Şener Şen (born 26 December 1941) is a Turkishfilm and theatre actor who has won the Golden Orange for Best Actor twice for his roles in Muhsin Bey (1985) and Gönül Yarası (2005), the Golden Orange for Best Supporting Actor for Çöpçüler Kralı (1977) and a Golden Orange Lifetime Achievement Award. A prominent actor of classic films in the Turkish cinema, he has played a wide range of iconic characters in various genres, including drama, comedy. He received the distinction of "Turkish state artist" in 1998.[1]
Biography
Şener Şen is the son of actor Ali Şen and the brother of actress İnci Şen.[2] Şener Şen began acting in 1958 at the age of 17 as an amateur at the Yeşil Sahne Theater in Cağaloğlu. From 1964 to 1966 he taught in elementary schools in the villages of eastern Anatolia. In 1966 he returned to the stage at the City Theater in Istanbul. He made his film debut with a small role in the drama film So-Called Girls (1967), directed by Nejat Saydam.
On 28 December 2016, at the Presidential Culture and Arts Grand Prize ceremony, he received an award from President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan after which he said: "Stories tell us how we can live life. I have carefully selected the characters I've portrayed to serve the good and right. I believed that societies looking for good, right and beauty will always live in peace. I accept this award with the hope of contributing to our social peace."[8][9][10]
Şen is the father of one daughter, Bengü Şen (b. 1974) from his first marriage.[11]
