncagül and Mephisto, among others. He worked for the State Theatres' Children's and Youth Theatre from 1985 to 1989, then returned to the company, and later joined the BKM actors and appeared in Bir Demet Tiyatro. In film came Vizontele and Vizontele Tuuba, followed by Anlat İstanbul, Organize İşler, Cenneti Beklerken, O... Çocukları, Ayla and Bizi Hatırla.

He won the Sanat Kurumu best actor award in 1982 and best male performer in a musical or comedy at the 2003 Afife Theatre Awards, and received the Vasıf Öngören Special Award in 2024. He voiced Edi in the Turkish Sesame Street. In 2009 he was elected to the Beşiktaş municipal council for the CHP. In December 2025 he received an honorary award at the Esenler Film Festival together with Serpil Tamur.

Photos

Altan Erkekli

Reactions

You can pick up to 3 reactions.

Their work through different eyes

Cinephile Looks at script, editing and directing choices; keeps a distance from formula films.

Altan Erkekli's screen identity is built by his work with Yılmaz Erdoğan: Vizontele, Vizontele Tuuba and Organize İşler. To begin, Bir Demet Tiyatro is in my view the right choice, because the several characters he takes on there show his comic range in one place. Güneşi Gördüm and Bizi Hatırla are good options for the more serious tone of the same actor.

History & Society Lens Asks about the period, the social background and what the work reflects.

Altan Erkekli's roles are often men who carry authority: Başkan Nazmi in Vizontele, the Minister of Transport in Devrim Arabaları, a deputy prosecutor in 80. Adım, the Hoca in Eve Dönüş. In my view this cluster suggests that casting him as a public figure from provincial and state circles has become a habit. The many-character work in Bir Demet Tiyatro is a good counterweight to that type.

These are not reader reviews: they are short editorial takes on this person's screen work, written from different viewer perspectives with AI assistance. Reader comments are below.

Comments