Kazim Kartal

Kazim Kartal, born way back in 1936 in this quiet little spot called Nigde, Turkey, was kind of a legend in his own right—though, honestly, he probably wouldn’t have called himself that. He just did his thing, you know? Acting, writing, making people laugh or cry or just sit there glued to the screen. The guy’s face was everywhere in those classic Turkish films, especially in the '70s. If you ever caught “Kral Benim” from ‘75, or “Cilali Ibo: Avrupada” in 1970, you know what I mean. He always brought this raw, genuine energy, like he’d lived a thousand lives and squeezed them all into one role. And “Karaoglan Geliyor” in 1972? Man, that movie had it all—action, drama, a little bit of that old-school swagger that’s pretty much vanished from modern cinema. Kartal could play the tough guy, the hero, or the comic relief, and somehow he made it all look effortless, like he just rolled out of bed and nailed it on the first take. He wasn’t just an actor, either—dude wrote, too. Some actors just show up, say their lines, and peace out, but Kartal? He was shaping stories, putting his stamp on the whole thing. He passed away in Istanbul in 2003, and, yeah, the industry lost one of its true originals. There’s something about those old films with his name in the credits—they just hit different. Maybe it’s nostalgia, or maybe it’s just because Kazim Kartal knew how to make you care, even decades later.