Born Okan Külen in Istanbul in 1942, Tunç Okan trained as a dentist. Chosen as a magazine cover star in 1965, he acted in about a dozen films with stars such as Türkan Şoray, then left the cinema in 1967 to study dentistry in Germany and settled in Switzerland. He returned in 1974 with Otobüs (The Bus), which he wrote, directed, produced and starred in; it was banned in Turkey for years but won prizes abroad. His Fikrimin İnce Gülü - Sarı Mercedes (1992) won him the Golden Orange for best director. He directed Umut Üzümleri (2013) from Fakir Baykurt's novel, and divides his time between Nice and a dental practice in Geneva.
Filmography
- Otobüs (1974)
- Cumartesi Cumartesi (1984)
- Fikrimin İnce Gülü - Sarı Mercedes (1992)
- Umut Üzümleri (2013)