Erkan Can

Erkan Can — Biography

Born on 1 November 1958 in Bursa to a family of Bulgarian immigrants, Erkan Can finished his schooling there before joining classes at the Bursa State Theatre in 1975, his first contact with the stage. He entered the theatre department of the Istanbul Municipal Conservatory in 1985, graduated in 1990, and then spent the 1991-92 season with the Bakırköy Municipal Theatre.

He stepped onto television in 1992 as Temel in Mahallenin Muhtarları, a part he himself calls the turning point of his career. His real breakthrough on screen came playing the Captain in the 1998 film Gemide, which brought him the Best Actor prize at the Antalya Golden Orange Film Festival. His role as Muharrem in Takva (2006) earned him a second Golden Orange plus the Asia Pacific Screen Award for Best Performance by an Actor, while his work in Yazı Tura had already won him a supporting-actor award from SİYAD in 2004.

His credits include Dar Alanda Kısa Paslaşmalar, Anlat İstanbul, Yaşamın Kıyısında, Kara Köpekler Havlarken, Çoğunluk and Müslüm, the last of which brought him a supporting-actor award at the 2019 İzmir International Film Festival. On television he is remembered for playing Tayyar Dündar in Kara Para Aşk and Osman Necipli in Tövbeler Olsun. He presented a nature documentary about the Artvin region in 2011, and in 2022 received an honorary award from the Antalya Golden Orange Film Festival.