Mehmet Aslantuğ

Mehmet Aslantuğ — Biography

Born on September 25, 1961, in the village of Dikbıyık in Samsun's Çarşamba district, Mehmet Aslantuğ is the fifth and youngest child of a Circassian farming family, Ubıh on his mother's side and Abzah on his father's, and lost his father to heart disease at four. After school in Terme, he left the business faculty he entered in 1978 to become a professional actor in 1985.

He debuted in 1986 with Gündoğmadan, then won three Golden Orange awards for Kapıları Açmak (1992), Yalancı (1993) and Yengeç Sepeti (1994), plus four Golden Butterfly, one Golden Boll and one Golden Objective award; Akrebin Yolculuğu screened in Cannes' Un Certain Regard in 1997. Known for Sedat Yalçın in Sıcak Saatler and Selim Arhan in Bir İstanbul Masalı, he also appeared in Hanımın Çiftliği, Veda, Ben Onu Çok Sevdim, Kardeş Çocukları, Masumiyet and the film Direniş Karatay.

In 1996 he married former beauty queen Arzum Onan, 1993 Miss Turkey and Miss Europe; their son Can was born in 2000, and they ended their 27-year marriage in May 2023. He ran unsuccessfully for parliament that year as a Türkiye İşçi Partisi candidate, received an Honorary Award with Meral Orhonsay at the 2025 Adana Altın Koza Film Festival, and in 2026 shared a farewell message after his mother's death.