0:00:31.920,0:00:34.470
I said I wasn't excited,[br]but look what I've done.

0:00:35.170,0:00:37.180
I dropped the papers as soon as I came.

0:00:37.480,0:00:38.674
I'm really excited;

0:00:38.674,0:00:41.074
this is so different from being on stage.

0:00:41.074,0:00:42.334
You're all welcome.

0:00:43.749,0:00:46.579
I'm really excited,[br]but nobody believes me.

0:00:46.579,0:00:47.587
(Laughter)

0:00:47.587,0:00:49.980
I'm excited, I see it now.

0:00:50.785,0:00:54.555
Well, did I say welcome? Yes, I did.

0:00:55.881,0:00:59.181
I don't know who shared what[br]on social media,

0:00:59.889,0:01:03.299
but it's something like this,[br]and many of you have read it and asked me.

0:01:03.540,0:01:07.100
"Levent Ülgen, who is playing[br]the role of Sinan in Akasya Durağı,

0:01:07.504,0:01:11.524
graduated in Physics[br]from METU with a grade 4."

0:01:11.982,0:01:13.092
(Laughter)

0:01:14.343,0:01:16.653
Well, I brought along[br]my academic record with me.

0:01:16.653,0:01:17.673
(Laughter)

0:01:18.562,0:01:20.422
Honestly, thanks to my grades.

0:01:20.828,0:01:22.758
(Applause)

0:01:27.193,0:01:30.373
"It was 1979. I entered METU[br]in the prep year.

0:01:31.023,0:01:32.293
Then there was a strike.

0:01:32.992,0:01:34.461
(Laughter)

0:01:34.461,0:01:36.821
In the first grade,[br]I hardly learned English.

0:01:37.986,0:01:39.836
Disgusting fights every day.

0:01:40.792,0:01:43.698
First semester: 0,83.

0:01:44.768,0:01:46.428
Second semester: 1,50.

0:01:46.428,0:01:47.380
(Laughter)

0:01:47.380,0:01:48.700
Failed, repeat.

0:01:49.495,0:01:50.655
(Laughter)

0:01:51.202,0:01:54.282
I was studying first grade[br]in the second year: 2,25.

0:01:55.853,0:01:57.963
Second semester: 2,74.

0:01:59.060,0:02:03.490
Second grade: 2,03; maths,[br]complex calculus burnt me up.

0:02:05.103,0:02:09.063
After that, 2,17. I passed to third grade.

0:02:10.026,0:02:11.414
2,47.

0:02:12.054,0:02:13.772
2,83.

0:02:14.492,0:02:19.292
Last grade: 3,07. Honour list.

0:02:19.292,0:02:21.492
(Applause)

0:02:25.184,0:02:27.894
And last semester: 4,00!"

0:02:28.524,0:02:29.894
(Applause)

0:02:31.487,0:02:33.167
Academic record, by God!

0:02:33.895,0:02:39.025
I took lessons in Silicone Technology[br]and History of World Theatre.

0:02:40.735,0:02:43.685
One of them was optional,[br]but did I finish with a 4,00?

0:02:43.925,0:02:44.903
Yes, I did.

0:02:44.903,0:02:46.503
Do I have a degree? Yes.

0:02:46.503,0:02:48.494
Some don't even have degrees.

0:02:48.889,0:02:50.409
(Applause)

0:02:53.734,0:02:56.284
Thank God, I have two big diplomas -

0:02:56.284,0:02:58.294
one from METU and one from Hacettepe.

0:03:01.825,0:03:04.542
That's it, keep this between us, okay?

0:03:04.542,0:03:08.460
Everyone thinks I finished with a 4,0,[br]but they think I finished in 4 years.

0:03:08.460,0:03:09.794
Keep this between us.

0:03:09.794,0:03:11.889
But there's a 4,00 on the academic record,

0:03:11.889,0:03:13.044
I can show it.

0:03:13.899,0:03:17.788
Well, I went to high school[br]in Bozkır, Konya, for two years

0:03:17.788,0:03:19.838
because of my father's job.

