Yıldıray Şahinler

Yıldıray Şahinler — Biography

Yıldıray Şahinler is an actor whose career runs from the stage of the Istanbul City Theatres to character parts on television and in film. Wide audiences know him as Alyanak Hasan in İçerde and as Hafız in 7. Koğuştaki Mucize. He is also a translator, director, writer and diving instructor; in 2026 he played Davut in Teşkilat and left the series at the end of the season.

After Suadiye High School he graduated from the theatre department of the Istanbul University State Conservatory and joined the City Theatres in 1986. His first awards came young, for roles in İlk Gençliğim and Çıkmaz Sokak Çocukları. In 2004 his performance in Tiyatrokare's Salı Ziyaretleri won best actor at both the Afife and the Sadri Alışık awards. He also built his own stage work: he translated and directed Dejan Dukovski's Barut Fıçısı, co-founded the Istanbul Halk Tiyatrosu with a group of colleagues in late 2006, and staged his own play İhtiyar Balıkçı ve Deniz in 2014.

His screen career began in 1989 with Ayaşlı ve Kiracıları. In 1998 he played Ali in Gemide and its sequel Laleli'de Bir Azize. After series such as Elveda Rumeli, Avrupa Yakası and Kayıp, İçerde (2016) became the turning point. Ufak Tefek Cinayetler, Ferhat ile Şirin, Akıncı, Kuruluş Osman (as Rogatus) and, in 2025, Aşk ve Gözyaşı (as Yusuf Naci) followed. He has also worked as a diving instructor since 1996.