Yurdaer Okur

Yurdaer Okur — Biography

Yurdaer Okur is an actor and director who came up through the state theatre stage. Wide audiences know him from roles in historical series: Balgay in Kuruluş Osman, Tuğrul Bozan in Alparslan: Büyük Selçuklu and Ahmet Çınarlı in Kefaret. In cinema he has appeared in productions such as Yedinci Koğuştaki Mucize (Miracle in Cell No. 7) and Hain, and on stage he has also performed Nâzım Hikmet's texts.

He spent three years studying tourism management at Akdeniz University, realized it was not for him, and in 1994 moved to the Theatre Department of the Hacettepe University State Conservatory; he took his master's degree at Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University. Meeting Genco Erkal in 1999 led him to the Dostlar Theatre and Yalınayak Sokrates. In 2000 he began working at the Istanbul State Theatre, and in 2002 he joined the Diyarbakır State Theatre as a permanent member; there he gave drama lessons to young people and directed a children's play. He later acted in plays such as The Pillowman, Kuvâyi Milliye and Ran, and directed works including Taziye, The Little Prince and The Dumb Waiter.

On screen he began with Ferhunde Hanımlar and the 2002 film Sır Çocukları, and in 2004 took a part in the French-Turkish co-production Chemins d'O. After Aslı ile Kerem, Karadayı, Sakarya Fırat, Yeter, Saruhan, Direniş Karatay and Hakan: Muhafız came Hakim, Yabani and Cennetin Çocukları.