0:03:20.521,0:03:22.531
Third year, we were appointed to Ankara.

0:03:24.008,0:03:25.498
My father was an officer,

0:03:26.579,0:03:29.219
so you know the political issues.

0:03:29.219,0:03:30.949
My father came home one night.

0:03:30.949,0:03:34.510
He gave me 250 liras,[br]which was the currency then, and said,

0:03:34.510,0:03:36.593
"I enrolled you in the course.

0:03:36.593,0:03:39.333
I paid for the first one.[br]This is the second payment.

0:03:39.333,0:03:42.073
You can have fun[br]in a bar or nightclub with this

0:03:42.314,0:03:44.594
or you can pay the fee,

0:03:45.233,0:03:47.593
get into university, study properly,

0:03:47.593,0:03:48.591
and save yourself,

0:03:48.591,0:03:54.354
because I cannot give you a factory,[br]a shop, a workbench, nor a farm;

0:03:54.354,0:03:56.044
the only way out is by studying."

0:03:56.428,0:03:58.138
That night, I cried until morning.

0:03:58.692,0:04:00.582
I was like, "Oh, why does he say that?

0:04:02.292,0:04:04.489
And why is our financial situation bad?"

0:04:04.489,0:04:06.846
The next day,[br]I was enrolled in the course.

0:04:06.846,0:04:09.236
While I was doing the course,

0:04:09.390,0:04:11.167
I began to get interested in theatre.

0:04:11.167,0:04:12.507
I started watching plays.

0:04:12.779,0:04:16.319
The first play - I didn't have[br]the chance to go to the theatre

0:04:16.319,0:04:19.599
because we were outside Ankara[br]for a long time -

0:04:19.599,0:04:23.578
the first play that I watched[br]was in the Ankara Art Theater,

0:04:23.578,0:04:26.198
"Sakıncalı Piyade" by Uğur Mumcu.

0:04:26.691,0:04:29.541
I was very impressed,[br]I really liked the theatre.

0:04:30.339,0:04:31.980
It was like another world.

0:04:31.980,0:04:35.472
Then I started to watch theatre[br]once a week on the weekends

0:04:35.472,0:04:37.542
when I went to class.

0:04:37.695,0:04:38.960
Then we took the exams.

0:04:38.960,0:04:41.605
The results didn't come in[br]two minutes like they do now,

0:04:41.605,0:04:43.528
we had to wait 2-3 months.

0:04:43.528,0:04:45.016
While waiting for the results,

0:04:45.016,0:04:47.922
I was walking down[br]Menekşe street with my friends,

0:04:47.922,0:04:50.158
and I saw the Ankara[br]Public Theatre's signboard.

0:04:50.676,0:04:52.746
At that moment,[br]I said I would be an actor.

0:04:53.229,0:04:55.819
"I will be an actor," I said.[br]My friends laughed at me.

0:04:55.819,0:04:57.371
I went, there were courses.

0:04:57.371,0:04:58.651
I was enrolled.

0:04:58.651,0:05:00.251
One month later, the news came,

0:05:00.251,0:05:02.338
I had gained entry[br]to study Physics at METU.

0:05:02.338,0:05:03.349
Nice.

0:05:03.809,0:05:07.529
So I passed the first stage[br]for my father at METU, a good university.

0:05:07.749,0:05:09.399
By the way, it was my 17th choice.

0:05:09.399,0:05:10.427
(Laughter)

0:05:10.427,0:05:12.647
We make 18 choices, mine was the 17th.

0:05:14.138,0:05:16.148
18th was Language and History, Theatre.

0:05:18.340,0:05:21.920
Theatre courses, METU,[br]prep school, I hardly passed.

0:05:22.329,0:05:25.659
My English was always bad,[br]it was always a problem.

0:05:25.659,0:05:29.699
By the way, in all those five years[br]of studying Physics

0:05:29.699,0:05:32.759
I never read and understood[br]a question in English.

