Top 10 Facts about Kivanc Tatlitug

Turkish actor, Kıvanç Tatlıtuğ at the Tribeca Film Festival 2009. Photo by D@lY3D Abdelmaksoud. Wikimedia Commons.

Top 10 Facts about Kivanc Tatlitug

Kivanc Tatlitug is a Turkish actor and model. He first began his career in sports as a basketball player but later pursued modeling and acting. He won the ‘Best Model of Turkey’ in 2002.

He has featured in numerous Turkish TV drama series playing leading roles, films, and movies that have gained him critical acclaim and international recognition.

He is one of the highest-paid actors in Turkey. His talent on-screen has won him an array of notable awards, including three Golden Butterfly Awards.

Some of the most-watched of his series include Forbidden Love, (Ask-i-Memnu) a Turkish drama watched worldwide.

He has been termed ‘the Brad Pitt of the Middle East.’ Here are the top 10 facts about Kivanc Tatlitug.

1. He was born in Adana, Turkey

Adan, Seyhan River. Photo by Hustle77. Wikimedia Commons.

Kivanc was born on 27 October 1983 in Adana, a major city in southern Turkey. It is situated in the Seyhan River.

His parents were bakers. His father, Erdem is of Albanian descent. His mother, Nurten, is from Turkey. Kivanc’s paternal grandmother was a Bosnian immigrant from Sarajevo.

In 1997, his family had to move to Istanbul due to his father’s ill health and need for proper treatment.

In Istanbul, he joined basketball teams as an under-18 basketball player. However, he quit his sporting ambition after having dislocated his leg.

2. He studied at Istanbul Kultur University

Istanbul Kultur University, Istanbul. It is a private university. Photo by Ahmet Aygün Yılmaz. Wikimedia Commons.

While still at Adan, he attended Yenice Cag Private High School, where his athletic spirit was nurtured in basketball.

Having later moved from Adana to Istanbul, he enrolled for his university education at Istanbul Kultur University, one of the private universities in Turkey.

He studied Communication Designs –Multimedia and Cinema. He graduated in 2013.

3. He played basketball before pursuing his acting career

Growing up, he was very athletic. He was good at basketball. In Istanbul, he played in well-known clubs such as Ulkerspor, Besiktas, and Fenerbahce.

It was his goal to become a professional basketball player. He, however, had to forfeit his sporting career when he got a severe injury.

 He started working as a model and in 2002 became ‘Best Model of Turkey.’ He lived in Paris while modeling.

 4. Kivanc has won pageants

After a halt to his basketball career, he received an offer shortly after from a French Modeling agency.

He moved to Paris, where he pursued a modeling career for about one and a half years before moving back to Turkey to begin his acting career.

In 2002, he won the pageants ‘Best Model of Turkey’ and ‘Best Model of the World.’

5. He has had several leading roles in film and TV shows

Turkish actors Songül Öden and Kıvanç Tatlıtuğ in Qatar 2009. Photo by daly3dabd. Wikimedia Commons.

His starting career began in 2005 with his role in a popular Turkish drama ‘Gumus’ (Silver) as Mehmet Sadoglu. It was the first Turkish TV series sold to the Middle East.

 He has featured in the movie ‘Americans at the Black Sea’ as Muzaffer (2007). Other roles include Menekse and Halil (2007-2008), as Halil Tuglu, Forbiden Love as Behlul Haznedar, Ezel as Sekiz and Kuzey Ganey (North South) as Kuzey Tekinoglu.

He also featured in the Netflix original series, ‘Into the Night’ (2020-2021).

 His latest appearances were in Asiklar Bayramu as Yusuf (2022) and Kral Kaybederse as Kenan.

Kivanc’s unique talent on screen is notable. Russell Crowe, an Academy Award-winning actor, praised him as a ‘very good actor’ upon being offered the role of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk in a movie depicting the Battle of Gallipoli.

 He is famous in the Middle East and sometimes is referred to as ‘the Brad Pitt of the Middle East.’

6. Kivanc was a voice actor for the Turkish dubbed version of ‘Toy Story 3.’

Logo for the animated comedy drama, Toy Story 3. Photo by Mysteryhouse. Wikimedia Commons.

Toy Story 3 (2010) is the third installment of the American animated comedy; the Toy Story Series. Kivanc provided the Turkish dubbing for the role of Ken, a character in the film.

 Ken is a fictional doll character created by Elliot Handler. He featured as one of the accomplices of the film’s villain ‘Lotso.’ Michael Keaton voices Ken in the English version of Toy Story 3.

7. He has won numerous film and TV awards

He has won over 30 awards for his stellar performances. He won two Golden Butterfly Awards for Best Actor in a leading role for his performance in Ask-i-Memnu (Forbidden Love) and Kuzey ve Guney (2013).

 Kuzey ve Guney won him several awards including the Rotabest Awards for Best TVActor of the Year, Esenler Belediyesi Awards for Best Actor, and the Altin Objektif Awards for Best Drama Series Actor of the Year.

He won the 2017 International Seoul Drama Awards for Best Actor in his role in the Turkish drama, Brave and Beautiful.

8. He is a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador

A photo showing one of UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador’s, Orland Bloom interacting with children in a school in Ukraine. Photo by Georgiev. Wikimedia Commons.

UNICEF Goodwill Ambassadors work with, and on behalf of the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) in various parts of the world.

They champion for the course of children’s rights. Kivanc was appointed in March 2011 as a UNICEF Goodwill national ambassador for Turkey.

9. His sculpture is on display at Madame Tussauds

Michael Jackson wax statute at Madame Tussauds, London. Photo by Abi Skipp. Wikimedia Commons.

Madame Tussauds is a wax museum in London founded by a wax sculptor, Marie Tussaud.

It has an array of wax sculpture collections of famous historical and contemporary figures. It however has smaller museums in other cities.

 Founded in 1835, it has grown into a major tourist attraction, with a vast collection of personalities from various fields. These include leadership, art, film, TV, science, philosophy, music, and sports.

Some of the prominent persons include Queen Elizabeth II, Napoleon Bonaparte, Vincent Van Gogh, Nelson Mandela, William Shakespeare, Bruce Lee, and Marilyn Monroe. The list is incredibly long.

Kivanc Tatlitug is one of the notable wax figures from Instanbul.

10. He is married to Turkish stylist Basak Dizer

The two met when she was working as a celebrity stylist for a TV show, Medcezir in 2013. They got married on 19 February 2016. The official ceremony was at the Turkish embassy in Paris.

They have a son, Kurt Efe, who was born in April 2022. Basak is a Turkish stylist and fashion designer.

She has also featured in the movies Son (2012), Sahsiyet (2018), and ‘Carpisma’ (2018).