Güven Kıraç

Güven Kıraç — Biography

Güven Kıraç came into the world in Istanbul on 5 April 1960, born to a family of Abkhaz descent, and trained in the theatre program of Mimar Sinan University's State Conservatory. He spent two years with the state theatre before leaving to act in Ağrı Dağı Efsanesi and Sıkıyönetim in Adana, in Hamlet at the Gülriz Sururi-Engin Cezzar stage, and in Jean Genet's The Balcony with Tiyatro Stüdyosu. A 1995 bank commercial in which he played a taxi driver made him a household name nationwide, and his role as Yusuf in Zeki Demirkubuz's Masumiyet in 1997 brought him several acting prizes. His performance in Mrs. Salkım's Diamonds earned him the Best Actor prize from the Istanbul Film Festival in 1999, and he later won Best Actor at India's 41st International Film Festival. Between 2001 and 2002 he played the barber Remzi in the series Yeditepe İstanbul, and went on to portray Memduh Başgan in Behzat Ç. and Fakir Şükrü in Mor Menekşeler. He appeared in films including Head-On, Gönül Yarası, Takva, Kebab Connection and Sınav, and held an exhibition of his own paintings in 2014. He has continued working in series such as Payitaht Abdülhamid, Familya and Tövbeler Olsun.