“I found out today that I have British fans as well. I didn’t know that yet,” Can Yaman says as he overlooks London’s Leicester Square from its Odeon cinema, where he just gave potential buyers and other TV industry folks a first taste of the epic pirate adventure series Sandokan, a new adaptation of Emilio Salgari’s popular late 19th century book series from Lux Vide, a Fremantle company, in collaboration with RAI Fiction.
A group of fans waiting outside the cinema is waving up to him, and Yaman waves back, to the delight of the crowd.
The Sandokan saga will air on RAI 1 in Italy, with Fremantle International distributing the show internationally, except for Spain, where Mediterráneo Mediaset España Group is handling it. And Turkish star Yaman (Dolunay, Violet Like the Sea), who has by some been called “the Turkish Jason Momoa” and has a cult-like following in such places as Italy, Spain, Portugal, India, the Arabic world, and Latin America, is setting sail to conquer an even bigger global fan base as the legendary pirate.
He has been enjoying his visit to the British capital. “I feel like a London guy now. Because I was born in Istanbul, I need chaos a little bit, and London is perfect,” Yaman tells THR, speaking fast and with confidence. “So, I should be popular here. I need my entourage around – I can’t live alone.”
Looking out at Leicester Square, it is clear that this won’t be a problem at all. In fact, the star recognizes at least one of the women in the group. “This Spanish lady follows me,” he explains. “When I go to Brazil or somewhere, she will be at the airport.”
He smiles as he expresses his gratitude and pride. “I’m proud of my fans because they’re loyal. They never leave me alone anywhere I go,” Yaman shares before highlighting his focus and ambition. “But now with Sandokan, I hope that I will also reach another level of fandom and fans in other countries, maybe in the United States and in Northern countries.”
How does his family react to Yaman’s ever-growing fan base? “My mom is always crying,” with pride, he says, adding with a laugh: “And my father is keeping it cool. He’s like: ‘I knew it. I always knew it’.”
The original 1976 TV series, which landed in more than 85 countries, made Sandokan a household name in many parts of the globe and turned actor Kabir Bedi into a Bollywood superstar. The new version, based on an idea by Lux Vide CEO Luca Bernabei and developed for TV by Alessandro Sermoneta (Devils), Scott Rosenbaum (The Shield), and Davide Lantieri (Monterossi), with Jan Maria Michelini (Devils) and Nicola Abbatangelo (Doc) serving as directors, could well catapult Yaman to universal star status.
But Yaman also praises the creative team and his fellow cast members, who include British newcomer Alanah Bloor (Waves) as Lady Marianne, the spirited daughter of the British consul x, Ed Westwick (Gossip Girl, Children of Men) as the villainous Lord James Brooke, Alessandro Preziosi (The Doctors, Black Out), John Hannah (The Last of Us, Four Weddings and a Funeral, The Mummy), Madeleine Price, Gilberto Gliozzi (Them, I delitti del Barlume), Mark Grosy (Zero Zero Zero), and Samuele Segreto (Stranizza d’amuri, The Hour).
Can Yaman in ‘Sandokan’
Courtesy of Fremantle
“Action adventure at its best, built on a fantastic pirate franchise, it’s a premium series full of fun and escapism, brought to life by our spectacular ensemble cast,” promises Bernabei.
And Jens Richter, CEO, commercial and international, at Fremantle, says: “Sandokan is not just a story about pirates, or about history, or adventures in exotic lands… Sandokan is all of these and more. It’s a story about love: one of the first multicultural romances of our times, and, never more so than today, a symbol of a passionate and peaceful answer to hate and division.”
A show synopsis reads: “In Borneo, a tropical paradise inhabited by the native Dayak tribes, but dominated by the ruthless law of the colonialist British, Sandokan is a pirate who lives by the day: he fights only for himself and his crew. … But his life changes when during a raid he meets Marianne, the beautiful daughter of the British consul in Labuan. It is the beginning of an impossible love affair between two similar souls: Marianne, of European and noble blood, but with the wild spirit of someone who grew up in a tropical paradise, and Sandokan, a pirate and adventurer, who unknowingly carries in him the blood of ancient warrior kings. On their trail will be the legendary pirate hunter Lord James Brooke, who will stop at nothing to capture Sandokan and win Marianne’s heart.”
