Selin Yeninci, who made a successful start in her career with professional plays such as "Macbeth" and "Don Juan's Night at the Game Workshop" with Haluk Bilginer, took part in many projects that broke Türkiye's rating records. The famous actress, who is remembered as a much-talked-about yet gifted artist, also received a standing ovation for several minutes at the Cannes Film Festival with her movie "Kurak Günler."

Acting has taken a deep-rooted place in our lives as an art that takes its core material from the pure reality of humans, nature and the universe – "life" – without resorting to "secondhand reality" like cinema or television for living images. The most important point to be noticed in the art of acting is that all seen and existing things are based on miracles. The teaching of Stella Adler, one of the trainers who popularized Stanislavski's method of acting in the United States and across the world, emphasizes that physical identity is the most important part of the character.

When I asked Selin a few questions about characterization, which is the most important subject of acting, it didn't take long for me to see the sparkle in her eyes when she said: "I am excited to play characters that will transform me individually. I ask myself what I want to be now, by asking myself and honestly determining where I am personally on my human and artistic journey. ''

"I shut myself off from the outside world. Then, as I play, I live with the character I play all day, until the last episode. I imagine it down to the everyday reactions of the character. The issue that I need to be disciplined for is the continuity of my effort not to miss my own life," she added.

Action and 'self-actualization'

Actors create the character they want to reveal, not with emotions, but with actions. Based on this thought, they ask themselves, "what are the differences between me and the character I play, no matter how small?" What the actor has to portray is the differences between the character's personality and their own, and that's what makes the actor's play artistic and engaging for us.

"The roles I chose have always transformed me, and the transformation is challenging. You have to digest the process and its effects. You need to know your body, you need to monitor your mind and yourself, and you need to follow your performance and make interventions to improve it. You experience all these while working on the set. Deep, a little dark, but fun," she explained.

When we see that the similarities between the character's personality and the actor's personality spontaneously exist, the only reason for the performance of the actor to take a place in long memories is the fact that each role is based on authenticity in its action. That's why the art of acting brings the ability to approach the art of living with a cultural perspective, and of course, we, the audience.

"In this profession, where you can touch the life of a 10-year-old girl watching you, it seems like there is a strong desire above all of this."

The actors, who are the most important building block and life-givers of the art of acting, try to fulfill their duty in the best way in the work that is repeated every time. This means maintaining the line of acting captured in rehearsals and recognizing and expanding the actor's own mental and physical limits in each performance.

"We call drama what we blend conflict with creativity and get somewhere from here. Therefore, in every scene I play, I have to approach a problem creatively so that the moment is real and watchable, and most importantly, to find the right rhythm,'' she said.

If we consider creativity "to reveal and do something new that has not been seen before, by using the mind and imagination," then dramaturgical analyzes are like the unconscious, or rather, the compass for turning to the creative.

"Creativity is important here because it allows us to overcome obstacles with joy and calmness. Also, creativity breaks the game and creates other possibilities. So this is how we get the solution,'' she added.

The beginning of the creation process of a series of projects or movies is parallel to the life of society. While the audience to whom these productions will give a message shapes their own perception according to their own culture, an audience of all ages who receive the message measures the success of this virtual reality. It is concerned with how well the message is conveyed through the screenplay.

Although there are various criteria for the famous actress, she conveys a few details that are most distant to her: "The script has to have a problem and be aesthetic. If these are not there, I cannot surrender while I am reading. Meticulous and passionate stories with problems and aesthetics always make me very thrilled, whether I am a part of it or not. Also, it is very important that the script makes me stand up when I am alone at home in the first reading. If I stand up while reading a script or character and start saying the lines aloud, the choice becomes a lot easier!"

'Everything, everyone is an inspiration'

Expressing that she is always open to living with inspiration from many moments of life and that she enjoys living, watching, observing and new experiences, nature, animals, poems, every branch of art and even an ordinary moment inspires her.

Talking about the characters she wanted to portray and is inspired by, the famous actress mentioned that she wants to play a heroine who grew up, trained, and struggled in this land one day without questioning her ethnic identity. ''Afife Jale, Sabiha Gökçen, Bedia Muvahhit, Aysel Gürel, Şule Gürbüz. Our wonderful women with sand in our mortar. It would be an honor for me to play them all," she said.

"Once Upon a Time Çukurova," a project that has been worked on for a long time has great importance for Selin Yeninci in her career. "The fact that they called me personally and told me how happy it would be for them to play the role, that the director is one of the most successful and experienced directors in the Turkish TV series industry, and of course, it was written by an author I admire, helped me a lot. I loved it a lot,'' she said.

Referring to herself as a ruthless person, she said that she understands herself better every time as she dares to see the big picture, and uses this as a driving force in seeing the whole scenario.

"One changes and develops every day, and as long as they exist, Sometimes the person you think you've found is in yesterday," she almost sees life as a playground to practice what she has witnessed inside. That's why Shakespeare must have said, "all the world is a stage," referring to an endless journey and a never-ending exercise.

Womanhood, motherhood

Everyone has something to say about motherhood, except the mother. Thus, motherhood ceased to be a part of a woman's individual life and became a domination that was condemned to be controlled and approved by society. There is nothing sadder than it is easy to conclude that many women are questioned about their motherhood by their family members, close friends and people they have never met, and as a result, various interventions are made.

"For decades our cultures have imprisoned the family, especially motherhood, and protected it with a strange immunity. We grew up with these teachings. Unfortunately, we were brought up with an unexplained shame associated with questions asked, and the person asking those questions. Therefore, family relationships are always woven with secrets, unexpressed anger and imbalances,'' she said.

As a production that aims to reveal that motherhood is one of the most important values ​​given to women, "Annenin Sırrıdır Çocuk" ("The Child is the Secret Of the Mother") series, found its place in social media and inspired research. Starring actors such as Selin Yeninci, Irem Helvacıoğlu, Engin Öztürk and Olgun Toker, the series deals with their confrontation with the past that they are trying to cover up.

"'Come on, it's time, let's get our hands on the stone,' I said to myself when I decided to play Meryem," she said.

Through her character, she took the "Does the crime belong to the individual or the society?" philosophy as her motto. "In a world where courage and rebellion are coded as 'bad,' especially if the subject is a woman, 'what is a crime, who do we call guilty?' she elaborates.

"It was a story that aimed to make people ask questions such as 'Are we as a society blind to the points that people darken during the liberation process, are we part of this evil as a society?' There was a very strong conflict in this aspect of the story,'' she added.

'Atilla Ilhan' as driving force

Although it is perceived that artistic applications are made with sincere desire and enthusiasm, it is an indisputable fact that the actors went through various difficulties in the process until they created their own artistic expressions. When we try to fit the literal meaning of holiness in every area of ​​life, we see that we are actually in a deep flow toward our inner journey. In fact, all these are liberating existential inquiries that motivate us strongly toward the work we do.

"When I started to spread the sense of surrender that I felt only while playing games in my daily life, 'balance' became a more correct word for me than holy. I think this made my continuity er and made me look at my career more realistically," she said.

"I love to read poetry. There is an Atilla Ilhan poem that always pulls me toward it'' she shared.