R. Kan Albay

R. Kan Albay — Biography

R. Kan Albay is a Belgian director, screenwriter and actor of Turkish descent who works on both sides of the camera in Belgian cinema. His real name is Erkan Altunbay. He reached his widest audience as the Albanian mob boss Shehu in the 2009 film Dossier K. He holds Belgian and Turkish citizenship and works on Flemish productions as well as projects connected to Turkey.

He first met acting between the ages of 15 and 18 in an amateur theatre club in Antwerp. Thanks to his elder brother's training in camera work and directing, he stepped in front of a camera, and after a few short films he directed his first feature, Toothpick, in 2002; it was chosen from 26 entries to open the Antwerp Film Festival. In 2006 he wrote and directed The Flemish Vampire, and in 2007 he made Gangsta's Hell. That same year he became known for playing Osman Karaca in the Belgian series Emma. Coma (2008), in which he plays an alcoholic, earned awards at the Ostend and Novo film festivals.

Dossier K set a Belgian box-office record with around 500,000 viewers; for it Albay was nominated for best supporting actor at the 2010 Flemish Film Awards and in April 2011 won best actor at the Silver Horse Film Awards. Later he took leading roles in films such as Genadeloos and Flaman Kabusu. In 2016 he directed the adventure film Isra ve Sihirli Kitap, in which he plays the genie, and he also appeared in Mavi Sessizlik (2017).