Önder Somer

There’s this guy who basically became the face of evil in Turkish films—like, if you asked anyone in Turkey to picture a movie villain, odds are they’d think of him. He played that creep who, instead of just dealing with rejection like a normal person, would spike girls’ drinks to get what he wanted. Not exactly subtle, but wow, did it stick in people’s heads. For years, that image shaped how Turkish audiences saw “the bad guy”—sly, greasy, always up to something shady. It got so iconic that later, sitcoms started spoofing his character, turning him into a sort of running joke. Then the 1970s hit, and Turkish cinema took a wild left turn. Money got tight, studios wanted quick cash, and, well, the market for erotic movies exploded. The guy wasn’t into that scene, so he just noped out of acting altogether. Just like that, he vanished from the big screen. Life didn’t exactly give him a happy ending, either. He died in a car crash on May 16, 1997—pretty sudden, honestly. But even now, decades later, his version of the villain—sneaky, ruthless, unforgettable—still pops up in Turkish pop culture. Doesn’t matter if it’s a crime drama or a comedy, you’ll see echoes of him. His legacy’s kind of twisted but, hey, it’s definitely not boring.