Berkan Şal

Berkan Şal — Biography

Berkan Şal was born in Ankara and trained as an actor at Ankara University's Faculty of Language, History and Geography, in the Theatre and Acting Department. The son of a seamstress mother and a bus-company operator father, he worked a series of jobs in his youth before discovering the stage through theatre courses run by the Altındağ municipality; he then stepped away from acting for a time, working as a sound engineer and DJ, until actor Erdal Beşikçioğlu persuaded him to return through a stage play.

Having grown up in Ankara himself, he was cast in the Ankara-set series Behzat Ç.: Bir Ankara Polisiyesi, and his performance as the character Akbaba in the 2010 show made him widely known. He reprised the role in the 2011 film Behzat Ç.: Seni Kalbime Gömdüm and again years later in the sequel series Çekiç ve Gül: Bir Behzat Ç. Hikâyesi. He also took on different parts in the series Reaksiyon and 46 Yok Olan, and played Hiram in the TRT series Payitaht Abdülhamid.

In 2019 he opened a theatre venue called Kök Sahne with friends, where he continues to stage and direct plays. He is married to Eylem Çalı.