Biyograficim
Metin Akpınar

Metin Akpınar

Actor · 85 years old

Haşmet in the series Aşk Laftan Anlamaz

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Age85
Birth dateNovember 2, 1941
BirthplaceIstanbul
ProfessionActor
Zodiac signScorpio
Eye colorBrown
EducationIstanbul University Faculty of Law and Faculty of Letters

Worked most often with

Filmography / Projects

Metin Akpınar — Biography

Born in Istanbul on November 2, 1941, Akpınar went from Pertevniyal High School to Istanbul University, where he studied philosophy and then law without finishing either. He first worked in theater as an amateur at Yeşil Sahne in 1957, and from 1962 to 1965 ran the drama section of the National Turkish Student Union, where he met Zeki Alasya, his stage partner for decades to come. He turned professional in 1964 at the Ulvi Uraz Theatre in Gözlerimi Kaparım Vazifemi Yaparım, worked at Gen-Ar Theatre in 1966 and in 1967 was among the founders of Devekuşu Kabare. As the duo "Zeki-Metin", he and Alasya became known for their stage shows and for comedy films on social themes.

Metin Akpınar's part as Şaban in Vatan Kurtaran Şaban, the first play staged by Devekuşu Kabare, made his name, and he ran the troupe's administration until it disbanded in 1992. Describing himself as a socialist, he twice turned down offers to run for parliament for the DSP, in 1991 and 1995; in business, he became a partner in the KİPA supermarket chain founded in 1992 and later helped establish a hospital in İzmir.

Married to Göksel Özdoğdu since 1961, Akpınar publicly acknowledged in 2023 two adult twin daughters who had traced him.

A recipient of honorary awards from the İsmail Dümbüllü Awards in 2008, the Golden Orange festival in 2010 and the Istanbul Film Festival in 2011, Akpınar has lectured on the history of cabaret at Haliç and Okan universities. A documentary drawn from his life story, İyi ki Yapmışım, screened at a festival's closing night in 2020, and his memoir, Sahneye Adanmış Bir Ömür: Metin Akpınar, was published two years later.

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Reactions

You can pick up to 3 reactions.

Their work through different eyes

Yeşilçam Nostalgic A viewer raised on the classics, looking for warm storytelling and strong acting.

To know Metin Akpınar, go back to Ertem Eğilmez's comedies of the 1970s: Mahmut, elder brother of Tarık Akan's character in Yalancı Yarim, and Hayret in Salak Milyoner and Köyden İndim Şehire. The first is a sentimental comedy and the other two follow brothers from the village through their mishaps in the city; this is the side of Yeşilçam that amuses and endears. Galip in Güle Güle, years later, shows a graver, more dramatic tone. Starting with the old comedy and ending with this film shows both faces of the career.

Cinephile Looks at script, editing and directing choices; keeps a distance from formula films.

Metin Akpınar's films of the 1970s, in my view, repeat one template very often: provincials who arrive in the big city and get into all kinds of trouble. Salak Milyoner, its direct sequel Köyden İndim Şehire, then Nereye Bakıyor Bu Adamlar rebuild the same provincial-versus-urban clash, and the comic moments often rely on a ready-made ensemble chemistry and a familiar situation. Akpınar's more interesting work comes when he leaves that template behind, as in Güle Güle and Abuzer Kadayıf.

History & Society Lens Asks about the period, the social background and what the work reflects.

In my view Metin Akpınar's socially minded comedy carries from the stage into film and into later years. In Nereye Bakıyor Bu Adamlar the provincial pair are caught between a factory strike and the advertising world; Döngel Karhanesi in 2005 makes political satire out of a chain of bank and state fund; in Abuzer Kadayıf, in a double role, he approaches a heavy subject such as street children and addiction. The three films show Akpınar as a comedian who brings laughter and social observation together.

These are not reader reviews: they are short editorial takes on this person's screen work, written from different viewer perspectives with AI assistance. Reader comments are below.

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