Caner Özyurtlu was born on May 23, 1986 in Istanbul. Turkish TV series, film actor, film director, screenwriter and producer.
Name: Caner Özyurtlu
Date of Birth: May 23, 1986
Place of Birth: Istanbul
Height: 1.81 m.
Weight: 67 kilos
Sign: Gemini
Eye Color: Black
Hair color: black
Mother: Nilgün Özyurtlu
Wife: Muge Ozen
Child: Bulut Özyurtlu
Siblings: Alper Özyurtlu
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/canerozyurtlu
Family: He was born in Istanbul, he has an older brother. He married the artistic director and producer Müge Özen in 2013. The couple has a son. “There is no one in the family who is engaged in art, but my parents have always been people who supported any decision we made. My brother Alper has always been around and involved in art. I generally improved myself by following him.
Childhood years: He wanted to be a director to share the stories he had seen since his childhood with people. “Storytelling is something I love very much. Actually, I was already making short films when I was in middle school. Math vs. I was very good at it. At least I said to be close to art; I read the picture. I haven’t painted since high school. I’m obsessed with realism in art, still Rembrandt is the painter I was most influenced by, and I’m a bit of a classicist in that regard. Of course, I follow modern art and new galleries, but I am very confused about modern art.”
Education life: He graduated from İzmit Anatolian Fine Arts High School Painting Department in 2005. Then he graduated from Istanbul University State Conservatory Theater Department.
Career: He has been a part of the Istanbul Royal Theater team, which was founded in 2005, since its establishment. He produces motion pictures, music videos and television projects at the ‘AC Film Production Company’, which he founded with his older brother Alper Özyurtlu in 2009. “Actually, I always wanted to be a director from the beginning. I was making short films in middle school. I studied painting to at least be close to art, but neither my patience nor my talent were enough to paint. Then I studied acting, but I always wanted to combine all this knowledge in directing. Then I entered the city theater, worked as an assistant and started acting. From there I entered the conservatory. I got into serials, but on the other hand, I started to shoot music videos in the market. I started working as a director’s assistant. While I was acting in TV series, I was also working as an assistant on commercial sets. My career somehow went well. You don’t expect anything and it goes well. Luckily mine was too. I love directing; I also like being behind the camera. We always share ideas with my brother, we complement each other well. When I was a kid, I used to imitate whatever he did. He was doing theater when I was 11 years old. I joined their team and started doing something at that age.”
The first step into acting: He started his television adventure in 2002 with the series “Dadı”.
Which project did it shine with? He attracted attention with the character of “Namik” in the TV series “Elveda Rumeli”.
Mindset: He had no dreams of becoming an actor. He finds the back side of the work more attractive. “Acting is like being an F1 driver. Consistently, there are 100 people who actually make money from acting in Turkey. Acting is not my dream. At that time, I am happy to earn money and enjoy the people I spend time with, but it does not satisfy me. I’m a little lazy when it comes to acting. When you look at it, I didn’t add much to my career in terms of acting. I always act the same thing. I rely on my ability to empathize to analyze people. That’s why I chose this profession. Not everyone has to be super smart, either. I want to be on the invisible side of the business a little more, to be able to hang out comfortably. The invisible, back side of the business attracts me more.
What is he like on set? On the set, he is a control freak, both acting and directing, and also loves to chat. “I prefer creating characters rather than bringing the story to life, I’m a bit of a control freak. Even when I’m an actor, I’m obsessed with anything that happens in the back. I love being on the job. I want to make decisions about my own life. Acting is at the bottom of that food chain. In acting, you are at the point where you become the last commodity. Actors are treated badly in Turkey. Cool images of actors are always lies. When I direct, I like to chat, I like to spend time with the people on the set. Everyone to me; He was saying, ‘When you become a director, you will understand, you will have to shout on the set. I’ve never had to raise my voice on set until now. Of course, painting added a lot to me in terms of composition, but the most important thing for me on the set is the dialogues and the actor. I rehearse first and decide on the cameras later. I mean, I don’t start thinking about the visual.”
