Behind the scenes of Turkish series: stars and roles
Turkish stars
The selection of actors in Turkish series is a key factor in success. Sometimes, the refusal of big stars provides an opportunity for new talents, giving rise to successful new duos, such as Akın Akınözü – Ebru Şahin or Mert Ramazan Demir and Afra Saraçoğlu.
The dynamics of performing greatly influence the success of Turkish series, thus choosing actors for them is not an easy task. Leading roles played by popular actors draw huge audiences. Famous actors can select shows based on their interests from a variety of offers. In some situations, turning down a role could cost a star the chance to add another successful work to their resume.
The producers of the series “Black and White Love” initially offered the lead roles to Kıvanç Tatlıtuğ and Tuba Büyüküstün, but they declined. The choice then fell on Birce Akalay and İbrahim Çelikkol, and this duet turned out to be quite successful. They repeated their success in the Netflix series “As the crow flies.” However, Kıvanç and Tuba did not remain without a show, starring in the series “Cesur ve Güzel.”
There were persistent rumors that the lead roles in the television series “Hercai” were being considered for Çağlar Ertuğrul and Neslihan Atagül; however, the pay for the work of renowned actors did not suit, so the producers stopped their choice on unheard-of names – Akın Akınözü and Ebru Şahin, and it turned out that they did not lose.
Kerem Bürsin and Hande Erçel declined the offer of the Disney+ series “Between the World and Us” because they found it too frank. As a result, the main roles in the show were played by Demet Ozdemir and Bugra Gulsoy.
Producer Onur Güvenatam intended to repeat the duet of Çağatay Ulusoy and Afra Saraçoğlu in the series “Golden Boy” in the wake of the popular Blu TV digital platform series “Yeşilçam”. However, after two rejected script versions, Çağatay decided to choose another show by the same producer – the series “The Tailor”. Afra got the role alongside the young and unknown Mert Ramazan Demir. This role made him a rising star of the Turkish screen.
