Hilmi Sözer

Hilmi Sözer — Biography

Hilmi Sözer is an Ankara-born actor and comedian who has brought the lives of Turkish-descended generations in Germany, and Turkish-German culture, to the screen. He appeared in popular German comedies such as Ballermann 6, Bang Boom Bang and Der Schuh des Manitu, and also in more serious films like Jerichow. In 2000 he received a best foreign actor award for his part in Kanak Attack.

His family emigrated to Germany in 1972 as workers. Sözer finished basic schooling in 1990 in Tönisberg, a district of Kempen in North Rhine-Westphalia, then moved to Duisburg to train in theatre and acting. His screen career opened in 1994 with Voll normaaal, made with Tom Gerhardt, and Ballermann 6; he is also linked to an adaptation of Dreck by the Austrian writer Robert Schneider. Between 1994 and 2007 he acted in around 25 films, among them Die Musterknaben, Was nicht passt, wird passend gemacht (If It Don't Fit, Use a Bigger Hammer), 7 Zwerge – Männer allein im Wald, Germanikus, Playa del futuro, Kiss me Kismet and Vollidiot.

After 2008 he played Ali Özkan in Jerichow, followed by roles in Brother and Sister (2016), The Tale of a Thousand and One Lives (2018) and It's for Your Own Good (2020).