As the saga unfolds, Sandokan will have to evolve and become the legendary “Tiger of Malaya.”
That mirrors the path of Yaman, who is clearly ready for global superstardom and showed as much in getting ready for Sandokan over the course of several months, including the loss of more than 10 kilos, physical training, and working with an English dialect coach. “Thanks to that preparation and thanks to the harmony on set, my acting parts were not that hard, because I was ready,” he tells THR. “The most grueling parts were all physical scenes. Because when you see a two-minute scene, you know it took us maybe 10 hours to film.”
Yaman, 35, clearly believes that his life so far has prepared him for this next career step.
After choosing to learn English before high school, “my mother wanted me to learn Italian as a second foreign language, so I did Italian high school,” he explains. During his last year of high school, he traveled to the U.S. as an exchange student. “I went to Athens, Ohio and stayed with a family to do American high school.”
Can Yaman on the set of ‘Sandokan’
Courtesy of Fremantle
Once he finished high school, he went to law school and ended up working for PricewaterhouseCoopers. Did he always want to ultimately become an actor? “No, I did not want to go into acting,” he tells THR. “I always wanted to be an international maritime lawyer because I knew languages. And then I met my agent.”
The agent wanted to launch his own practice with a partner who knew men’s fashion. “They were intending to create a star out of a no-name in Turkey back then,” Yaman explains. “Nobody did that back then. They were not working with established stars but exploring and creating a new style. I was one of the first guys that they met, and then they started giving me lessons and taking care of my style.”
Within months, Yaman secured an acting role in a series. And he kept going from there.
Turkey’s tradition of long-running dramas and soap operas got Yaman, who sounds full of energy as is, used to putting the pedal to the metal when it comes to production work.
“In Turkey, when you start a series, it goes on forever,” he says with a smile. “We are producing a lot because there are a lot of channels and a lot of rivalry. So, Turkish series go on forever, and the actors get to train a lot by working.”
Obsessed with languages, the actor has already starred as the lead in Turkish, Italian, and English series, the latter thanks to El Turco and, now, the premium international show Sandokan.
But Yaman is not one to rest on his laurels. With production on season 1 completed, he is learning Spanish for his next step towards global domination.
“I have been taking Spanish classes for several months,” Yaman tells THR. “A teacher is coming to my house every day, and it’s four hours of studying together every day. Now we are done with the grammar. I know the grammar. So, all I do is speak, read and watch Spanish movies and series. I feel I have reached a level where I can communicate in Spanish, and I know that I can act in Spanish.”
Have I mentioned that the Turkish star is driven, focused and ambitious? “My objective is to find new challenges in life,” he says. “I played the lead role in an Italian series. Then, I had the lead role in an English-language series. Now I intend to do the same in Spanish.”
Can Yaman in ‘Sandokan’
Courtesy of Fremantle
That sounds like a really rare feat, someone notes. “Probably, I’m going be the first guy who will be in a lead role in four different languages – Turkish, Italian, English and Spanish,” Yaman says.
Fans of his can bet on one thing – that he will keep carving a swashbuckling path across the entertainment world. In Sandokan, he shows off his action and athletic chops, in addition striking romantic and comedic tones. That was another challenge the actor enjoyed taking on. And for those who were treated to episode 1 of Sandokan, he vows that they won’t be disappointed with the seven following episodes. “It’s getting even more fun, even more action-packed, even more everything,” he says.
If you are curious if he prefers any genre, he wants to be able to do it all but may gravitate to the funny side of life. “I love comedy,” he shares with THR. “In Turkey, I did rom-coms. With that background, I have a comedy inclination. And I recently did a funny commercial in Egypt.”
Where will Sandokan take him? The adventurous Yaman, showing the spirit of Sandokan, is open to wherever opportunities open up. “I will see what’s going to happen and where it’s going to bring me,” he shares. “Maybe it’s going to bring me to the United States. Maybe it’s going to bring me to London. We’ll see! And in the meantime, I will do something in Spanish.”
Wherever Yaman’s rising star goes from here, he wants Sandokan to entertain audiences with a popcorn series and make them feel good at a time when conflict dominates the headlines. “Generally, Sandokan has this smile on his face, giving hope to everybody,” while overcoming various challenges through heroic feats, the Turkish star says. “So, he is a very positive character.”
