Tolga Karel

Tolga Karel — Biography

Tolga Karel is an actor who has left a mark in several fields: he has worked in television and film, written lyrics and music, and released albums. He reached a wide audience as Oğuz Ayhan in Yaprak Dökümü, a five-season series that was his biggest breakthrough. Since 2016 he has lived in the United States and works as a truck driver.

He began studying French political science and international relations at Yeditepe University, left after two years and moved to the Theatre Department of the Paris State Conservatory, where he studied cinematography and drama, and later specialised in film and theatre criticism in Paris. He started acting with the 1999 film Gece Şahinleri and in 2000 played Tekin in Evdeki Yabancı.

He was also active in music in those years: he sang on a Yonca Evcimik track in 1998, released the albums Göçebe (2003) and Dale Don Dale (2005), and wrote lyrics and music for artists such as Nalan, Ebru Yaşar and Fulden Uras. He then left music and returned to acting, appearing in productions such as Kabuslar Evi: Karanlıktan Gelen, Kanıt, Bir Zamanlar Osmanlı: Kıyam, Kod Adı K.O.Z. and Sıfırıncı Gün. In 2014 he spent 102 days on the celebrity team of Survivor before being eliminated.