Mert Öcal

Mert Öcal — Biography

Mert Öcal is a model-turned-actor who won the Best Model of the World title in 2004 and later reached wide audiences through television series and the Survivor competition. He was the fourth Turkish man to take the title, after Kenan İmirzalıoğlu, Faik Ergin and Kıvanç Tatlıtuğ. He has also been active in sport since the age of eighteen, including tennis, volleyball, football and basketball.

He first won Best Model of Turkey and then took the world crown, succeeding France's Stefan Alie. After working on catwalks and catalogue shoots he moved into acting. His early work was in series such as Asla Unutma, Nehir, Rüyalarda Buluşuruz, Oyun Bitti and Görgüsüzler, followed by Kız Annesi, Bizim Okul, Mahmut ile Meryem and Aşk Yeniden. After 2017 he appeared in Savaşçı, İsimsizler and Adını Sen Koy; from 2019 he played Tarık in Arka Sokaklar, and in 2021 he guest-starred in Sen Çal Kapımı.

He competed on the celebrities' team in Survivor 2020, which began in February 2020, and was eliminated in May; he also took part in Survivor 2022: All Star. He married Sude Burcu, whom he met on the programme, in 2024, and the couple announced in 2026 that they are expecting a child.