First feature film: Durul Taylan- Yağmur Taylan / Okul
His outlook on life: He doesn’t like making plans very much, he lets life flow. “Some things in life come naturally. For example, when I was in high school, when I was making short films, I heard about the movie ‘Okul’. I knew Taylan Biraderler and I really wanted to meet them. I was called for an interview. The important thing was to take part in that movie somehow, because one of my dreams was to shoot a horror movie. Moreover, Taylan Brothers was shooting! I couldn’t believe it when I was chosen as an actor! Then I took the conservatory exam and passed. ‘Exam’ is also a very important film for me and Ömer Faruk Sorak is one of the most special people I value in my life. Working with him meant a lot to me. But when I sit and dream alone, I can say that directing outweighs. It is a situation in the world that actors turn to production or have the authority to decide on production. While Tom Cruise’s movie ‘Knight and Day’ was released in Turkey, billboards were delayed for a week or two because Turkey did not approve of its poster. Because the man wants to be able to manage where and how he looks. Production has nothing to do with money. The important thing is to make the right creative decisions.”
Perspective on business life: He does not like to sanctify professions. He pays attention to the scenario in the selection of the project. “I still love acting, but it’s very difficult for me. It’s not something to do with my concentration periods. I’m a bit of a temperamental person whose perception and interest shift very quickly. When I stay in a project for a year or two, I get bored. I have to deal with different productions at the same time. That’s how it’s made. It is actually my choice that my acting works usually revolve around a home atmosphere. I’m a bit of a house freak. I love spending time at home and owning it. That’s why I like the things I read about the house. I love being together, stories about human relations. Actually, I choose things according to the script, not the goodness of the script.”
Career plan: Acting is in the background in career planning. “I intend not to act. I’m slowly reducing the dose. I just want to do it if my wife is my friend, if the people I love shoot or something or if we really shoot and get excited about it. I don’t want to act all the time. It is very difficult to make money from acting to make movies. The truth is, I always act TV shows when I run out of money. A movie cannot be made with the money an actor of my caliber earns. Yes, I live more comfortably when I act.”
What does he do at home? It has a domestic nature. “I’m a little too good with my house. Maybe it would be more accurate to say: I have to have a really important job to get out of the house. Home is where I work, rest, do everything. I don’t like hotels very much, I would like to return to my home immediately, I always prefer to rent a house instead of staying in a hotel during holidays. I think it tells a lot about a person’s character or psychology, how he spends time at home alone or with his family. What some people call home is just television, for example.”
TV SERIES
2002 – Dadı / Gazeteci Çocuk
2003 – Hayat Bilgisi / Hidayet Hoca’nın Oğlu
2004 – Tam Pansiyon / Ege
2005- Nefes Nefese / Çağdaş
2006- Kızlar Yurdu / Umutcan
2006/2008- Doktorlar / Ayhan Kaplan
2007 – Ters Yüz/ Pizzacı
2007/2008- Elveda Rumeli / Namık
2011 – Bizim Yenge / Fatih
2012- İşler Güçler
2011/2012- Tövbeler Tövbesi / Bahtiyar Akdağ
2014 – Her Sevda Bir Veda/ Yılmaz
2014/2015- Ulan İstanbul / Bahadır
2016- Deli Saçması / Screenwriter (TV Movie)
CINEMA MOVIES
2004 – Okul / Ediz
2006- Sınav / Kaan
2007 – Plajda Kız Tavlama Kılavuzu / Ediz
2008- Hastasıyız/ Kamil (TV Movie)
2009 – Kirpi / Onur
2010 – Ev / Producer – Screenwriter – Director
2012 – Görünmeyenler / Producer-Screenwriter
2013 – Nergis Hanım/ Producer
014 – Ümmü Sıbyan: Zifir / Producer
2015 – Hayalet Dayı / Caner
2016- Hesapta Aşk / Actor
2016- Aşkın 5 Hali/ Screenwriter
2015- Yok Artık! / Producer- Director
2016 – Yok Artık! 2 / Director
2017 – Maide’nin Altın Günü / Director
2017- Şansımı Seveyim
2017- Bittin Sen/ Screenwriter- Director- Producer
2019- Aslı Gibidir / Erkek
2020 – Biz Böyleyiz / Screenwriter-Director