0:05:33.500,0:05:36.890
Always guessing: if it gives[br]the acceleration, it asks about the speed;

0:05:36.890,0:05:39.110
if it gives the speed, [br]it asks about the time.

0:05:39.352,0:05:42.612
Well, maths was easy; when I saw[br]"find the value", I could solve it,

0:05:42.800,0:05:44.780
but I didn't solve them by understanding.

0:05:45.170,0:05:46.640
Let me say that.

0:05:46.640,0:05:48.694
I could hardly pass prep school.

0:05:48.694,0:05:52.164
First year, as I said,[br]I had fail grades on my academic record.

0:05:52.550,0:05:55.780
My father thought the reason[br]for that was my interest in theatre.

0:05:56.346,0:05:58.396
But he had an interest in art too.

0:05:58.965,0:06:00.584
He read poems well.

0:06:00.584,0:06:03.274
He even wrote poems; at least he tried.

0:06:03.274,0:06:06.924
I said, "Don't mess with my theatre[br]and I'll bring you that diploma."

0:06:07.863,0:06:09.515
Promise? Promise.

0:06:09.852,0:06:11.922
That's the reason for my rebelling.

0:06:12.309,0:06:14.309
In order to escape to theatre quickly,

0:06:15.502,0:06:18.332
I saved my allowance by doing theatre

0:06:18.332,0:06:22.272
in the Ankara Public Theatre[br]and the Ankara Art Theatre.

0:06:22.567,0:06:23.756
I did theatre,

0:06:23.756,0:06:27.506
and as soon as I presented[br]this diploma to my father,

0:06:27.707,0:06:30.197
the first thing I did[br]was to run to the Conservatory.

0:06:30.197,0:06:31.815
I got into the theatre department.

0:06:31.815,0:06:34.200
I swear, I graduated, ranking first again.

0:06:34.439,0:06:37.599
But this time it was not like...[br]I really graduated, ranking first.

0:06:38.001,0:06:41.151
Then began the story[br]of the State Theatres.

0:06:42.292,0:06:44.033
I entered the State Theatres.

0:06:44.033,0:06:45.673
I was appointed to Trabzon.

0:06:46.230,0:06:48.200
In those times, I loved the theatre.

0:06:48.374,0:06:50.814
On the first day[br]when I watched the theatre,

0:06:50.814,0:06:52.903
it was like love at first sight.

0:06:52.903,0:06:54.283
It was like that for me.

0:06:54.283,0:06:56.243
It was like a monster inside me.

0:06:56.699,0:06:59.779
I couldn't sleep without it.[br]Even my dreams were about theatre.

0:07:00.272,0:07:03.694
I went to Trabzon as a graduate,[br]an actor and an employee

0:07:03.694,0:07:06.124
for the State Theatre,

0:07:06.124,0:07:10.604
but I felt tremendous pressure[br]because of my political views.

0:07:11.285,0:07:13.645
Because I started in Ankara State Theatre,

0:07:13.645,0:07:16.289
continued in Ankara Art Theatre,[br]graduated from METU;

0:07:16.289,0:07:18.905
so I don't need to say[br]what was my opinion.

0:07:19.476,0:07:22.116
I felt great pressure on me[br]from the administration.

0:07:22.116,0:07:23.616
Or I thought so.

0:07:23.833,0:07:27.863
And I was interfering[br]in all kinds of mistakes, injustices,

0:07:28.273,0:07:31.908
and I was opposing them,[br]I was an opponent, a rebel to the core.

0:07:32.145,0:07:33.825
That made the administration angry,

0:07:34.035,0:07:35.975
and they imposed many punishments on me.

0:07:36.510,0:07:41.647
And I started to get tired, afraid,

0:07:41.647,0:07:43.344
and I felt daunted.

0:07:43.718,0:07:48.678
One night, I said, "There's no sense[br]in dissenting and opposing so much,

0:07:48.678,0:07:51.821
I better get along[br]with the administration.

0:07:52.459,0:07:53.669
I give up."

0:07:55.010,0:07:57.730
Just then, I saw books[br]I loved in the library.

