Selim Bayraktar Talks About His Role as Çandarlı Halil Pasha and ‘Fatih: Sultan of Conquests’ – Exclusive Interview

The TRT series Fatih: Sultan of Conquests tells the inspiring story of Fatih Sultan Mehmed, the visionary leader who reshaped history. Now in its second season, the series continues to captivate audiences and achieve high ratings. Following its presentation at MIPCOM, the series will be introduced internationally at DICM 2024.

For our DICM 2024 issue, we had the opportunity to speak with lead actor Selim Bayraktar to delve deeper into the show.

Selim Bayraktar: Çandarlı’s struggles when making decisions in state governance, his efforts to balance personal interests with those of the state, were some of the themes I reflected on while portraying him. Showing both strength and vulnerability at the same time makes the character more realistic and relatable for the audience.

When portraying one of the Ottoman Empire’s most influential figures, like Çandarlı, how did you approach the character’s historical authenticity and inner conflict? What were the most challenging aspects of this role for you?

Portraying such a significant figure brings a great responsibility, in terms of staying true to historical facts but also reflecting the depth of the character’s inner world. When playing a character like this, the first critical step is to conduct historical research and to understand the social, political, and cultural structure of the era. Çandarlı Halil Pasha was a significant vizier who had a powerful influence in the early period of the Ottoman Empire’s governance. His strength, his loyalty to the state, and at the same time, his desire to protect his own interests created internal conflicts that add depth to the character. One of the most challenging aspects of such roles is bringing a human dimension to a historical figure. Historical figures are often perceived as distant unreachable, so humanizing them, showing that they, too, had fears, weaknesses, and hopes, can be a major challenge for an actor.

In particular, balancing the strategic intellect, strong presence, and occasional internal struggles of a character like Çandarlı, who was deeply involved in political intrigue, is one of the difficulties of the role. Moreover, exploring the emotional depth of a historical character is a completely another challenge. Çandarlı’s struggles when making decisions in state governance, his efforts to balance personal interests with those of the state, were some of the themes I reflected on while portraying him. Showing both strength and vulnerability at the same time makes the character more realistic and relatable for the audience.

Your mastery of swordsmanship in the series has received acclaim from the audience. What kind of training process did you go through to develop this skill, and how did your physical preparation progress?

Skills like swordsmanship are especially important in period dramas. A serious preparation process is required to deliver realistic and impactful scenes for the audience. For me, the most important step was the intensive training with professional swordmasters and fight choreographers. These sessions helped me learn both the techniques of handling a sword and the choreography we’d use in scenes. Our trainers taught us historical combat techniques as well as safe, stage-friendly fighting methods. This allowed us to accurately reflect the character’s combat skills from that era while creating visually compelling scenes on screen. The physical preparation wasn’t limited to just sword training. I also followed a regular exercise program to build endurance, balance, speed, and reflexes.

You were previously known for portraying the historical character Sümbül Ağa, another figure from a different era. Did your past experience with such roles contribute to your portrayal of a powerful statesman like Çandarlı?

Yes, portraying Sümbül was truly important experience for me, and it greatly contributed to my role as a strong statesman like Çandarlı. Although both characters are set in the Ottoman period, Sümbül Ağa was primarily involved in palace intrigues, harem life, and the emotional aspects of that era. His sharp wit, strategic perspective, and diplomatic demeanor inspired me while portraying Çandarlı as well. The period knowledge I gained from playing Sümbül helped me understand the psychological and social dynamics of the environment surrounding the character. Being involved in aspects like Ottoman-era research, costumes, and set design gave me a solid foundation about the period.

Even though Sümbül Ağa is very different from a high-ranking statesman like Çandarlı, the experience provided me with insight in terms of the power dynamics and political games within the palace, which gave me an advantage. The period experience and understanding of palace intrigues I gained through Sümbül laid essential groundwork for portraying a much more powerful and complex character like Çandarlı. The differences between the two characters encouraged me to be more flexible and creative as an actor.

Selim Bayraktar: Çandarlı Halil Pasha was a significant vizier who had a powerful influence in the early period of the Ottoman Empire’s governance.

International audiences especially know you through Magnificent Century and Rise of Empires. You’re a very experienced actor in period dramas. What are the most valuable skills or awareness you’ve gained from these types of productions?

These types of productions requires significant attention and preparation to stay true to historical accuracy and to bring the character to life within the conditions of that era. One of the most important things I’ve learned through this process is how deep research and understanding the historical period can shape one’s acting.

First, it’s crucial to blend external elements; such as costumes, language, expressions, and period-specific gestures, with the character’s inner world. Since historical series require capturing the essence of the era, understanding how a character thought, felt, and acted within the social and cultural conditions of that time adds another layer to the performance. This isn’t just about exploring the emotional depth of the character but also understanding how they interacted with their period.

Another challenge I encountered in historical series is the importance of body language and physical preparation. Back then, war techniques, postures that conveyed authority, and even everyday movements were quite different compared to today. So, developing physical skills like swordsmanship and horseback riding became essential for achieving realism in these productions.

There are a lot of Ottoman Turkish words in the series, and even pronouncing them must take considerable effort.

Of course, conveying the language and style of that period accurately requires its own dedicated work. Accurately pronouncing words in dialogues with Old Turkish or Ottoman Turkish words is a major responsibility in helping transport the audience back to that time.

One of the greatest insights I’ve gained from such productions is that historical events are not just facts; they’re filled with complex emotions and relationships that touch people’s lives. Every character, living within that period, struggles with their own fears, passions, and ambitions. For me, this offered a chance to approach each character from a more human and deep perspective. In short, being part of historical series has provided me with not only the discipline to bring history to life but also the depth to truly feel the spirit of that era and convey it to the audience.

This interview with Selim Bayraktar was featured in Episode Magazine’s DICM 2024 issue.