Hurriyet 2018

This Friday, “Can Feda” will be released. The movie, starring Burak Özçivit and Kerem Bursin, is ambitious. Kerem Bursin plays a fighter pilot. And he really faints while eating 9 G, not in the movie, but in reality…

He is sweet and sexy, knowledgeable, interested, but not about the nation, but about his own job and profession, sincere, a little alien. Someone who lives in his own world. He is always trying to improve himself. He founded a production company a year and a half ago. He lives in two countries. You already know that he is a citizen of the world, but this time I realized that in these five years he has become more Turkish than anyone else. It is enough to say that Turkey will beat America a thousand times…

How many years have passed since our last interview?
5!

Wow, you’ve become quite a legend during this time!

I don’t feel that way at all. Acting is a profession that is open to self-development, you have to constantly see and experience new things and always work. It’s like a journey. When you’re on the road, you don’t say “What have I become”, you don’t even think about it, on the contrary, you always feel inadequate, you strive to improve. This is my situation. I still feel like it’s my first year, I still realize how much bread I have to eat…

What kind of experience did you gain from these 5 years?

It is necessary to learn from the things you have learned, to continue, but to continue by listening to the voice of your heart… When I first came to Turkey, when I told them what I wanted to do, I always said, “This is Turkey! This market does not lift! I was encountering things like “that won’t work”. Or I wanted to do preliminary preparation or pre-study for roles. But it is not always possible. Even when you try to do it, it is sometimes not accepted. Because you realize that they always want to see you the same way…

Always handsome but rebellious, the man who makes the rules himself?

I try not to be confined to a single role, a single character. Because I can’t always do the same thing. It gets boring, I get bored too. Acting is not like that, it’s not just one thing. I think I’ve broken some rules for myself over time, I believe I’m not stuck with a single character

Which do you think was the legendary directory?

According to the audience, it is still the first drama: Waiting for the Sun. Which was really beautiful. But I’m not interested in what the reaction is ‘out there’, ‘what people say’. I don’t measure myself with this…

How so? In the role you play, does it concern you that the people watching you are sick of you?

I’m not too fond of this part. After the first series, I never watch myself again…

What are you doing then…

I’m living my normal life. I’m either working out or going out or something. I usually forget… Or we’re shooting on the set at that time…

Don’t you like seeing yourself on the screen?

I do not like. I even hate

it. I think one thing that hurts me is watching myself…

Why?

because you hang around a lot, you say, “I could do it like this, I could do it like that”. I think getting into that head also mechanizes the actor.

How does a person develop without seeing his mistakes?

Thanks to the director! That’s why there’s a director there, and you, as an actor, have to surrender to him. Because you, not you, are in front of that camera. You are a character and as that character, you collaborate with the other actors and the director. That’s why the most important thing I’ve learned in this job is to trust and surrender to the director. Otherwise, it’s not possible, good work won’t come out…

How is the situation now? Do you live in both countries?

Yes a little bit. I work with the best casting agency in America. I’ve been here 5 times this year. There are offers coming from there, let’s see, I’m not in a hurry. I try to choose the ones that suit me. This is important for me: Let someone from Turkey come out and

a Turk can play like an Indian, a Mexican, a French can play an American. Because we have a developed acting market and very good actors. And they need to understand that serious things are going on here…

As we say, “We are the second largest country in the world in the TV series industry”. Is it reflected in America?

No it is not! I think we are not represented properly there. There is still a language problem. I am lucky to have lived in 7 different countries and to have always studied English in this regard. But my problem is not “Let me get out of here, let me be there”. As a Turk, representing Turkey in America. I realized something very important in these five years…

What’s that?

I know very clearly now that Turkey will do well to America and many other countries too… There is so much to do, see and experience here! And this country lives. This is a very important thing for an artist. America is not alive, the system is alive. There is a system, you enter that system. Yes, that system works regularly, but there is no human touch. Everything is fake. I get depressed when I stay ina place like Los Angeles for a long time. I miss this place so much. Turkey gives me a lot of excitement in every way…

Well, do the peopleyou meet for business see the success of your movies and TV series here?

