Susku Ekim Kaya

Susku Ekim Kaya — Biography

Susku Ekim Kaya (born 9 November 1990 in Istanbul) is a British-Turkish actress and film director. Born in Istanbul, she later moved to London, where she studied psychology at London Metropolitan University, graduating in 2016, while also performing in theatre productions at venues including the Arcola Theatre.

She trained at the International School of Screen Acting at 3 Mills Studio, graduating in 2017 with a screening at BAFTA. She began her acting career with the film Diren and went on to appear in various films, music videos and commercials. Having received drama education from the age of nine, she performed in Mahmud and Yezida: Turkish Romeo and Juliet at the Arcola Theatre, in the 2014 solo play A Woman Alone by Dario Fo and Franca Rame, and in 2021 in an adaptation of Max Frisch's Bluebeard at the Barons Court Theatre.

In 2020 she directed the short film Will You Be My Quarantine?, which won awards at several festivals including the Istanbul Film Awards and the Europe Film Festival. In 2021 she was the face of a satirical campaign called The Staunch Test, designed by screenwriter Bridget Lawless, best known for writing the British TV series The Bill and founding the Staunch Book Prize. Kaya has also worked as a producer and casting director, and her short film Babamın Öldüğü Gün (The Day My Father Died) was featured in the Ankara Film Festival programme in 2023.