Acting
Apr 22, 1973
Istanbul, Turkey
Cem Yılmaz
Acting
Biography
While studying at the Department of Tourism and Hotel Management of Bogazici University, he started drawing comics for the Turkish humor magazine Leman. In August 1995 he did his first stand-up comedy show in "Leman Culture Center" performing with no serious career intentions as a comedian. However, after the positive response of the audience, he continued his show to attract larger crowds in Besiktas Cultural Center where he has appeared in over a thousand stand-up comedy shows since, becoming so popular that tickets have sold for 250TL (approx. US$140). His movie career started in 1998 with a co-starring role in the comedy Everything's Gonna Be Great (1998), directed by Ömer Vargi, and continued with a role in Vizontele (2001), directed by Yilmaz Erdogan and Ömer Faruk Sorak. He achieved his greatest success by starring in and writing big-budget science-fiction parody G.O.R.A. (2004), also directed by Ömer Faruk Sorak, which despite spending several years in production because of financial and other technical problems became a box-office hit and described by Rekin Teksoy as a strong sign that showed that popular cinema was successful in appealing to wide audiences. He maintained this success with a starring role in the comedy feature movie Magic Carpet Ride (2005) AKA 'Magic Carpet Ride', also directed by Yilmaz Erdogan, for which he won Best Supporting Actor at the 11th Sadri Alisik Awards, and his directorial debut with The Magician (2006), co-directed by Ali Taner Baltaci, for which he won Best Actor at the 34th Brussels International Independent Film Festival and 12th Sadri Alisik Awards. He has since repeated his box office success with a sequel to G.O.R.A. (2004) called A.R.O.G (2008), also co-directed by Ali Taner Baltaci, and comedy Western parody called Yahsi Bati - The Ottoman Cowboys (2009), directed by Ömer Faruk Sorak. That same year, he co-starred, alongside veteran actor Sener Sen, in the police drama Hunting Season (2010), written and directed by Yavuz Turgul, and made a special appearance in drama Zefir (2010), written and directed by Belma Bas. After two years he also acted in Ferzan Özpetek's A Magnificent Haunting (2012). After he filmed his last stand-up comedy show CM101MMXI Fundamentals (2013) directed by Murat Dündar, he announced that for the next few years he will stop his stand-up comedy shows to have a rest. Along his professional career, he has won numerous awards and appeared in more than 4000 stand-up comedy shows, took part in 10 movies and contributed as a dubbing performer in 4 movies.
Feature Films (33)
A struggling, suicidal young comedian meets a car thief who is willing to teach him a few things about his profession.
Magic Carpet Ride
Aziz and Lemi must recover a diamond gifted by the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire to the U.S. President which has been stolen by bandits in the American wild west.
Yahşi Batı
Commander Logar escapes from the planet G.O.R.A. to Earth and finds Arif. Arif gets tricked by the evil Commander Logar into thinking that his intentions have changed but Commander Logar sends Arif 1.000.000 years into the past. After finding himself in the stone age, Arif begins to help the local tribe to defend themselves against a different, much more violent tribe and tries to find a way back to his time.
A.R.O.G
Failed magician Iskender decides to do a tour to save his career, but has to bring his grumpy and senile father along. The tour is quite unexpectedly interrupted when a bride actually disappears from the stage.
The Magician
Carpet dealer and UFO photo forger Arif is abducted by aliens and must outwit the evil commander-in-chief of G.O.R.A., the planet where he is being held.
G.O.R.A.
In an irreverent but heartfelt stand-up show, Turkish comedian Cem Yılmaz shares stories about childhood, social media and Turks on holiday abroad.
Cem Yılmaz: Diamond Elite Platinum Plus
Television & Series (16)
Reexamining his own legacy, a renowned figure in erotic cinema decides to branch out and make movies in other genres, from sci-fi to medieval action.
The Life and Movies of Erşan Kuneri
The life and times of rather traditional Sutcuoglu family and their comedic struggles to adapt the high-profile contemporary life of Nisantasi.
The European Side
Can Manay is a celebrated psychologist, famed for his expertise in his field. A consummate bachelor he beds women but rarely falls in love. And yet, following his first encounter with Duru, he is immediately besotted, to the extent that he buys the house next door to her’s, determined to get closer to her. Until her new neighbour moves in, Duru has lived happily with her musician boyfriend, Deniz. Can’s mind-games ensure that she starts to question their relationship however, though she is not aware of the full extent of Can’s scheming. Meanwhile a cast of characters - Bilge, a student of Can’s; Özge, a journalist working on an exposé of the celebrity psychologist; and of course Deniz - will find their lives changed forever, by Manay’s crazed pursuit of love.
Phi
The story begins on a luxury cruise ship in the Caribbean, where Adanalı Samim, who had never taken on responsibilities, settles into a stable life after losing his sister and brother-in-law in a traffic accident. Years later, he lives in the same neighborhood as his fiancée, Ahsen, who left him in Adana. Ali, Samim's friend, thinks he has planned his life after meeting him. However, life happens while you're busy making other plans. Ali tracks down Ahsen, who left him, and finds her in Istanbul. He has only one acquaintance in Istanbul: Samim, his first love, and Ahsen. Life continues at full speed with fights, noise, joy, and entertainment.
