Nihat Nikerel

Nihat Nikerel — Biography

Nihat Nikerel was an actor and writer best known for Seyfo Dayı, the former neighbourhood tough he played in the series Kurtlar Vadisi, which began on Show TV in 2003. He worked in Turkish cinema and television from the late 1980s, and after his death in 2009 his name has remained tied to that character.

After his father died he came to Istanbul at an early age, took on various jobs and attended Vefa High School. From 1972 to 1976 he went on a long journey around the world; on his return, in 1985, he entered cinema by writing a story that could be turned into a screenplay. On the big screen he appeared in films such as Bir Irmağa Yolculuk (1988), Şaban Askerde, Manisa Tarzanı (1994, as Cemal) and Büyük Yolculuk (2004). His first wide recognition on television came in 1998 as the fatherly police commissioner Cehennem Cevdet in Sıcak Saatler, and he also appeared in Süper Baba, alongside Aytaç Yörükaslan and Selçuk Yöntem in both. His real breakthrough, though, was Kurtlar Vadisi.

Besides acting he wrote a book, and at Istanbul Aydın University he was both a journalism student and a lecturer in the communication department. On 26 September 2009 he was found dead at his home in Beşiktaş; examination showed he had suffered a heart attack in his sleep. After a ceremony at the Levent Mosque he was buried at Zincirlikuyu Cemetery.