April 4, 2023

Mehmet GUnsUR

Those who remember TRT series know that there was a series shot by ‘Okan Uysaler’: “Mimosas of Spring Past”. The lead roles were played by Filiz Akın and Rutkay Aziz. The series had a wonderful cast, from ‘Müşfik Kenter’ to ‘Nurseli İdiz’… There was also a skinny boy, Sabih, with huge wire-rimmed glasses…

Today that boy grew up to become one of Turkey’s charismatic actors, ‘Mehmet Günsür’. He wasn’t thinking about acting, he loved music, he even gave up everything for a while and decided to run a restaurant. But as coincidence would have it, acting would suit him very well and he would find himself in front of the cameras he had met in his childhood years.

Musician, actor, from Istanbul but living in Rome. Family man with three children, star of “Love Loves Coincidences”.. MEHMET GUNSUR

On May 8, 1975, he was born in Istanbul as the second child of a family of Tatar origin. Mehmet Günsür studied at the Italian High School. This explains why the actor has such close ties with Italy. Although he studied advertising at Marmara University, he has never worked in advertising. In fact, although he was in front of the cameras at a young age, he did not think of acting professionally until the movie Hamam. He did not even receive acting training until he was 25 years old.

His first serious attempt at acting was the 1988 series ‘Past Time Mimososas’ broadcast on TRT. Mehmet, who played Sabih, the young son of the house with glasses, stayed away from acting for a long time. During this period, Mehmet also ran the restaurant Roxy, and it was during his work there that he met director Ferzan Özpetek.

The milestone for Mehmet Günsür, who was also among the members of the music group The Dawn, who could not get the chance to work in any venue in these years, was the movie ‘Hamam’ dated 1997. After this movie, Mehmet Günsür, who decided to develop his career in the direction of acting, took part in many films, series and plays after this date.

Günsür, who established a throne in the hearts of the audience with his role as Şehzade Mustafa in the Magnificent Century series, was watched by millions of people in the episode where he died for the role and became one of the most talked about names on social media. So much so that there were even series viewers who took Sultan Süleyman, who killed Şehzade Mustafa, to court.

When we make a movie, we want as many people as possible to see it, and we want it to travel around the world...

We had the opportunity to get sincere and warm answers to our questions from Mehmet Günsür, whom we met in New York. Let’s take a look at this special interview…

What are your thoughts and feelings about the screening of ‘Unutursam Fısılıda’ in New York?

When we make a movie, we want as many people as possible to see it and of course it’s good that it travels around the world because the Turkish community is all over the world, but not only the Turkish community but also the people of that country watch these movies. And so we share it with everyone. We are doing this job to share, so the more people watch Turkish movies, the more culturally diverse people we reach, the more successful we are and I can say that the movie has achieved its purpose.

Do you travel back and forth to New York often?

The last time I was in New York was in 1997, it’s been a while, almost 20 years. But I have been to America at different times, I shot a movie in North Carolina in 2006.

I love New York of course, New York, New York, New York...

It’s like a summary of the world but in American packaging. It’s a pleasant place and one of the only places to live in America. And that’s for a certain time…

How would you evaluate the differences between the movie industry in Turkey, the US and Italy? Every place has its own disadvantages and advantages. We shot a horror movie in America and we had a lot of fun, I played with the late David Carradine, for example there was Dominique Swain, you may know her as Jamie from the movie ‘Lolita’, there was also Udo Kier… All in all, I had a lot of fun working with these people on the shoot in the U.S. The movie industry here is based on entertainment, and I can say that it’s very enjoyable and fun to shoot. From the director to the set assistant… They have fun in Turkey too, but there is a bit more stress in Turkey. Let’s finish the movie, let’s finish the movie, blah blah blah… It’s a bit like that in Italy too. In the end, every country has a different approach to this industry. And in the end they are all good. And it’s more of an industry outside of Turkey, in Europe and America, and when I say industry, I want to say that the rights of the workers, the unions, this and that, the conditions are much better in Europe and America. Unfortunately we don’t have these opportunities in Turkey, we have unions but they have only recently been established, the ground needs to change slowly. For example, TV series in Turkey are 120 minutes long, normally there is no such thing, it is either 45 minutes, or if it is over 45 minutes, it is called a TV movie. But in Turkey an episode of a TV series is 120 minutes, we shoot 120 minutes in 6 days. It is a very superhuman situation. We know there are a lot of reasons for this, I hope it will gradually become regularized. As I said, there are significant differences in the industrial conditions of each country, I already see myself as a person of the world and everywhere I go I have fun and enjoy doing this job and I am very lucky to do what I love. So everywhere is different but everywhere is beautiful.

