Cem Davran

Cem Davran — Biography

Cem Davran is an actor, presenter and voice artist who grew up on the stage of the Istanbul City Theatres and later became a familiar face in Turkish film and television. Although he holds an electrical engineering degree, he built his life around acting, and he continues to work on screen today with a role in the series İstanbul Hatırası.

His career falls into phases. The first was the stage and child acting: he began at a children's theatre in 1976, joined the City Theatre the following year, was taken into the permanent company in 1983, and served the institution as a board member and deputy general artistic director. He also appeared as a guest actor at Dormen Theatre and Tiyatro İstanbul. On screen he started with Taşı Toprağı Altın Şehir and then took the lead in Yusuf ile Kenan. The second phase, from the late 1990s through the 2000s, brought Kahpe Bizans, Balalayka, Ruhsar, Aşk Meydan Savaşı and Avrupa Yakası, which carried him to a wide audience. The third phase includes Karakomik Filmler, Yarım Kalan Aşklar, Hayat, Bambaşka Biri and 39 Derecede Aşk.

His stage work won him the Avni Dilligil award for best supporting actor in 1996 and again in 1997, and his role in Balalayka earned a Magazine Journalists Association award in 2001. He has also presented the Altın Kelebek awards ceremony.