Turgay Tanülkü

Turgay Tanülkü was born on July 18, 1953 in Uşak. His interest in performing arts began at a young age and he completed his education in this field at Ankara State Conservatory, Department of Theatre. After graduating in 1976, he started his artistic life at Ankara State Theater the same year. In an important period of his artistic life, in 1970-71, he attended drama courses at the Theater Academy in Leningrad and received Psychogymnastics training. This training deeply affected his understanding of acting.

Tanülkü took part not only on stage but also in social projects. He demonstrated the power of art in rehabilitation and education by establishing theater groups in schools for the blind, juvenile reformatories and prisons in various regions of Turkey. He still continues his work with these groups he founded. The artist, who taught stage and role lessons at Dokuz Eylül University between 1987-89, is also known for his education. He also attracted international attention by winning the International Direction Award in Konya in 1984.

During the 1988-89 period, he was deemed worthy of the German Green Party Peace Prize in the field of direction with two important plays staged by the Ankara Semi-Open Prison Players. This award showed that he is not only an artist but also a socially responsible person. Tanülkü, who has a wide range of works in cinema, television and voice-over works, was a member of the State Theater artist staff for many years.

On television, he became widely known especially for his character Şahin Ağa in the TV series Kurtlar Vadisi. Later, he gave an unforgettable performance by portraying the same character in the TV series Eşkıya Dünyaya Akşamdar Olmaz, which was broadcast between 2015 and 2021.

Productions in which he took part

He took part in 79 productions in total; 12 of the most well-known are listed.

• Valley of the Wolves (2003) — Şahin Ağa
• The Prosecutor's Wife (2005) — The Underdog
• Behzat Ç.: An Ankara Detective Story (2010) — Mehmet Zarlı
• Leyla and Mecnun (2011)
• European Side (2004) — Urfalı Ağa
• Crusty Menekşe (2003) — Himmet
• Purple Violets (2011)
• Red Light (2008)
• Cennet Mahallesi (2004) — Sledgehammer Muzaffer
• Love and Punishment (2010)
• Cradle Kertmesi (2002) — Drummer Yaşar
• Paper Lives (2021) — Tahsin

Production and imprint information was taken from TMDB.