Olgun Şimşek

Olgun Şimşek — Biography

Olgun Şimşek was born on 1 June 1971 in the village of Yenice, Büyükorhan district of Bursa, to an Alevi Kurdish father from Bingöl and a Sunni Turkmen mother from Bursa. After finishing secondary school in Mustafakemalpaşa he graduated in theatre from the Istanbul University State Conservatory in 1993, having already appeared on stage in Masal Bahçesi (1990) and later Otogargara (1997).

He first reached audiences through television variety shows before becoming known for the characters Güçlü on İbo Show, Kudret in Bir Demet Tiyatro and Sabit Ballıoğlu in Yedi Numara. His 1998 role in Karışık Pizza brought the Most Promising Actor award at the Ankara Film Festival, and his portrayal of a disabled soldier, Rıdvan, in Uğur Yücel's directorial debut Yazı Tura won him the Golden Orange along with best-actor honours from the Turkish Film Critics Association, the Adana Golden Boll and Istanbul festivals.

Playing the twins Selahattin and Ahmet in the series Yalan Dünya earned him the 2012 Antalya Television Award for best comedy actor; his other credits include Vavien, Gözetleme Kulesi, Eşkıya Dünyaya Hükümdar Olmaz and Ramo, the 2023 Netflix series Terzi as Mustafa, and Kara Ağaç Destanı from 2024. He was first married to his Yedi Numara co-star Şebnem Sönmez, then wed Zeynep Kocabeyoğlu in 2011.