Nihat Haluk Bilginer (; born 5 June 1954) is a Turkish actor. For his role in Şahsiyet (2018), Bilginer won the Best Actor award at the 47th International Emmy Awards. His movie Kış Uykusu won the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival. In addition to his acting career in Turkey, he has also worked in the United Kingdom and remains best known there for his role as Mehmet Osman in the television soap opera EastEnders during the 1980s. He has also starred in Hollywood movies as a character actor, including The International (2009), W.E. (2011), Ben-Hur (2016), Halloween (2018) and Maria (2024). He often plays villains and unsympathetic characters.
Early life and education Nihat Haluk Bilginer was born on 5 June 1954 in İzmir, Turkey.
He graduated from the Ankara State Conservatory in 1977 before going to London, England, where he graduated from the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art.
Career EastEnders (1985–1989) Bilginer landed his first role in the long-running British soap opera EastEnders. He made his first appearance in EastEnders as Mehmet Osman on-screen in June 1985, four months after the show premiered. His arrival coincides with a cot death storyline of Sue and Ali's baby, Hassan. Mehmet appears as a recurring character from 1985 to 1987, setting up a cab firm named Ozcabs from inside Ali's café; however, he becomes a regular in 1988, when both he and his wife Guizin (Ishia Bennison) are made partners in Ali's café, which is renamed Café Osman.
Described as "the Terrible Turk", Bilginer was one of the more popular male cast members on EastEnders during the 1980s, and he reportedly received sackfuls of fan mail, "despite playing a villain and a womanising snake". Hilary Kingsley said that what made the character so popular was Bilginer's Omar Sharif-style good looks and charm. Following the departure of Holland and Smith, Mehmet was eventually written out of the serial in May 1989, in a storyline that signified the disbandment of the Osman family. On-screen, Mehmet returns to his native Cyprus after a fight with Guizin regarding her suspicions about Mehmet's fabricated affair with Sue. The Osman family were among many characters to leave the serial that year.
During the course of the show, he went to Turkey to star in the 1987 miniseries Gecenin Öteki Yüzü based from novel and mini history series Ateşten Günler based on the novel and the 1995 comedy series "Medeni Haller", where he met his eventual first wife Zuhal Olcay, famous Turkish actress and singer. After dividing his time between London and Istanbul for six years, he left the show to stay in Turkey permanently and married Olcay in 1992.
1990s Bilginer starred in Ken Hill's popular musical theatre adaptation of the Guy de Maupassant novel The Wicked World of Bel-Ami at the Theatre Royal Stratford East, working with Fiona Hendley, Toni Palmer, Peter Staker, and Colin Atkins.
He guest-starred in an episode of Young Indiana Jones as İsmet İnönü, and went on to star in the Yavuz Özkan film "İki Kadın". He then starred in various movies, including İstanbul Kanatlarımın Altında and the famous Usta Beni Öldürsene. After critical acclaim for these roles, he earned his first award as a supporting actor in Masumiyet.
He had a role in the series "Gülşen Abi". After deciding he wanted to pursue career on stage, he founded "Tiyatro Stüdyosu" (Theatre Studio) with his wife Zuhal Olcay and Ahmet Levendoğlu in 1990. After starring in various plays for six years, he returned to the screen in 1996 after a fire that destroyed the theatre. He and his wife starred in television and movies to raise money to found another theatre.
He starred in Eyvah Kızım Büyüdü, starting his second era in television. After years of work, he and his wife managed to start a second theatre, called "Oyun Atölyesi" (Play Workshop).
2000s
In 2001, he landed a role in Tatlı Hayat, a remake of The Jeffersons. He played the role of İhsan Yıldırım, an angry and foul-mouthed, yet lovable dry cleaner. He was accompanied by the actress Türkan Şoray, who has starred in the most feature films for a female actress worldwide, with 222 films to her name in the Guinness Book of Records.
He divorced Zuhal Olcay in 2004 and began a relationship with Aşkın Nur Yengi, a famous Turkish singer. They married in 2006 and had a daughter.
After Tatlı Hayat, he starred in films Neredesin Firuze, "Hırsız Var", "Hacivat Karagöz Neden Öldürüldü?", "7 Kocalı Hürmüz" and "Güneşin Oğlu". His portrayal of the troubled police legend Musa Rami in the film Polis became his most critically acclaimed role after Tatlı Hayat.
Bilginer played the role of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk in an İş Bank commercial, which first aired on 10 November 2007 during the 69th commemorations of Atatürk's death.
He played in the rom-com series "Sevgili Dünürüm" alongside Nevra Serezli, Sumru Yavrucuk, Engin Altan Düzyatan, Rojda Demirer, Didem Balçın, and Cengiz Bozkurt.
Bilginer co-starred in the 2009 American thriller The International as Ahmet Sunay, a Turkish high-tech missile guidance system dealer, alongside Clive Owen and Naomi Watts.
He joined in the second season of the hit series Ezel. With Ezel's co-star Cansu Dere, he starred in the series Şahsiyet, playing a retired court clerk who is diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease. The latter role won him an International Emmy Award for Best Actor. He worked again with same director and screenwriter duo Onur Saylak and Hakan Günday in the Netflix series "Uysallar".
Bilginer played an actor who acts as a woman in the series Hayatımın Rolü, an adaptation of Mrs. Doubtfire. He played Aydın in Kış Uykusu (Winter Sleep), which won the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival in 2014. He worked with Ali Atay on the series "Masum" and "Şeref Bey" for many times, and appeared in the Netflix series "Sıcak Kafa", based on a science fiction novel.