0:07:58.465,0:08:00.235
There were books by Nazım.

0:08:01.108,0:08:05.848
I took one of them,[br]Bursa Prison, and read it.

0:08:06.335,0:08:09.175
He spent 13 years in prison, 13 years.

0:08:09.567,0:08:12.947
There he wrote poems and sagas.

0:08:13.403,0:08:16.033
He taught painting to the people there.

0:08:16.971,0:08:20.181
He learnt weaving from them.[br]He resisted for 13 years.

0:08:20.739,0:08:22.809
And I couldn't resist 13 months, huh?

0:08:22.809,0:08:25.186
How shameful! I felt ashamed.

0:08:25.186,0:08:29.158
I said, "The issue[br]is not about being captured,

0:08:29.158,0:08:31.226
it's all about standing firm."

0:08:31.844,0:08:35.174
And there, for the first time,[br]I decided to stand firm.

0:08:36.663,0:08:39.104
Then, while my life continued in Trabzon,

0:08:39.104,0:08:41.344
Melih Cevdet Anday[br]came to Trabzon one day.

0:08:42.130,0:08:45.730
I was opposing the administration again.

0:08:47.108,0:08:48.398
I was vociferous.

0:08:48.694,0:08:50.594
It got Melih Cevdet Anday's attention.

0:08:50.847,0:08:53.122
He said, "Can I ask[br]you something, young man?"

0:08:53.122,0:08:54.429
"Sure," I said.

0:08:54.429,0:08:56.649
"Do you know Galileo?" he said.

0:08:57.165,0:09:00.175
And I said, "Of course,[br]I know Galileo, sir, I'm a physicist,

0:09:00.175,0:09:03.449
and Bertolt Brecht's play about him[br]was performed in Ankara Theatre.

0:09:03.672,0:09:06.312
I've played in it;[br]it was my first play as a trainee."

0:09:06.312,0:09:07.378
"Well," he said,

0:09:07.692,0:09:09.917
"do you know Giordano Bruno?"

0:09:09.917,0:09:12.397
"Of course," I said, [br]"there is a play about him too.

0:09:12.397,0:09:13.445
I've read it as well."

0:09:13.445,0:09:14.921
"I liked it very much," I said.

0:09:14.921,0:09:18.411
And in the story I'm going to tell[br]later on, I had the opportunity to play

0:09:18.411,0:09:21.201
the role of Giordano Bruno[br]in Ankara State Theatre.

0:09:22.277,0:09:23.677
"Yes, I know him," I said.

0:09:24.044,0:09:25.794
"So, which one is right?" he asked,

0:09:26.339,0:09:29.349
"Which one do you approve of?"

0:09:30.038,0:09:31.838
"Giordano Bruno, of course," I said.

0:09:31.838,0:09:33.113
He said, "Why?"

0:09:33.113,0:09:37.073
"Because Galileo had given up,[br]became scared, took a step back;

0:09:37.984,0:09:41.154
he said that the world[br]wasn't the centre of the universe,

0:09:41.828,0:09:45.901
but he took a step back[br]when he saw the inquisition's tormentors,

0:09:45.901,0:09:46.953
he purposely lied.

0:09:46.953,0:09:51.482
Okay, he went home, and under house arrest[br]he wrote his last work,

0:09:51.482,0:09:53.512
but he still denied himself.

0:09:53.660,0:09:55.220
But is Giordano like that?

0:09:55.220,0:09:58.722
He resisted torture[br]from the Inquisition for seven years,

0:09:58.722,0:10:01.617
and they even nailed his tongue[br]to his palate to silence him,

0:10:01.617,0:10:04.424
but he tore his palate and said,

0:10:04.424,0:10:05.620
'God is within every man,

0:10:05.620,0:10:07.666
the world isn't the centre[br]of the universe.'

0:10:07.666,0:10:10.046
Of course, I support[br]and believe this man."

0:10:10.914,0:10:12.924
He said, "How old are you, my son?"

