Quick Facts
Biography
Aylin Tezel (pronounces her name like Eileen Tetsel, born 29 November 1983 in Bünde, Germany) is a German actress. Her father is Necmettin Tezel, a Turkish medical doctor practicing in Bielefeld, Germany. Her mother is Ingrid Tezel, a German nurse. She is a middle child, having an older sister and a younger brother. She is most known for her main role in the film "Almanya - Welcome to Germany" which premiered at the Berlin International Film Festival in 2011 and for her main role in the film "Am Himmel der Tag" (En: "Breaking Horizons") for which she received the Best Actress Award at the Torino Film Festival in 2012.
Life and career
Aylin Tezel was born in Bünde and grew up in the Bielefeld district of Sennestadt. There she studied dance from the age of six and graduated from the Hans Ehrenberg private evangelical school. She studied acting at the Ernst Busch Academy of Dramatic Arts in Berlin. After her film debut in the arthouse feature "Unschuld" (2008) she played a central role in Oliver Kienle’s award- winning film "Closer Than Blood" (First Steps Award 2010).
The actress was especially noted for her role in Yasemin Şamdereli’s film "Almanya - Welcome to Germany", which premiered at the 61st Berlin International Film Festival and won the Deutscher Filmpreis (German Film Award) in 2011. The film was a big hit in German cinemas and had cinema releases in many countries. During Christmas 2011, Tezel was seen as Cinderella in Uwe Janson’s TV film "Aschenputtel" and soon afterwards in one of the main roles as a young cop in Germany’s most popular cop series Tatort. Irish director Shimmy Marcus gave her the main part in his short film "Rhinos" (2011) which premiered at the CFC Worldwide Short Film Festival in Toronto, Canada and was nominated for an Award at the Irish Film & Television Awards in 2013.
In 2012 there were cinema releases of her films "3 Zimmer/Küche/Bad" (engl. "Move") and "Breaking Horizons" (original Title: "Am Himmel der Tag"). Pola Beck’s "Breaking Horizons" won the Award for Best Film in German-language feature film competition at the 8th Zurich Film Festival and Aylin Tezel received the Best Actress Award at the 30th Torino Film Festival.
Most recently Aylin Tezel has filmed Marco Kreuzpaintner’s new feature "Coming In" which was released by Warner Bros. in October 2014, playing female lead Heidi who falls for a gay star- hairdresser (Kostja Ullmann). She played female lead Sabine in Irish Robert Manson’s forthcoming debut feature film "Lost in the Living". In the feature "Macho Man", the film version of a German bestseller she plays the female lead alongside German actor Christian Ulmen and Danish actor Dar Salim. The film was released on October 29, 2015 by Universum Film.
Tezel took voice lessons from the late voice coach Julia Wilson-Dickson in London to improve her opportunities for English language roles.
Selected Filmography
| Year | Title | Original Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | Whom Honor is due | Wem Ehre gebührt | Selda Özkan (L) | Tatort TV series episode |
| 2008 | Innocence | Unschuld | Derya (L) | |
| 2009 | Closer than Blood | Bis aufs Blut - Brüder auf Bewährung | Sina (S) | First Steps Award 2010 |
| 2010 | Bloch | Bloch - Inshallah | Dalia (L) | (TV Film) |
| 2011 | Almanya - Welcome to Germany | Almanya - Willkommen in Deutschland | Canan (L) | 61st Berlin International Film Festival Competition, Deutscher Filmpreis 2011 for Best Film, Best Screenplay |
| 2011 | Cinderella | Aschenputtel | Aschenputtel (L) | (TV Film) |
| 2012 | Move | 3 Zimmer/Küche/Bad | Maria (L) | |
| 2012 | Breaking Horizons | Am Himmel der Tag | Lara (L) | Best German Language Film Award at Zurich Film Festival 2012, Best Actress Award at Torino Film Festival 2012, Best Upcoming Actress at German Actors Awards 2013, Best Actress at Sehsüchte Film Festival 2013 |
| 2012 | Rhinos | Rhinos | Ingrid (L) | (Shortfilm) Nominated for Best Shortfilm at Irish Film & Television Awards 2012, Prix du Public Best Film, Brest European Short Film Festival 2012, Audience Award Best International Short Film, Corona Cork Film Festival 2012 |
| 2012 - 2016 | Tatort | Tatort Dortmund | Nora Dalay (L) | (TV series) 9 episodes |
| 2013 | Kleine Schiffe | Kleine Schiffe | Lilli (L) | (TV Film) |
| 2013 | Inhale | Tanz mit ihr | Sie (L) | (Shortfilm) Director, Producer, Actress, Choreographer Berlin & Beyond Film Festival San Francisco, Cork Film Festival, to be released on Arte in 2015 |
| 2014 | Coming In | Coming In | Heidi (L) | |
| 2014 | To Life! | Auf das Leben! | Emily (S) | Vienna Film Award 2015 |
| 2015 | Macho Man | Macho Man | Aylin (L) | Release date: October 29, 2015 |
| 2015 | Lost in the Living | Lost in the Living | Sabine (L) | Release date: tba |
| 2015 | Why is This Night Different? | Why is This Night Different? | Amena (S) | Homeland TV series episode aired October 25, 2015 |
| 2016 | The Informant | Die Informantin | Aylin (L) | (TV Film) aired March 19, 2016 plays lead character with same first name as her own |
| 2017 | The Yellow Birds | The Yellow Birds | Claudia (S) |
Awards and nominations
| Year | Award | Category | Project | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Torino Film Festival | Best Actress | Breaking Horizons | Won |
| 2013 | Askania Award | Shooting Star | Tatort, Aschenputtel, Am Himmel der Tag | Won |
| 2013 | Sehsüchte Film Festival | Best Acting | Am Himmel der Tag | Won |
| 2013 | German Film Critics Association Awards | Best Actress | Am Himmel der Tag, 3 Zimmer/Küche/Bad | Nominated |
| 2013 | German Actors Award | Best upcoming actress | Am Himmel der Tag | Won |
| 2013 | Hessischer Film-und Kinopreis | Best Actress | Am Himmel der Tag | Nominated |
| 2015 | German Actors Award | Best actress in a comedy role | Kleine Schiffe | Won |
| 2015 | Jupiter Award | Best TV-Actress | Am Himmel der Tag, Tatort | Nominated |