Göksel Arsoy

Göksel Arsoy, one of the popular faces of Turkish cinema, was born on March 15, 1936 in Kayseri. The artist comes from a well-established family. While his mother is the daughter of one of Crete's leading families, his father is pilot Remzi Arsoy. In addition, Yesari Asım Arsoy, one of the doyens of Turkish music, is his uncle.

Arsoy's step into the artistic life also has a very interesting story. While he was studying economics at Istanbul University, his life changed when he started working at Yeşilköy Airport. With the encouragement of producer Fuat Rutkay, he said hello to the big screen in 1957 with the movie "Kara Günlerim". Arsoy, whose recognition increased with subsequent films such as "Kelepçe" and "Samanyolu", had a big breakthrough especially with the 1959 film "Samanyolu".

He appeared in front of the camera with the famous actress Belgin Doruk in many of his films during this period.

Göksel Arsoy, called the "Golden Child" by Halit Refiğ, experienced the peak of his career, especially in the first half of the 1960s. His films such as "Unfound Uşak" and "Taş Bebek" attracted great attention. The artist not only acted but also worked as a producer by establishing a film company in his own name. His success in his acting career was crowned with the "Lifetime Honor Award" given at the 36th Golden Orange Film Festival in 1999.

In addition to acting, Arsoy also took an active role in non-governmental organizations, and was in places such as Cinema Actors Association (SODER) and Istanbul Tennis Club (İTK). He served as the president of the Turkish Sports for All Federation between 2002 and 2008. He shared the memories of his artistic life with readers in his autobiography titled "Golden Child" in 2017. In 2024, he was deemed worthy of the Presidential Culture and Arts Grand Prize of the Republic of Turkey.

Göksel Arsoy married Soley Arsoy in 1961. From this marriage, they had two children named Gökhan and Aşkım. Arsoy's son Gökhan Arsoy, whose family tradition of artistry continues, is also an actor.

Göksel Arsoy was born on March 15, 1936 in Kayseri. Göksel Arsoy's mother, Hesna Arsoy, is the granddaughter of Crete Governor Mollazade Ali Talat Bey, one of the notables of Crete Hanya, and the daughter of Hırkazade Ahmet. His father, Remzi Aksoy, was a diesel and oxygen engine specialist in Germany. When he was appointed to Kayseri Air Supply Center by the Air Forces Command, Göksel Arsoy was born there and completed primary and secondary school in Kayseri.

Since the second grade, he attended primary school at Bakırkaş Taş Mektep with his aunt in Istanbul. He graduated from Haydarpaşa High School, where he studied as a boarding student. He attended Istanbul University Faculty of Economics. While Göksel Arsoy was studying at Istanbul University, Faculty of Economics, he started working for a British company at Yeşilköy Airport. He has a sister named Nursel. He is the nephew of Classical Turkish Music composer Yesari Asım Ersoy.

He made his film debut in 1958 with the movie Kara Günlerim, directed by Sırrı Gültekin. Then he starred with Muhterem Nur in the movie 'Raw Fruit'. In 1961, he appeared in front of the camera with Belgin Doruk for the movie 'Samanyolu'. He took part in numerous films, especially in the early 60s. Göksel Arsoy is known by the nickname "Golden Child". He made his fame with the movie "Milky Way" (1959).

Göksel Arsoy, who follows American cinema closely, heard that the 'James Bond' movie starring Sean Connery was attracting great attention, so she became the local James Bond and shot the movie "Golden Boy" in 1966. He also took over the production. Halit Refiğ always called him 'Golden Boy'. That's why the name of the movie was 'Golden Child'. 'Golden Boy James Bond' exploded so much that it was destroyed.

Arabs bought the movie. To make it more effective, they added Muhammed to the beginning of his name on the poster. He became Muhammed Göksel Arsoy. When the film attracted great attention, he started to make joint films with Arabs. Then he made films with Türkan Şoray, Hülya Koçyiğit, Fatma Girik and Filiz Akın.

While the late Ayhan Işık was trying his luck in Hollywood, "Golden Boy" was taking Türkiye by storm.

Productions in which he took part

He took part in a total of 56 productions; 12 of the most well-known are listed.

• Politics Square (1994) — Self - Interviewee
• Golden Butterfly Awards (1973) — Self - Presenter
• Don't Let the Sun Rise (1961)
• Heart Hunter (1962) — Vedat
• Unforgettables (2006) — Cihat
• Poor Necdet (1961) — Necdet
• Wind of Love (1960) — Sedat
• Middle East is Burning (1967)
• Wild Rose (1961)
• Kezban (1963)
• Little Gentleman (1962) — Celestial
• Yeşilçam Sea (2003)

Production and imprint information was taken from TMDB.