The British life magazine SleekAsian honored Engin Altan Düzyatan, the leading actor of the popular Turkish TV series "Diriliş Ertuğrul" ("Resurrection Ertuğrul"), with the "best actor" award.
An honorary dinner was held at the Royal Regency Hall in the capital London for Düzyatan by British citizens of Pakistani descent. Members of the House of Lords and the upper house of the British Parliament as well as several diplomats, including Liberal Democrat member of British House of Lords Qurban Hussain, former member of the European Parliament Wajid Khan, opposition Labor Party member of Parliament Imran Hussain, former member of the European Parliament Sajjad Karim and Turkey's Consul General in London Bekir Utku Atahan, attended the program.
During the event, SleekAsian presented Düzyatan with the best actor award. The producer of the series, Kemal Tekden, also received the best producer award. Tekden’s daughter, Nurbanu Tekden, accepted the award on her father's behalf at the organization.
Speaking to Anadolu Agency (AA) after the award ceremony, Düzyatan praised the organizers for arranging a very "enjoyable event." The actor also said that he would visit the House of Lords and the lower house of the British Parliament, the House of Commons. "This invitation was an honor for me," he added.
After the series "Resurrection Ertuğrul," often described as a Turkish "Game of Thrones," which follows the struggle of Ertuğrul Ghazi, father of the empire's first leader Osman I, Düzyatan appeared in "Barbaroslar: Akdeniz'in Kılıcı" ("Barbaros: Sword of the Mediterranean") in the role of Oruç Reis. Noting that he portrayed historical characters in TV series for many years, the actor said that he missed playing characters from daily life and therefore might take a break from historical productions.
Explaining that he has been working on an international motion picture project, Düzyatan said, "We are also developing new projects with the production company I own. Besides, we are evaluating projects from other companies. It is too early to talk about them yet, but we have new projects that we will be announced in a month or two."