In 2016, he appeared in "Ben-Hur". In 2018, Bilginer played Dr. Ranbir Sartain, the new psychiatrist of Michael Myers, in the slasher sequel Halloween.
In 2020, he played the lead villain Dr. Grief in the first season of the hit Prime Video series Alex Rider, based on the bestselling novels by Anthony Horowitz. In 2023, Bilginer starred as Barbara Nadel's fictional Istanbul detective Çetin İkmen in the Paramount+ series The Turkish Detective.
Personal life In 1987, Bilginer traveled to İstanbul to film the TV series Gecenin Öteki Yüzü (The Other Side of the Night), where he met actress/singer Zuhal Olcay; they married in 1992 and divorced in 2004. He married singer Aşkın Nur Yengi in 2006 and has a daughter from this marriage; they divorced in 2012.
Filmography
International Films Year Title Role Notes 1986Half Moon StreetFirst ArabBritish-American production1987 IshtarGuerrilla leaderAmerican productionLionheartMerchantHungarian-American production1997Sawdust TalesAaron1999Harem Suare 2001Buffalo SoldiersThe TurkAmerican production 2003HittitesKing III. HattuþiliTurkish production docudrama film 2004She's GoneInspector YilmazBritish production 2009The WatercolorTurkish production 2009The InternationalAhmet SunayAmerican-German production 2011W.E.Mohamed Al-FayedBritish-American production 2012The Reluctant FundamentalistNazmi KemalAmerican-Indian-Qatari production 2014RosewaterBaba Akbar 2014Winter SleepAydınBest Actor – won FIPRESCI Prize at Palm Springs International Film Festival the film won the Palme d'Or and the FIPRESCI Prize 2016Ben-HurSimonides2017Forget About NickNick 2017The Ottoman LieutenantHalil Bey 2017TrendyHasan 2017RefugeAhmet 2018HalloweenDr. Ranbir Sartain 2019Noah LandIbrahim 2020Leyla EverlastingAdem 2021Stuck ApartErbil 2024MariaAristotle OnassisAmerican-Italian-German production
Turkish Web series Year Title Role Notes 2017MasumCevdetLeading role 2018ŞahsiyetAgâh BeyogluWinner – Best Performance by an Actor at the 47th International Emmy Awards 2021 Şeref BeyŞeref Leading role2022UysallarBerhudarLeading role2022Sıcak KafaHalukLeading role
TV series Year Title Role Notes1987Gecenin Öteki YüzüAlimini series1987Ateşten GünlerAhmet Rıfkımini series1991Safiye'dir Kızın Adı1992BorsaReha Çalık1993Son Söz SevgininTahsin1994-1996Gülşen AbiAbidin Özbidin1997Medeni Haller 1998-2000Eyvah BabamSedat 2000-2001Eyvah Kızım BüyüdüSequel series 2001Cesur Kuşku2001Karanlıkta KoşanlarAlimini series 2001DadıHimself/Guesta remake of The Nanny2001-2004Tatlı HayatIhsan Yıldırıma remake of The Jeffersons 2002Ti ShowRobot Memduh 2004–2005Sayın Bakanım Samim Bayraktara remake of British TV series Yes Minister 2005Yine de AşığımAli 2007-2008Sevgili DünürümAhmet2008Nerede KalmıştıkAteş 2009Sıkı DostlarHikmet a remake of The Odd Couple 2010Cuma'ya KalsaCuma2010Üvey İkizler 2010–2011EzelKenan Birkan 2011İstanbul'un AltınlarıReşat Altın 2012Acayip HikayelerSinan2012Hayatımın RolüMüşfik/Nannya remake of Mrs. Doubtfire 2014 Kaçak Ustura Faysal 2017Kara YazıOğuz2022BabaEmin SaruhanlıLeading role
Films Year Title Role Notes1990ÖlürayakÖmer1991Kara Sevdalı BulutAtila1992İki KadınMetin 1996İstanbul Kanatlarımın AltındaEvliya Celebi199680.AdımSavcı1997Nihavend MucizeErol 1997MasumiyetBekirBest Supporting Actor – won Golden Orange at International Antalya Film Festival Won Jean Carment Award at Angers European First Film Festival 1999Güle Güle 2000FasulyeThe imaginary old man 2001Filler ve Çimenler 2004Neredesin FiruzeHayri 2005Hırsız Var2006Kısık Ateşte 15 DakikaMuhtar2006PolisMusa Rami 2006Hacivat Karagöz Neden Öldürüldü?2008Devrim Arabaları2008Güneşin Oğlu 20097 Kocalı HürmüzCebrail 2010New York'ta Beş MinareHacı 2012Çanakkale ÇocuklarıKasım 2014Kış UykusuAydınBest Actor – won FIPRESCI Prize at Palm Springs International Film Festival the film won the Palme d'Or and the FIPRESCI Prize 2017Geceyarısı, Türkiye ZamanıThe President 2017Kırık Kalpler BankasıYusuf Yağmur 2017Cingöz Recai: Bir Efsanenin DönüşüMehmet Rıza 2019Nuh Tepesiİbrahim 20209 Kere LeylaAdem 2021AzizlerErbil 2025Yan YanaRefik
Awards 47th International Emmy Awards, (2019)
References
External links
Biography of Haluk Bilginer - Biyografi.info Filmography of Haluk Bilginer - Sinematurk.com