Nihat Altınkaya

Nihat Altınkaya — Biography

Nihat Alptuğ Altınkaya was born on 28 September 1979 in Karabük, the middle child of a family originally from Rize. He played professional volleyball for two years with Karabük Demir Çelik High School and the Ankara Emlak Bank Sports Club, quitting after an injury at seventeen and then working as a nightclub security guard in Ayvalık. After moving to Istanbul he trained in boxing while working in nightclubs and joined Fenerbahçe's boxing club; discovered on the street, he moved first into modeling and then, through an appearance in Funda Arar's music video "Özledim", into acting, training at Ekol Drama. In 2005 he took part in Fear Factor, and in 2012 he won Survivor Ünlüler - Gönüllüler.

He began acting with Yaprak Dökümü, took a lead role in the Turkish-Belgian co-production Turquaze, and appeared in the series Karadayı, Kara Para Aşk, Kara Ekmek and Yüksek Sosyete. He reached a wide audience as Erdem in Söz (2017), and more recently played Yalçın in Uzak Şehir (2024). He married İmre Altınkaya in December 2010, and the couple have two daughters, Melek and Ayşe. In 2026 he appeared in a promotional video for the Ministry of National Defense aimed at young people.