Hazar Ergüçlü

The move from Nicosia

Hazar Ergüçlü wasn't looking for a camera when director Derviş Zaim found her in a theater workshop in northern Cyprus. It was 2010, and that teenager ended up starring in Gölgeler ve Suretler without ever having set foot on a professional set before. Turkish cinema suddenly discovered a face that departed from the usual aesthetic standards of the Bosphorus.

The move to Istanbul was essential to keep up with the pace of castings. In 2011, she landed the role of Simay Canay in the series Kuzey Güney, and her life changed completely. It was a difficult character to like (a young woman trapped in a marriage of convenience) that put her at the center of criticism from more conservative audiences.

And she held her ground against media pressure over eighty episodes.

But the true mass phenomenon came with Medcezir in 2013. That adaptation of the American series The O.C. made her a regular fixture in entertainment magazines. She played Eylül Bulut and showed she could handle the register of youthful romantic comedy without losing the composure that defines her.

Validation in Arthouse Cinema

Unlike other stars of Turkish television, Ergüçlü always kept one foot outside the most obvious commercial circuits. In 2017, she starred in Kar (Snow), a film in which she played a young woman from the suburbs caught in a spiral of self-destruction. For this role, she won the Best Actress award at the Adana Film Festival, one of the most prestigious in the country.

Her definitive international recognition came through Nuri Bilge Ceylan. The director chose her for a brief but pivotal role in The Wild Pear Tree, presented at the 2018 Cannes Film Festival. That ten-minute scene under a tree is, for many critics, one of the purest moments in her filmography.

Working with Ceylan gave her a different status in the industry.

So she began choosing projects with a more evident political or social message. In 2018, she became the lead of The Protector, Netflix's first original production in Turkey. The shoot for this fantasy series lasted four seasons and demanded intense physical training for the choreographed fight scenes.

The Dance Craze of 2024

After several years alternating between independent films and TV series such as Alev Alev (2020), the actress returned to prime time with a project that sparked a national debate. In 2024, she premiered Inci Taneleri, playing Dilber, a dancer at a pavyon-style nightclub.

The series' first trailer went viral within hours thanks to a traditional dance sequence. Thousands of women in Turkey began copying her moves, and dance academies sold out of spots for classes in that specific style. The social criticism of the exploitation of women in those venues took a back seat to the character's visual impact.

It was a risky bet that paid off.

Because Ergüçlü chose not to use stunt doubles for the dance scenes, and spent months rehearsing with industry professionals. The producers of Inci Taneleri ordered a second season in 2024 after ratings exceeded 10% share in its time slot. The actress's contract includes exclusivity clauses that limit her appearances in outdoor advertising during the broadcast period.