0:10:13.259,0:10:14.549
I said, "28."

0:10:14.933,0:10:17.203
He said, "Let's talk again[br]when you're 48."

0:10:17.203,0:10:18.366
(Laughter)

0:10:18.366,0:10:21.966
I'm 55 years old, and thank God,[br]I still believe in Giordano Bruno,

0:10:21.966,0:10:23.386
I still defend him.

0:10:24.007,0:10:25.877
(Applause)

0:10:29.185,0:10:34.365
Of course, it's impossible for me to be[br]as stubborn and brave as Giordano Bruno,

0:10:34.643,0:10:37.770
but at least Giordano Bruno[br]is always in my heart.

0:10:37.770,0:10:40.948
And the day when I played[br]the role in Ankara State Theatre,

0:10:41.519,0:10:43.129
it was Saturday.

0:10:44.363,0:10:48.033
I experienced something[br]which caused me to appreciate

0:10:48.033,0:10:52.853
the reason and determination[br]of my profession choice

0:10:52.853,0:10:55.273
and my persistence, my stubbornness.

0:10:56.086,0:10:59.261
There were some lively youngsters there.

0:10:59.735,0:11:01.265
And some of our friends said,

0:11:01.265,0:11:03.685
"Some people brought along[br]middle school children.

0:11:03.685,0:11:06.005
This is a dense play, [br]should we perform it?"

0:11:06.531,0:11:10.449
Because Giordano agonises[br]and is burnt at the end.

0:11:10.449,0:11:12.569
He even tears his tongue[br]while being burnt.

0:11:13.097,0:11:16.147
"Never mind," we said, "let's do it."[br]And we performed it.

0:11:16.820,0:11:19.510
When it was over, [br]some of the students ran to the exit.

0:11:19.884,0:11:24.119
From their clothes,[br]it was obvious they were from the slums,

0:11:24.119,0:11:28.457
that they were poor.

0:11:29.758,0:11:31.608
Well, they wanted to talk to me.

0:11:32.132,0:11:35.752
They said the name of their school.[br]I don't remember its name,

0:11:35.889,0:11:38.509
but probably it was[br]in a poor neighbourhood.

0:11:38.887,0:11:40.817
I asked if they were from middle school.

0:11:40.817,0:11:42.651
They said they were from high school.

0:11:42.651,0:11:43.892
"High school first grade?"

0:11:43.892,0:11:45.242
"No, last grade," they said.

0:11:45.242,0:11:48.175
I said, "But there's a university[br]entrance exam tomorrow."

0:11:48.175,0:11:51.747
And they said that their teachers[br]brought them here to reassure them

0:11:51.747,0:11:54.012
and not to think[br]of the exam on the last day.

0:11:54.389,0:11:55.909
"How nice," I said.

0:11:55.909,0:11:57.549
Then a girl came over ...

0:12:01.718,0:12:04.598
I'm sorry, I find this really moving.

0:12:06.478,0:12:09.598
She said, "I want to go to university,

0:12:09.598,0:12:12.372
I know that it's important[br]to study at a university.

0:12:12.518,0:12:16.428
But after watching this,[br]I'm definitely going to university."

0:12:17.544,0:12:21.184
It was a record for me to gain[br]even one person in this profession.

0:12:21.751,0:12:23.011
The greatest success.

0:12:23.303,0:12:24.773
(Applause)

0:12:31.500,0:12:34.820
I knew I'd be excited,[br]but I've never thought I'd cry.

0:12:36.000,0:12:40.240
I really never felt the ebb and flow[br]in my interest in theatre.

0:12:40.686,0:12:44.136
I decided from the very beginning,[br]I fell in love from the beginning

0:12:44.679,0:12:47.539
and always loved it,[br]because I believed in theatre.

0:12:48.318,0:12:53.328
I believed that theatre would make me[br]a truer, better person.

0:12:53.719,0:12:55.059
I hope it did.

0:12:55.717,0:12:56.783
Thank you.

0:12:56.783,0:12:58.043
(Applause)