Who was actor Serhat Kılıç, and how did he die? His television and film career

Actor Serhat Mustafa Kılıç was found dead in the living room of his home in Istanbul’s Kağıthane district, according to the report. Friends had reportedly been unable to contact him for about one or two days before finding him motionless on a sofa.

An initial examination found bruising around his eyes and on his arms and legs. The supplied report raises the question of how he died but does not establish a cause of death.

Born in Ankara on July 8, 1975, Kılıç was originally from Malatya. He studied theatre at Bilkent University’s Faculty of Music and Performing Arts, graduating in 1998 as a high-honours student. His first professional theatre role came that year at Ankara Art Theatre, in Rutkay Aziz’s production of Ariel Dorfman’s “The Lost,” also known as “Widows.”

He later worked at Diyarbakır State Theatre and taught acting and stage classes at Diyarbakır City Theatres. He was appointed to Erzurum State Theatre in 2002 and completed a master’s degree in directing at Hacettepe University’s Ankara State Conservatory in 2005. He later taught at Atatürk University before leaving the State Theatres in 2008 to continue his work in Istanbul.

Kılıç appeared at venues including Theatre DOT, BKM and Istanbul City Theatres. He played four characters in “The General Rehearsal of Suicide,” which ran to full houses for three seasons and earned him a nomination at the Afife Theatre Awards. In film, he played Imam Hamdi in Nuri Bilge Ceylan’s “Winter Sleep,” which won the Palme d’Or at Cannes. His television credits included “Ezel,” “Söz,” “Teacher,” “Maraşlı,” “The Ottoman” and “Mehmed: Conquerors of the World.”