Yıldıray Şahinler

Yıldıray Şahinler — Biography

Yıldıray Şahinler is a stage, film and television actor, director and translator born in Istanbul on 7 February 1968. After Suadiye High School he graduated from the theatre department of the Istanbul University State Conservatory, and joined the Istanbul City Theatres in 1986. His roles in Çıkmaz Sokak Çocukları and İlk Gençliğim earned him young-actor awards, and in 2004 his performance in Salı Ziyaretleri at Tiyatrokare won best actor at both the Afife and Sadri Alışık awards. He translated and staged Dejan Dukovski's Barut Fıçısı. In December 2006 he co-founded the Istanbul Halk Tiyatrosu with a group of City Theatres colleagues, acting and directing there and staging his own play İhtiyar Balıkçı ve Deniz in 2014. Since 1996 he has also worked as a diving instructor.

His screen debut came in 1989 with Ayaşlı ve Kiracıları. In 1998 he drew attention in film as Ali in Gemide and its follow-up Laleli'de Bir Azize. After series such as Elveda Rumeli, Avrupa Yakası and Kayıp, his best-known role became Alyanak Hasan in İçerde.

Later credits include Ufak Tefek Cinayetler, Ferhat ile Şirin, Akıncı and Kuruluş Osman (as Rogatus), and he reached a wide audience as Hafız in 7. Koğuştaki Mucize. In 2025 he joined Aşk ve Gözyaşı as Yusuf Naci, and in 2026 he played Davut in Teşkilat, leaving the series at the start of summer.