Taner Ölmez

Taner Ölmez — Biography

Taner Ölmez was born on 9 August 1986 to a Zaza Alevi family with roots in Tunceli. He trained at the Theatre Department of Istanbul University's State Conservatory, began his career on stage with the Bakırköy Municipal Theatres, and for a time fronted the band Barabar as its vocalist. After small parts in the 2009 series Kapalı Çarşı, Kül ve Ateş and İstanbul'un Altınları, he had his real breakthrough in 2012 as Sadık in Kayıp Şehir, and moved into film that same year with Osman Sınav's Uzun Hikaye. In 2013 he played Mert Asım Serez in Medcezir, the Turkish adaptation of The O.C., and in 2014 his stage role in Katil Joe won him the Afife Jale Theatre Award. He went on to play the young Osman in Muhteşem Yüzyıl: Kösem, Aleko in Yüz Yüze, and Ahmet Akbaş in the film Müslüm. His role as the autistic surgeon Ali Vefa in Mucize Doktor, beginning in 2019, brought him the Elle Style rising actor award and a Golden Butterfly for best actor. He married actress Ece Çeşmioğlu in 2021, and the couple went on to have two children. In 2023 he played Ziya in Çağan Irmak's series Yaratılan (released internationally as Creature), and in 2024 he appeared in the series Deha and in Hayatla Barış, about an amputee footballer.