Turkish-German actor Birol Ünel, leading role in
Fatih Akin's
Soul Kitchen
and
Head-On
films
, has died in Berlin at the age of 59, Berlin theater Maxim Gorki told AFP on Friday.
“
Unfortunately, I can confirm the death of Birol Ünel.
He died yesterday (Thursday) in Berlin from a serious illness,
”a theater spokesperson told AFP.
Birol Ünel was born in Turkey in 1961, before emigrating to Germany with his parents.
He attended the Hanover Conservatory, then played a number of roles in plays and on television, notably in the famous detective series
Tatort
.
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But it was his roles in the films of German director Fatih Akin that established his fame.
“
Rest in peace, my friend.
You had a light in you that has always dazzled me
, ”responded Fatih Akin on Instagram after the announcement of the death.
In
Head-On
, in 2004, Birol Ünel plays an alcoholic marginal who agrees to marry a young German of Turkish origin who wants at all costs to escape her very religious traditional family.
He received several performance awards in Europe after this role while the film won the Golden Bear at the Berlinale.
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Akin and Ünel rework together in 2010 for
Soul Kitchen
, an ode to miscegenation which received the Grand Jury Prize at the Venice Film Festival.
Ünel plays the irascible cook in a Hamburg restaurant.