Erkan Kolçak Köstendil

Erkan Kolçak Köstendil — Biography

Erkan Kolçak Köstendil, born on January 16, 1983 in Bursa, is a Turkish actor, director, and screenwriter. His family emigrated from Köstendil; he is the cousin of actor Bülent Şakrak. In his youth, he played football as a goalkeeper for Bursaspor, then gave up sports and studied at the Mimar Sinan University of Fine Arts State Conservatory, Department of Theatre.

She began her on-screen career in 2005 with Kurtlar Vadisi (Valley of Wolves); she played supporting roles in popular series such as Yılan Hikayesi (Snake Story), Sakarya Fırat (Sakarya Euphrates), Merhamet (Mercy) (2013), and Muhteşem Yüzyıl: Kösem (Magnificent Century: Kösem). She reached a wider audience with her role in Ulan İstanbul (Ulan Istanbul); in this series, she also sang the song "Yanarım" (I Burn), for which she wrote the lyrics herself. In cinema, she appeared in films such as Kara Bela (Black Trouble) (2015); she won awards in national and international competitions with the short films she directed, and she also has screenwriting experience.

His best-known role is that of Vartolu Saadettin (Salih Koçovalı) in the series Çukur, which began in 2017 and became a phenomenon. Following this, he played İhsan in the fantasy production Yaratılan (2023); after the projects Ne Gemiler Yaktım (2023) and The Things You Kill (2025), he appeared as Yahya Kaptan in the series Veliaht in 2025. Görünen Adam is also among the fantasy works he has acted in. The artist is married to actress Cansu Tosun.