Metin Akdülger

Akdülger went to New York City to take further acting training after his first theatre experiences. When he was there, he stopped taking lessons because he thought that the techniques he would learn abroad could not be adapted to Turkish culture and industry upon his return to Istanbul.[5] While in New York, he began preparations for a potential role in the Turkish adaptation of The O.C. titled Medcezir. He auditioned for the role when he returned to Turkey.[6] In the same period, an offer was made for him to portray Şehzade Selim in the fourth season of Muhteşem Yüzyıl, for which he auditioned as well.[1] At the end of the process, Akdülger began to portray the character of Orkun Civanoğlu in Medcezir. The series was directed by Ali Bilgin and premiered on 13 September 2013 on Star TV. It concluded after two seasons on 12 June 2015. After the series, Akdülger commented that "he did not comply with the role of villain, but he successfully overcame the [hardships of playing the] role".[7] Radikal defended the character's motive and behavior in the series, mentioning that he "justifying reasons to be bad" and "the reason for the hatred in his eyes could be understood".[8]

Akdülger, who had previously met and worked with Ahmet Küçükkayalı, received an offer from him in 2013 to portray the character of Necip in a movie that was set to be written and directed by Küçükkayalı himself and Akdülger subsequently accepted the offer.[2] The movie, called Bensiz, was released on 2 May 2014 as a mutual work by Turkey, Germany and France, in which he portrayed a football player in the amateur league called Necip, who becomes paralyzed following an illness.[9] Akdülger started preparing for the role a year before the movie was released. He played football in the amateur league, joining the team Başıbüyük Spor in Maltepe for about three months,[10] and together with his acting coach Merve Taşkan met paralyzed people in hospitals.[2][11] He lost 17 kg in 40 days for the role.[1][12] Akdülger believed that process wore him out but nourished him along the way.[13] Akdülger's performance in the movie was praised by Hürriyet columnist Uğur Vardan.[14][15] After making his television and cinematic debut, Akdülger portrayed Ganin in an adaptation of Mary, which was produced by Didaskali Theatre for the 19th Istanbul Theatre Festival in 2014 at the request of the Istanbul Foundation for Culture and Arts.[2][16] Evaluating the play, Yaşam Kaya wrote that Akdülger is "successful and in the foreground".[17]

After Medcezir, it was reported that Akdülger would appear in a period drama written by Berkun Oya and directed by Mehmet Ada Öztekin. He later accepted the offer after reading the script and began meeting with the crew.[18] Analar ve Anneler tells the stories of two young mothers leading different lives in 1970s and premiered on ATV on 22 October 2015.[19][20] In this series, Akdülger played the role of Tahsin, the university friend of Sinem Kobal's character Zerrin.[21] He later stated that he was "experiencing different things day by day through [playing] Tahsin," adding that playing a character from 1970s had deepened his relationship with his family, especially his father.[18] The series concluded with 9 episodes.[22][23]

In 2016, Akdülger took part in the theatre play which was prepared for Duygu Asena's 70th birthday and adapted from the author's autobiographical novel, Kadının Adı Yok'. Produced by Akbank Sanat and directed by Kemal Hamamcıoğlu, Kahramanlar Hep Erkek went on stage in April 2016.[24]

In 2016, Akdülger refused the offer to play in the TV series No 309 on Fox.[25] He later made an agreement with a producer for a new series which was set to be broadcast on the same channel.[26] However, after receiving an offer to play Murad IV in Muhteşem Yüzyıl: Kösem he was reported to have terminated his contract.[27] Akdülger shared the leading role with Nurgül Yeşilçay and Farah Zeynep Abdullah in the second season of this historical TV show which premiered on Fox on 18 November 2016 and ended on 27 June 2017.[28][29] The season focused on the power struggles between Murad IV and his mother Kösem Sultan.[30][31] Akdülger has described Muhteşem Yüzyıl: Kösem as a turning point in his career.[5] Sema Karabıyık from Yeni Şafak from Akdülger's portrayal of Muard IV not exceptional,[32] a viewpoint supported by Sabah columnist Mevlüt Tezel who believed casting him in this role was "a big mistake".[33] Besides appearing on television, Akdülger was a cast member on Onur Ünlü's Kırık Kalpler Bankası which was released on 13 April 2017 during the 36th International Istanbul Film Festival.[34][35] In this movie, which was a modern comedy adaptation of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, Akdülger portrayed a footballer name Turan.[36]

In the fall of 2017, Akdülger started working for the one-man show Baldan Karanlık, written and directed by Hamamcıoğlu. The play, which was about the story of an abandoned dog, went on stage for the first time on 9 December 2017.[37] Akdülger later stated that this show had brought him to life after working for a long time on television;[38] adding that he had found the story very motivational and said, "there's no need to do some dramaturgical crazy work because the play is on fire itself. As a result, your field of exploration as an actor increases. It has a very sincere language for me. This is reflected in my performance."[39] Akdülger's physical performance was admired by Akşam,[40] and Ranini.tv praised him for his simple and powerful performance.[41] Vatan also wrote that the audience were impressed by "the magnificent performance" of the actor.[42] For his performance in Baldan Karanlık, Akdülger shared the "Promising Actor of the Year" award with Efe Erkekli and Ozan Dolunay at the 2nd Üstün Akmen Theatre Awards.[43]

In February 2018, it was announced that Akdülger would join the cast of Puhutv's miniseries Şahsiyet.[44] The series was directed by Onur Saylak and written by Hakan Günday, in which Akdülger plays the role of a journalist and DJ named Ateş Arbay who helps Cansu Dere's character Nevra in solving the murders committed by an old retired court clerk.[45] The series premiered on 17 March 2018 and concluded with 12 episodes. In 2018, Akdülger appeared in a main role in Gaya Jiji's My Favourite Fabric, in which he played an imaginary man that appears to a young woman who is about to get married amidst the Syrian civil war but wants to pursue her dreams. The movie was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 2018 Cannes Film Festival.[46]

In March 2019, it was reported that Akdülger had joined the cast of Netflix's new fantasy drama series The Gift and its principal photography was underway.[47] The series is centered around Atiye portrayed by Beren Saat, an archaeologist who comes across universal secrets in Göbekli Tepe, Anatolia.[48] Akdülger plays the role of Atiye's boyfriend Ozan, the son of a wealthy businessman. Anibal Güleroğlu from Milliyet found Ozan as one of the "most believable" characters in the series.[49] Its first season premiered on 27 December 2019.[50] Its second season is expected to be released in December 2020.[51]

Akdülger appeared in a feature film, titled One-Way to Tomorrow, by Ozan Açıktan in 2020 opposite Dilan Çiçek Deniz which tells the story of two foreigners traveling from Ankara to İzmir.[52] It was released on 19 June 2020.[53]