Halit Ergenç

Halit Ergenç — Biography

Halit Ergenç is one of Turkish television's most widely watched faces abroad. Onur Aksal in Binbir Gece and Suleiman the Magnificent in Muhteşem Yüzyıl carried his name to foreign audiences, and the two roles earned him a Golden Butterfly for Best Actor each time. He has stayed active on stage too: in 2026 he played Willy Loman in an Arthur Miller play, and he is attached to the film İmroz'da Bahar with Meryem Uzerli.

His path began in music. His father was the Yeşilçam-era actor and musician Sait Ergenç; while studying shipbuilding at Istanbul Technical University he moved to opera and musical theatre acting at Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University, and spent three years as a backing vocalist for Ajda Pekkan and Leman Sam. In 1996 he took the stage in the Dormen Theatre's musical Kral ve Ben and made his screen debut the same year in Kara Melek. Devran in Zerda and Sinan Karahan in Aliye made him known, followed by Binbir Gece (2006) and Muhteşem Yüzyıl (2011). Later he played Lieutenant Colonel Cevdet in Vatanım Sensin and İrfan in Babil.

On film he appeared in Babam ve Oğlum, Devrim Arabaları, Ali ve Nino and İstanbul Kırmızısı, and played Atatürk in Dersimiz: Atatürk. He also hosted television, including Büyük Teklif. He took part in the 2013 Gezi Park protests, and in 2017 he received an international icon award in Pakistan. He has been married to Bergüzar Korel since 2009; they have three children and live in London.