Born into a mixed heritage-his mother’s family descended from Turkish immigrants from Thessaloniki and his father’s from the Kurdish Şêxbizin tribe of Kars and Yerevan-Rıza Kocaoğlu grew up in İzmir and completed formal training at the theater department of Dokuz Eylül University. Launching his screen career in 2001, he quickly became a recognizable presence in Turkish cinema and television, most…