They see, but they don’t hang around much. Because the role in that project is important there. Even if George Clooney comes and says, “I want this role,” if he doesn’t like it, they say, “Let’s do an audition first.” For us, it is very important who the actor is, his fame, Instagram followers, etc., he is not there! What famous people come and go, the guys say, “You are not suitable for this role”.When it comes to fame, the flowing waters stop. All of this actually needs to change a bit. But I am hopeful…

You set up a production company, didn’t you?

Yeah. It was part of my dream. It’s not just acting, but finding a good story and seeing how that story will reflect on the screen is something that excites me. For example, we are one of the co pro

ducers of Tolga Karaçelik’s “Butterflies”, which makes me very happy. B

ecause it’s a great movie. It is wonderful to be a director like Tolga, to be a part of his work, what more could one want?

What was the experience of “Can Feda” for you?

Wonderful! As an actor, being able to feel a little bit of the life of a fighter pilot, act like him, fly, eat ‘g’ was the part that excited me the most. Yes, there are many military serials and movies being made these days, but when I heard that I was going to be a pilot, I was overjoyed. Seeing the pilots and being together with them day and night was an experience that enriched me…

Are they your fans too?

No! Pilots are so ‘cool’… They don’t admire you, you admire them! Because the man comes out of his F16, and when you get on an F16, you understand what’s what. They won’t be cool, but who will? If we are talking about power, the real power is theirs. The thing about warplanes is to exceed the ‘g’ limit anyway. I’m over it too…

What happens when you wear it?

Well, I finally passed out. I did it 3-4 times in a row. Because I was stubborn! “How many g did you eat? How many g can I eat?” There are situations like that.

How many times have you eaten?

I ate it 9 times, I passed out at 9 and a half g! Of course, it’s such a thing that a lot of blood tests and every single test was done to get in. Are your lungs good or not? If you have diabetes, you can’t do it, you can’t be a pilot, there are many things. Fighter pilots are truly superhuman beings. They are at a high level in terms of brains, because they need to have a good command of mathematics, physics, everything, but at the same time, they must be in good health. Their job is so hard. They’re all so brave.

There is a 1G gravitational force on everyone as standard. And we have been accustomed to this gravity since childhood. But the situation is different for pilots. Why? Although the gravitational force on the earth is constant, the force felt by the acceleration movements on the planes is many times greater. The G force that a pilot can experience can reach up to 9 G. We can define the 1 G force as the force equal to the mass of the person. We can calculate the 9 G force as 9 times the mass of the person… (Kerem Bursin, while playing the role of a fighter pilot in the movie Can Feda, ate 9 Gs and fainted at 9 and a half Gs…)

Where is your family now?

They’re in Texas…

Do they watch your serials?

Sure, of course.

What’s their reaction?

I do not know.

Don’t you ask?

I’m not asking. But sometimes they make comments. They look at the situation realistically. They are always clear. “We don’t like you!” or “You didn’t quite get into the role!” or “Well done, you played very well”. But as I said, after all, I am an actor who likes to work with the director. “Okay, I’ll do it!” rather than, “What is a brother? How can I do something and reflect the psychology of this character well!” these are important to me…

In a world where everyone lives glued to their phone, doing their best to exist on social media, sharing every moment and everything…

Kerem Bursin is indifferent!

“I do post once every three months,” he says. He doesn’t even look at the news about himself. He watches the concerts with the naked eye, not by filming them with his phone. In short, he lives his life for himself, not to show it to others.

How many newspapers do you follow?

Zero aboutme! I’m not very good with social media either.

How can you stay away from social media?

I’m stopping. Of course it is necessary to use it, I understand, but I do not live my life only on social media. This probably hurts me too, everyone lives on their phone almost 24 hours a day…

Aren’t you surprised to see people…

I am very surprised. They live glued to their phones. I feel like an 80-year-old grandfather next to them! For example, I’m going to a concert, a wonderful performance begins, lively, lively, in front of us… I look around, it’s unbelievable if they feel the same enthusiasm as me, 80 percent of

the hall is watching the concert on their phone. You stop living in the moment by saying “I will shoot”. Moreover, you do not live for yourself… You live to show others! I think social media is taking over the world.

Do you go in and look at “where and what has come out about me”?