Halit Özgür Sarı

The numbers that didn't add up

Halit Özgür Sarı dropped out of the Economics program at Istanbul's Bilgi University because charts and balance sheets bored him to tears. He knew his place was somewhere else. He started out as a model, but soon realized photographs couldn't capture everything he wanted to express.

In 2018, he got his big break in Diriliş: Ertuğrul. It was no ordinary role, since the series involved multimillion-dollar budgets and a global audience. He played Süleyman, and the experience taught him the craft through grueling marathon shoot days on period sets.

And the gamble paid off.

In 2019, he appeared in Şampiyon, and a year later he joined the Netflix universe with Hakan: Muhafız. But the project that put him on the map around the world was Kardeşlerim in 2021. His role as Kadir Eren was the emotional engine of the series across nearly thirty episodes.

The door slam nobody understood

He left the series at the peak of its success to pursue different kinds of roles. It was a risky move that sparked thousands of critiques and theories on social media. But he preferred not to get stuck in the family drama that airs on Saturday nights.

Because the actor wanted something lighter after so much drama, in 2022 he starred in Gizli Saklı alongside Sinem Ünsal. It was a romantic comedy with crime-thriller touches, in which he played an undercover agent. The chemistry between the leads spilled off the screen and became a favorite topic of the Turkish gossip press.

The show didn't last long on air.

Despite the series' early cancellation, the actor didn't sit still. In 2021, he had already shot the film Geçen Yaz for digital platforms. There, he showed he could carry more intimate, less commercial stories than typical television productions.

The assault on prime time

In 2023, he landed the lead role in Yabani, playing Yaman. The story followed a young boy kidnapped as a child who survives on the streets of Istanbul before reuniting with his biological family. The series drew audience ratings above 15 percent in its first few weeks on air.

But success in Turkey wasn't enough. The production was sold to more than forty countries during 2024, strengthening his name in markets such as Latin America and Europe. Filming this drama demanded serious physical effort due to constant action scenes and chases through the outlying neighborhoods.

Not everything was easy on set.

Production of the second season of Yabani in 2024 had to adjust its scripts after several changes in technical direction. The actor kept his main contract with the production company NTC Medya under terms that place him at the top tier of the Ottoman entertainment industry. The series wrapped its first-stage filming with a total of 36 episodes.