Barış Gönenen

Barış Gönenen — Biography

Barış Gönenen is an actor who moved to film and television from the stage. After graduating from the Theatre Department of Beykent University, he first made his name in theater: for Limonata, staged by Tiyatro Sıfırnoktaiki in 2012, he received the Best Actor in a Supporting Role prize at the 17th Sadri Alışık Awards and a Young Talent award at the Direklerarası Audience Awards. Most recently he appeared in Gündüz Apollon Gece Athena, released in 2025, which won four prizes at the 58th SİYAD Awards in 2026.

His first step on the big screen was Canavarlar Sofrası in 2010, followed by Baks Bani in 2011 and Firak and Çekmeköy Underground in 2014. On stage he has appeared in plays written or directed by the writer and director Sami Berat Marçalı, among them Küçük, Let, P*rk, Kabileler and İstila!, and he also performed two Philip Ridley texts, Kainatın En Hızlı Saati and Uğrak Yeri. Besides acting, he has directed the plays Eve Dönüş and Ölümcül Çocuk Parkı Yaraları. On television he appeared in Tatlı İntikam in 2016 and played the character Arhan in Hayat Sırları, broadcast on Star TV in 2017. In later years he also took roles in productions such as Küçük Şeyler and Çilingir Sofrası.

Dividing his work between theater and film, Gönenen said in an interview in 2024 that theater needs to find the courage to tell the truth.