Halil Ergün

Halil Ergün — Biography

Halil İbrahim Ergün has been associated with Müşküle, his native village in the İznik district of Bursa, since his birth there on 8 September 1946; he left his political science studies at Ankara University unfinished to pursue the arts. He first took the stage with the Halk Oyuncuları troupe in the play Teneke, co-founded an Ankara theatre company with three friends in 1976, and entered film in 1974 through a script credited to Yılmaz Güney. He was detained during the 12 March 1971 military memorandum, later stood twice as a candidate for mayor of Beyoğlu, and in 2008 signed onto a public campaign apologizing to Armenians.

Over a career of more than sixty years and upward of eighty roles, Ergün appeared in Yol, Hamam and Mum Kokulu Kadınlar, and became a familiar face to a wide audience as Ali Rıza Bey in the series Yaprak Dökümü. His performance in Böcek brought him Golden Orange and Golden Boll best actor awards in 1995 and a second Golden Boll in 1996, and in 2007 he received the Golden Orange's lifetime achievement award. He has also written the screenplays for two of his own films, Merhaba and Kırlangıç Fırtınası.