Yahoo Lifestyle Turkish ‘Love Is in the Air’ Star Kerem Bürsin on Starting His Career With Roger Corman and Why New Comedy ‘Son of a Rich’ Will ‘Break Some Barriers’ (EXCLUSIVE)
Kerem Bürsin never planned to be a Turkish megastar.
Though he was born in Istanbul, he spent his formative years living internationally and attended high school in Texas, where he began acting in theater productions. He then set off for L.A., where he worked with the legendary Roger Corman, but still “kept coming across the matter of my nationality,” as he tells Variety.
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“Some agents were telling me, ‘I have to change your name,'” he says. “I would ask them why, and they would say: ‘Because you don’t look Turkish, you don’t sound Turkish and you’re pretty much American. So it’s just not going to work.'”
Eventually he returned to his home country — which turned out to be the right decision, as lead roles in globally exported TV shows “Waiting for the Sun” and “Love Is in the Air” have made him one of the country’s most in-demand stars.
More recently, Bürsin has starred in Prime Video’s romantic drama “The Blue Cave” — which he also wrote — a Turkish original that dropped on the streamer in October.
Next up is the oddly-titled comedy “Son of Rich,” a Turkish remake of the hit Russian comedy “Holop,” about a spoiled rich young man named Mete who is tricked by his father into believing that he has been transported to the 15th century Ottoman Empire.
“Son of Rich,” which is being sold by Turkey’s Kunay Film at AFM, is a bold attempt by Turkish producers to make a Hollywood-style high-concept comedy that can travel, as Bürsin tells Variety below in a rare interview.
Tell me about your role in “Son of Rich” and why this might be a timely film.
I think when you look at the basic story structure, it’s pretty simple: It’s a different version of Shakespeare’s “The Taming of the Shrew,” if you will. But what’s fun is that it takes place in our day and age, when we are so focused on ourselves because of social media. My character is pretty much a reflection of that: he has a lot of money and privilege and uses it without holding back. And then, in a sense, he goes back in time to the 15th century as part of a whole game orchestrated by his father.
So it’s basically a concept movie?
Yes, and as far as comedy goes, it’s something that we’re not used to in this region. I mean it’s a somewhat similar concept to “The Truman Show.” But we are used to American cinema doing stuff like this, not Turkish. And I know comedy is a very cultural thing, but I think this film will be able to break some barriers because it’s not based on cultural inside jokes. It’s more like, this is hilarious because this guy has no idea what’s happening and he thinks he’s in the 15th century.
I read that you went to high school in Texas. How did your acting career get started?
Yes, I went to high school in Texas and I did a lot of theater there. But initially I did not take it that seriously. I’d perform in musicals and just be one of the extras and have a blast. Music was more the center of my life. But I had an incredible high school teacher, Miss Curzom, and Texas has the UIL one-act play contest. And they were doing the play “Mariner” by Don Nigro about Christopher Columbus which, for its time, is pretty woke. So she stopped me one day and told me that I should audition. And I was like, “Nah, I don’t have time; there’s the band.” But then I ended up auditioning and getting in. And then for the first time for our high school, we ended up going to the Nationals. And it was a great time and I did really well. And I thought, “Wow, I like this acting thing!”
Then you wound up in L.A. working on two Roger Corman movies: “Sharktopus” and “Palace of the Damned.” Talk to me about working with Corman.
A friend told me about the audition and I ended up going to his office, down by Beverly Hills. But there were no other actors there, so I was like, “What the hell is going on?” I end up going inside and Julie [Corman] was there, his wife, and he was there. At the time I didn’t realize his importance, so I was like, “All right, cool. Let’s do it.” I remember I had the worst audition. I screwed up a lot. But he was just really cool about it. And so I left full of regret. Then I got a call that night and they said, “Roger loved you.” So my acting career started like that. He was a really, really sweet guy.
Then, that year (2009), Corman got the honorary Oscar. And later “Sharktopus” (2010) got talked up a lot on the radio. And I thought, “Wow, I’m so happy that I get to say I worked with him and that this is part of my resume.”
The game-changer came in Turkey with “Waiting for the Sun,” in which you played Kerem Sayer, a high-school rebel. How did you land the role and what has it meant to you?
I had to go back to Turkey for some things. So I thought I would shut down L.A. and come back here for a while, where I had never actually lived before. In L.A., I kept coming across the matter of my nationality. Some agents were telling me, “I have to change your name.” I would ask them why, and they would say: “Because you don’t look Turkish, you don’t sound Turkish and you’re pretty much American. So it’s just not going to work.”
Then, when I went back to Turkey, I got lucky. I met a casting director and she really helped me out. She told me that my Turkish sucked — I sounded too American — but that I had potential for a good career if I took dialect lessons. She really held my hand, but I really wanted to go back to L.A. Then, just as I was about to go back, she called me one day and said: “Hey, there’s this show called ‘Waiting for the Sun,’ I think you should audition.” And so I went and auditioned. The producers wanted someone who was a big name in Turkey. But the director, he said: “No. This is who I want!”
Tell me about the other milestone in your career, the series “Love Is in the Air,” in which you play the role of the rich architect Serkan Bolat.
That show came at a time when Instagram brought in a new phase … I think we used it very well as well. It broke “Game of Thrones” records on Twitter. We were like, “What’s going on?” It was insane. I would fly to Spain, and the airport is just full [of fans]. Fly to Italy, the airport is full. Go to a tiny-ass island in the middle of nowhere, and people at the airport are saying your character’s name. The interesting thing is that you realize the potential reach that this country has.
So is that your hope for “Son of a Rich,” to tap into that potential?
People around the world have been going for Turkish dramas in a big way. But comedies are a novelty. Here is how I see it: I like French comedies and I’m not French, I like Spanish comedies and I don’t speak great Spanish. What excites me about this film is I’m hoping people will say, “That’s a good Turkish comedy!”
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.
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