During the 8th El Gouna Film Festival, CineGouna hosted a special interview with Kaan Urgancioglu, the Turkish star and WWF Ambassador, with media personality Sherif Nour El Din. The interview focused on an in-depth and inspiring discussion about his artistic career, his vision for the Turkish drama industry, and his close connection with Arab and Middle Eastern audiences. The session was attended by a number of prominent figures from the artistic and media communities, including Mais Hamdan, Basma Daoud, Nour Ihab, Rana Raees, Yasmine Rahmy, Reem Raafat, writer Hani Sarhan, and media personality Yahya Hamza.
In a friendly atmosphere, media personality Sherif Nour El Din began the session by welcoming Turkish star Kaan Urgancioglu, noting his Arab origins on his mother’s side, as his roots go back to Syria through his grandfather, Muhammad Ali Bey, who moved to Izmir. This gesture served as a humane introduction to the dialogue, as Qan expressed his pride in this family heritage, considering these roots to represent a cultural and spiritual bridge connecting him to the Arab world. He explained that the cultural and linguistic similarities between Turkey and the Middle East are one of the most important reasons for the success of Turkish drama and its widespread popularity in the region.
He spoke with Kan Organcioglu, who is visiting Egypt for the first time, about his beginnings in Izmir, reviewing his educational journey and early career in art. He said, “I initially studied marketing, then decided to move to New York to study acting at the Stella Adler Studio of Acting. There, I began to search for what distinguished me as a Turkish artist living in a different environment. However, Istanbul was where the roots of my true passion for acting were born, and there I learned the meaning of discipline, because working in Turkish drama requires great energy and discipline.” He added, “The fame and success I have achieved in my artistic career came slowly, and that is what I aspired to, because gradual success is more stable and gives the artist the opportunity to truly grow with each experience.”
Kan Organcioglu became known to Arab audiences through his role as Emir in the series “Kara Sevda” (Blind Love), which achieved widespread worldwide acclaim and won an International Emmy Award. He explained that portraying the villain was a huge challenge for him, saying, “The character was very complex, and my goal was to make people hate him, but at the same time sympathize with him. I would always repeat to myself, ‘Emir loves Nihan more than Kemal,’ especially when some scenes were harsh; that was my main motivation.”
He also noted that he received a large number of messages from Arab audiences after “Blind Love,” adding, “I read almost every message, and I felt that people deeply engaged with the story. Surprisingly, I received more messages of admiration than criticism, even though I played a villain.”
The session witnessed widespread interaction from the audience, who asked a variety of questions about the Turkish drama industry and the differences between it and Arab productions. Some even sent messages of admiration to Kan in Turkish, a spontaneous gesture that reflected the audience’s love and appreciation for him. Regarding his opinion on Lebanese adaptations of Turkish series, Orgencioglu said, “I think it’s a wonderful and interesting experience, because each culture brings its own perspective to the work.” Regarding acting styles, he explained that he doesn’t follow a specific approach to acting, believing that over-adherence to a single style could make an actor lose their spontaneity and limit their artistic sincerity.
At the end of the meeting, Kan Orgencioglu expressed his happiness with his visit to Egypt, emphasizing that this ancient country has always been among his favorite destinations to explore, given its established place in the history of art and cinema. He also expressed his aspiration for future collaboration opportunities with creatives from the Arab world.
