Selim Bayraktar

Selim Bayraktar (born 17 June 1975) is an Iraqi-Turkish actor best known for his role as "Sümbül Ağa" in Muhteşem Yüzyıl. He received international recognition with his role in the Netflix original series Rise of Empires: Ottoman.

He is of Iraqi Turkmen background, from the city of Kirkuk.

Life and career Bayraktar was born in Kirkuk, Iraq, in 1975, to Iraqi Turkmen parents. As a child he began performing in gymnastic competitions. During the final days of the Iran–Iraq War, a body double of Saddam Hussein visited Bayraktar's school in order to recruit boys into the army; when Bayraktar was chosen to serve in the army his family decided to smuggle him into Turkey. He started working at the Turkish State Theatre after graduating from Hacettepe University in 2000.

Bayraktar speaks Turkish, Ottoman Turkish, Arabic, Kurdish, and English.

Filmography

Television Year Title Role Notes 2006 Köprü Erdal TV series Bir Bulut Olsam Mahmud Paşa TV series 2011–14 Muhteşem Yüzyıl Sümbül Ağa TV series 2016 Gecenin Kraliçesi Hakan TV series 2017 Çoban Yıldızı Zekkar Karakaya TV series Görünen Adam Eşref Şerif TV series 2017–18Ufak Tefek CinayetlerEdipTV series 2018 Ağlama Anne Ali Osman TV series 2019 Succession Zeynal (guest) TV series 2020 Rise of Empires: Ottoman Çandarlı Halil Pasha Web series 2020–21 Zümrüdüanka Abbas TV series 2021 Vahşi Şeyler Bora TV series 2021–2022 Destan Alpagu Khan TV series 2023 Veda Mektubu Ziya Karlı TV series 2024–2025 Mehmed: Fetihler Sultanı Çandarlı Halil Pasha TV series