Biography

While studying at the Department of Tourism and Hotel Management of Bogazici University, he started drawing comics for the Turkish humor magazine Leman. In August 1995 he did his first stand-up comedy show in "Leman Culture Center" performing with no serious career intentions as a comedian. However, after the positive response of the audience, he continued his show to attract larger crowds in Besiktas Cultural Center where he has appeared in over a thousand stand-up comedy shows since, becoming so popular that tickets have sold for 250TL (approx. US$140).

His movie career started in 1998 with a co-starring role in the comedy Her Sey Çok Güzel Olacak (1998), directed by Ömer Vargi, and continued with a role in Vizontele (2001), directed by Yilmaz Erdogan and Ömer Faruk Sorak. He achieved his greatest success by starring in and writing big-budget science-fiction parody G.O.R.A. (2004), also directed by Ömer Faruk Sorak, which despite spending several years in production because of financial and other technical problems became a box-office hit and described by Rekin Teksoy as a strong sign that showed that popular cinema was successful in appealing to wide audiences. He maintained this success with a starring role in the comedy feature movie Les affaires organisées (2005) AKA 'Magic Carpet Ride', also directed by Yilmaz Erdogan, for which he won Best Supporting Actor at the 11th Sadri Alisik Awards, and his directorial debut with Le saltimbanque (2006), co-directed by Ali Taner Baltaci, for which he won Best Actor at the 34th Brussels International Independent Film Festival and 12th Sadri Alisik Awards. He has since repeated his box office success with a sequel to G.O.R.A. (2004) called A.R.O.G (2008), also co-directed by Ali Taner Baltaci, and comedy Western parody called Yahsi Bati (2009), directed by Ömer Faruk Sorak. That same year, he co-starred, alongside veteran actor Sener Sen, in the police drama Av Mevsimi (2010), written and directed by Yavuz Turgul, and made a special appearance in drama Zefir (2010), written and directed by Belma Bas. After two years he also acted in Ferzan Özpetek's Magnifica Presenza (2012). After he filmed his last stand-up comedy show CM101MMXI Fundamentals (2013) directed by Murat Dündar, he announced that for the next few years he will stop his stand-up comedy shows to have a rest.

Along his professional career, he has won numerous awards and appeared in more than 4000 stand-up comedy shows, took part in 10 movies and contributed as a dubbing performer in 4 movies.

- IMDb mini biography by: Elmalma

Cem Yilmaz is a household name in Turkey. He is widely regarded as the face of Turkey's stand-up comedy scene and is arguably Turkey's most in-demand celebrity. His anecdotal humor and observational comedic style won him critical acclaim in his stand-up comedy act "Fundamentals." Since then, his career has blossomed into one of the most successful in entertainment. He is also widely respected as a filmmaker and actor.

Cem Yilmaz' target audience runs the gamut from university students to taxi drivers- an achievement that cannot be overstated in a country all too often known for its deep cultural divide. This unique reach has undoubtedly been pivotal to his success. As a result, the Turkish box offices have been very kind to him; the vast majority of his films are instant blockbusters.

While Cem Yilmaz' stand-up material is often Turkey-centric, his films have a considerable following abroad. Cem Yilmaz' films are also popular in Germany, where a large Turkish-German expatriate community flock to his newest releases.

- IMDb mini biography by: Max Lurya