We know you want to direct, is there a new project?

Yes, I think every actor has such a desire. After being directed for years, you now want to direct. Because that is actually a very big plus for the director. If a director comes from acting, knows the actors, knows acting, I think this is a huge advantage. Now we have a project, we started writing it two years ago, we’ve been shooting it for a year. It’s a web series, I’m not naming it so as not to spoil the surprise, but it will probably start in September and I’m writing, directing and acting in it. I’m not the only director, it’s a collective work, I’m starting to enjoy it. Yes, every actor wants to direct…

We know you want to direct, is there a new project?

What kind of movies would you like to direct?

I cannot make such a distinction. If you ask me in acting, there is no distinction, I mean, there is no difference in romance, comedy or drama, or horror, after all, the actor’s job is to make it believable. No matter what it is. I don’t think there are harder or easier roles, even the simplest role has depth because human beings have depth. So there is no such distinction. I would like to direct any kind of movie. No matter what it is.

You are busy with many things. Sports, music, modeling, restaurant management and many more…

Modeling actually came later. I started acting at a very young age. I was 12 years old when I got my first professional job. I had the chance to act with very important masters in Turkey, like Müşfik Kenter, Rutkay Aziz, Filiz Akın… In 1987, I did a series called ‘Mimosas of Past Spring’. For me, acting became something I enjoyed a lot, it became a game for me. Before that I was running a restaurant, I had a band. I still love music very much, I don’t have a band now, but my house is full of instruments and my children and I are always making noise. Once you become a musician, it is very hard to get it out of your life.

To what do you owe your success in cinema?

I don’t know what I owe my success to, I don’t know if I should answer that. But I can say something like this, maybe it’s a cliché, but I’ve always followed my instincts. I’ve always made decisions by following my instincts. Of course I try to do the things I love, I’m lucky that I’m making money doing something I love. I’m just lucky.

I try to live calm, relaxed and happy. Otherwise everyone has a dark side,
I always say,
I have one too…

You are busy with many things. Sports, music, modeling, restaurant management and many other things…Modeling actually came later. I started acting at a very young age. I was 12 years old when I got my first professional job. I had the chance to act with very important masters in Turkey, like Müşfik Kenter, Rutkay Aziz, Filiz Akın… In 1987, I did a series called ‘Mimosas of Past Spring’. For me, acting became something I enjoyed a lot, it became a game for me. Before that I was running a restaurant, I had a band. I still love music very much, I don’t have a band now, but my house is full of instruments and my children and I are always making noise. Once you become a musician, it is very difficult to get out of your life.

To what do you owe your success in cinema?

I don’t know what I owe my success to, I don’t know if I should answer that. But I can say something like this, maybe it’s a cliché, but I’ve always followed my instincts. I’ve always made decisions by following my instincts. Of course I try to do the things I love, how lucky I am that I make money doing something I love. I’m just lucky.

What would you like to say about the movie ‘Unutursam Fisılda’?

We had a lot of fun shooting this movie. It was a very sweet and beautiful team. It is very nice to work with Çağan. Because he knows what he wants, he is very comfortable on the set, my other cast members Farah Zeynep, Kerem Bursin, Hümeyra, Işıl Yücesoy are all very valuable to me. This movie is a very special movie for me. It’s a special movie for the sisters, but it’s a special movie for everyone, if you ask me, it’s about the passage of time. Years, regrets, decisions… Whatever happens, time passes, we should be happy, we should listen to our hearts, we should never have regrets?

Did you especially lose weight in this movie, this is an audience question?

Actually I am always the same weight. Could it have been an optical illusion when the hair and beard were cut and the costumes came off? …. Which role did you like the most, which character did you like the most? They are all like my children. You feel a connection with all of them. I was saying earlier that every human being is deep. You can also form surprising bonds with that character. This is a very interesting thing for an actor, it would not be right to separate them, I loved all my roles very much, I played them all with love.

Theater or Cinema?

Both have very different and deep meanings for me. The reason I went to Italy was for theater, I went in 1998 for a theater offer. We toured in Italy for five years. It was very enjoyable. The spontaneity of the theater is very enjoyable. It is very enjoyable to have a different energy every night. It is very pleasant for me to be in the moment on the live stage. That’s why they are two very different things. But I don’t separate acting. It’s all the same, an actor is an actor. But the energies are different.

Thank you very much.

Young and successful actor Mehmet Günsür is married to Italian documentary director Caterina Mongio and has 3 children. Mehmet Günsür plans to work in Italy, where he lived with his family for a while.