Erkan Can

Erkan Can (born 1 November 1958) is a Turkish film and theatre actor, who has won the Golden Orange for Best Actor twice for his roles in On Board and Takva: A Man's Fear of God, and the Asia Pacific Screen Award for Best Performance by an Actor for Takva: A Man's Fear of God. Erkan Can began acting in 1974 at the age of 16 with the local Bursa State Theater and took acting classes at the Industrial Vocational High School. From 1982 to 1984 he undertook his compulsory military service. In 1985 he entered the theatre department of the Istanbul State Conservatory and made his first screen appearance, alongside Kemal Sunal, in Davacı (1986) directed by Zeki Ökten before graduating in 1990.

From 1991 to 1992 he performed with the Bakirkoy Municipal Theatre. He had his first major roles in the television series Mahallenin Muhtarlari (1992) and Yalancı (1993) for TRT. He had a minor appearance in Sokaktaki Adam (1995), directed by Biket İlhan, and a featured role in the short Bana Old and Wise'ı Çal (1998), directed by Çağan Irmak before achieving success with On Board (1998), directed by Serdar Akar, for which he won best actor awards at film festivals in Antalya and Ankara as well as the Orhan Anzac Award.

A series of film a television roles followed, including appearances in Vizontele (2001), directed by Yılmaz Erdoğan and Ömer Faruk Sorak, and Istanbul Tales (2005), directed by Ümit Ünal et al. Appearances in Destiny (2006), directed by Zeki Demirkubuz, and The Edge of Heaven (2006), directed by Fatih Akın, were followed by, what Rekin Teksoy describes as, a "convincing performance" in Takva: A Man's Fear of God (2007), directed by Özer Kızıltan, for which he won best actor awards at film festivals in Antalya and Nuremberg as well as the Asia Pacific Screen Award.