Akin’s Interview in Vogue Turkiye

This interview was conducted by Can Remzi Ergen for the Mr. Vogue section of Vogue Turkiye, December 2022/January 2023 edition.

You shape the moment by acting. While you are performing and shaping the moment you sense that you literally hold the moment in your hands. Bruce Lee says, “Be like water, my friend” because water takes the shape of its container. It transforms while at the same time it is transformed. Awareness of this situation alone, is valuable. You are not a victim. Your will and actions have an effect on everything you are a part of. You’re a part of what’s going on. You partake in the music that emerges.

From the point of view of acting, you’re present with your mind, your emotions, and your body. Therefore, you not only listen to the music but you also compose it. And sometimes, we forget to listen to the music. When we forget to listen, it becomes harder to feel. Because, I think, it takes listening to feel.

While talking, Akin puts life in the container of acting and acting in the container of life. Maybe the two are not even different containers, or maybe since he is as fluid as water, it’s difficult to even describe the container of which he speaks and takes the shape.

I know that you are here right now because you most probably enjoy reading. But among all of you, I’m sure there must be someone who has done interviews before. If not, I would like to give you a quick summary of this job. As you may have guessed, as with any job, there are certain tasks which allow the interview to reach you. It’s not a strict rule, but interviews are recorded on a phone or a voice recording device first and then transcribed. In my opinion, transcribing the conversation is not the best part of an interview. Normally, the speed at which I start to transcribe and finish it is directly proportional to my motivation.

The thought of transcribing the conversation I had with Akin feels different than usual. I am doing it fast because I’m excited for various reasons. I want his words to be read by others immediately. I completely agree with what he says. And it makes me feel good to think that these thoughts are echoing in this world once again while I’m typing his words. I can’t lie, I have to be quick because at any given moment, I may receive a message from my editor or the executive editor of the magazine warning me about being late.

But, what if I miss something, trying to be fast? What if I can’t hear the most important part of the interview because of the rush? Akin comes to my aid: “To me, the essential thing is to find the balance in the topic we talk about, whatever it may be. Let’s think about fish in the sea. The fish wags its tail once and then goes with the flow of the water. It doesn’t always wag its tail in the water; it is in balance with its environment, it compromises with its environment. Because it doesn’t have the chance to control every factor along its way. Consequently, while it is moving along its path, it has to trust the path that carries with it inexplicable factors. When you find the balance on your path, life becomes more enjoyable.

Everything is not under your control but you know which direction to go. To give you an example from acting: Saying your line and timing are all about that. When you feel it and feel safe, the line comes automatically from your mouth. You hear it when it comes. It comes out all by itself. The point is to able to wait, and to listen to what is there. This is what we call perfect timing. I still have a long way to go in this direction, but having an awareness about this matter is doing me good. The important thing is to choose the direction.”

I ask him to please tell me more about how he balances between what is and is not under his control in life, as well as how he decides where to stand. Without hesitation, he adds, just like water: ” Every intention in life has its value. You sow the seed with your intentions, you nurture it but you don’t have the ability to design every step in the process. You just have the opportunity to sow the seed and grow it. If you keep digging something up, you prevent it from bearing fruit. It’s like dancing with it. I think life is like trying to dance between two sides. It’s about living life while you’re dancing. Trying to position yourself on one side causes imbalance. I trust in the seeds that I sow in this life. The workings of the universe are beyond anyone’s imagination. You exist but there’s a system that exists independently of you. A system that exists only if you allow it to. I studied applied mathematics, I spent 23 years with it and there were times that I tried to control it. When I stepped into the world of acting, things changed. I came to a place where I couldn’t control the reactions of the person in front of me. I was at a place where how I would react to something that I wasn’t ready for became important; a place where I didn’t know what the next moment would bring. But I believe in this dance. Not just science, or just art. They should coexist. To me, what is more beautiful is their dance.”

Akin loves to dance in real life too. We talk about a scene that we sometimes come across at a club or a party- I ask him his opinion about what’s going on with the people who go to a club or party and don’t just go with the flow and dance. ” Actually, it’s not as if they don’t hear the music. It’s more about retaining and censoring what they hear. Even the most disadvantaged person is capable of expression. There is this habit we have of suppressing, limiting and avoiding our feelings due to some cultural code. This makes us stiff.

We have to be careful about this point. We are not talking about turning every thought into action here. But the act of revealing is related to acting too. Being interested in acting gives me the opportunity to work on these human abilities. I want to taste the richness of the human experience in this life. I exist for it. When you bear this responsibility, you have a sensitivity in these matters. I love the saying, “Without discipline, there’s no freedom.” I also need a strong will to express the enthusiasm in me so that because of that discipline, I can convey my excitement without harming others.

Art comes in at this point. For humanity to experience the world and its values in a humane way. Right now, I’m playing in the series Tuzak. For example, my character has a problem with justice. The journey that I began for this topic makes me happy, it makes me think about the term “justice”. I’m trying to understand the matter while at the same time trying to see what I can add to the project.” He is always dancing between the two sides as fluid as water, like listening and speaking, taking action and letting things happen, being fluid and being stagnant. But when it’s about listening, he makes it clear and says: “Those who can’t hear the music, say that those who dance are insane”. This quote of Nietzsche is so true.”

Interview in Turkish

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