Necati Şaşmaz

Born 15 January 1971 in Sivrice, Elazig) is a Turkish actor, who starred in the popular television series Kurtlar Vadisi (Valley of the Wolves) and its movie spin-off Kurtlar Vadisi Irak (Valley of the Wolves Iraq). Necati Şaşmaz was born in Sivrice, Elazığ, Turkey, as the oldest son of Abdülkadir Şaşmaz. He studied Tourism and Hotel Management, both in Turkey and inCanada. He has lived in the USA for six years. He came to Turkey for a visit to his parents and decided to return to the USA onSeptember 11, 2001. However, because of the terrorist attacks made to the World Trade Center, he abandoned the idea to fly and decided to continue his life in Turkey. In Istanbul, Necati Şaşmaz met renowned Turkish director Osman Sınav, who offered him the leading role in the Valley of the Wolves. He played the fictional character Polat Alemdar in the series and in the movie. Also now, he plays in another follow up of the original seris "Kurtlar Vadisi", called "Kurtlar Vadisi Pusu". Şaşmaz's position today, as one of the most famous actors of Turkey, is remarkable, considering that he has no education or background in theater or cinema.