This is a short interview that I did with Selen Ozturk who plays Gulfem in Muhtesem Yuzyil. I asked her what were the life lessons that helped her throughout her life; surprisingly she has some very fresh ideas.
SELEN ÖZTÜRK
©Maryam Ismail 2012
Selen Özturk dreamed
of becoming an actress as a teenager. This dream
came true when she won a scholarship to Hacettepe University’s Actors’ Conservatory. She currently
stars as Gülfem Haseki
Sultan, mother of Murad Şezade and
the wife of Sultan Suleyman the Magnificent in the Turkish television series Muhtşem Yuzyil.
Child’s Play:
Never
give up your childhood instincts. This has been one of my cardinal rules. I use
my playfulness
to make me more creative, proactive and courageous in my personal as well as in
my professional life. Life
is a gift; in it we get only one childhood. Keeping the blessing of this
experience (the inner child) alive continuously keeps us pure, alive and happy.
Like a child I am not afraid to try new things, to be spontaneous or to dreams
beyond the limit. And that’s why I will never let my my inner child die.
First
Know Yourself and You’ll find Out What You Want:
It
is so important to know yourself; to be self aware and to discover new facets
of one’s personality along the way. When
I was 14, I saw a musical play and realized that I wanted to be a actor. I had
to work hard and make a lot of sacrifices to achieve this goal. Because I was
passionate and committed to follow this path, I didn’t really have much
difficulty to persuade my family to support my decision.
Afterward,
I realized that I had to study and become more aware of the world around me. I
began this journey by reading vociferously, traveling, making careful
observations and learning more about people-all these things became part of
this path I’ve chosen. I
know that these adventures, challenges and fun will continue non-stop with each
step forward. There you have it, a professional journey without a final
destination.
Let
the Music Move You:
Music
has been a big part of my life since early childhood. I sing, play the piano
and guitar. My name is Selen which means ‘’sound’’ in Turkish. And so I’m
living according to my name. I find my way by following the sound and rhythm of
life. And one day this love of music led me to acting; that’s when I decided to
spend my life pursuing both. All the theater productions I’ve performed in have
been musicals. Hopefully it will continue on this way.
Believe
In Your Dreams:
I
love to dream. Every chance I get, I let myself just drift off into these
dreams. They bring me great joy and happiness and hope. As
a child I used to imagine myself as a character in the cartoons I liked to
watch. And now I’m lending my voice to a lot of these cartoons. So you might
say that I’ve in some way achieved this dream of being one of these hilarious
characters. That’s fun, don’t you think?
Another
dream of mine was to be a character in a period piece-grand costumes,
larger-than-life sets, and a magical atmosphere. Every little girl’s dream is
to be a princess in fairy tale. And now, in Muhtesem, I am just that-a lady in
a palace, in a wonderful, historical, TV series. As you can imagine, I am
having a ball. All of this proves that
you should never ever give up on you dreams, they just might come true.
The
Power of Love:
Every
choice I make is motivated by love. Love, for me is the essence of life and
great source of power. It’s a positive kind of power that I’d like contribute
to. Every
relationship in my life is formed out of a sense of love. As is my choice of
profession–acting. Love is a divine emotion, strengthening our bond with life.
In order to be a full human being, one has to have defined, experienced and known
love. Only through discovering love, one can really truly enjoy success and
happiness.
Maryam Ismail
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