Zafer Ergin

Zafer Ergin — Biography

After graduating in art history from Ankara University's Faculty of Language, History and Geography, he began in theatre at the Ankara Deneme Sahnesi, then spent the 1970s and 1980s dubbing foreign series and films for TRT, notably voicing fellow Turkish actor Cüneyt Arkın, and took music lessons from Cemil Demirsipahi in 1980. He entered cinema with the 1971 film Katiller and went on to appear in Çalıkuşu, Yaprak Dökümü, Berlin in Berlin and Deli Yürek: Bumerang Cehennemi, becoming widely known as Mehmet Karahanlı in Kurtlar Vadisi. Since 2006 he has played Rıza Soylu -- known to viewers as Rıza Baba -- in Arka Sokaklar, rising through the ranks from chief inspector to police commissioner over the show's run. In 2014 he filled in for a single episode as host of the Turkish version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire while its regular host, Kenan Işık, was unwell. His film credits also include Güneşi Gördüm, New York'ta Beş Minare, Sümela'nın Şifresi: Temel and Prestij Meselesi.