Cause and Effect w/ Pınar Deniz

Our lives and what we’ve left to them… Or what we’ve taken from them. Sometimes the things we destroy outweigh what we create. There needs to be a reason for our existence. Why do we have to establish a cause and effect relationship? Is it a desire to feel more important? Back to square one; a passion to make our lives more meaningful. At a time when I got too immersed in this subject I met Yasemin Derin; introduced to me as a character portrayed brilliantly by Pınar Deniz in Disney+ Turkey’s new production, The Actress; someone who’s strong enough to challenge everything and everyone, yet fragile as well. I turn to Pınar as I watch… I am lucky enough to witness the journey from the moment she met the character for the first time, to the moment she watched the first episode of the series… She’s a woman who transforms herself with every new day, dreams for the better and never stops dreaming. “How close is she to cause and effect relationships?” I ask; “I think every action we create is rooted in a cause we brought from the past” she answers. The organisms we trod on as we run, the oxygen we consume through rapid breathing and most of all, the time that passes unaccounted for. Everything must have a reason; join me as I take Pınar by my side with some questions that I try to establish a cause-effect relationship!

“…sometimes what’s done is done, and it has no reason.” This sentence becomes etched in my mind after I watch the Actress. Let’s imagine both Yasemin Derin and Pınar Deniz; what feelings does this sentence unearth in you?

Pınar Deniz: I am one of those who think that there can be no action without reason. I know that every emotion I experience collides with another emotion deep down and turns into a new action as a result. Marlon Brando uttered the sentence “You are your memories” in a documentary I liked a lot. I believe that everything happens for a reason and it has roots in the days gone by, good or bad. Our experiences consist of moments that drive us to maturity, growth and prepare us for new possibilities.

How did you come up with the idea of acting?

Pınar Deniz: Acting wasn’t a profession that had always been in my mind. I think the people around me believed that I could be a good actor, more than I did. With their support, I signed up for an agency and was accepted for the role in my first audition. That’s how my adventure began. Once you taste this feeling, you go on pursuing it – at least that’s how the story started for me. I place the feeling of constant change and improvement at the center of my life.

What emotions predominate in a scenario that accelerates your heart beat?

Pınar Deniz: The desire to start acting at once. When I read a scenario that excites me, my heart actually starts beating faster. Along with fear and excitement, questions like “Will I be able to pull it off? Will I be able to portray the character neatly?” pop up in my head. From the moment I read a story that excites me, I keep on examining the character in my mind all the time. While I walk, eat, converse… She starts living with me at all times. And I start living a double life until I get her out.

 “I think I stopped dreaming for future. I’m interested in the moment. I started to protect my hopes and dreams for the present and make my sentences for today.“

-Pınar Deniz

What phase are you going through with your acting career?

Pınar Deniz: Sometimes intense, sometimes stuck, sometimes rapturous… I don’t think I have felt an enthusiasm like the one I felt towards acting at any stage of my life. It’s something like the love felt towards the beloved… Like a person who has their own ups and downs, sometimes exhausting but someone I can’t help loving anyway. With this passion, I have the strength to overcome any difficulty.

What does it mean for you to build a character?

Pınar Deniz: When I can put myself aside and approach the character I’ll personify with all her world-views, beliefs and feelings, I build a character. In fact, it’s like meeting a new person. Creating a character works just like being curious about a person who entered your life, asking questions to know more about her. I try to empathize and “be” her.  

Embark on a journey towards Pınar’s universe, who tells that acting is a journey and an art of being by touching people. Follow the link for more.

So how does Pınar maintain her own character in the center of this fluctuating life?

Pınar Deniz: By stopping and digesting. I try to digest everything I experience throughout my life. While taking life seriously, I never forget that it is like “dust in the wind”, as the song says. 

“It is so sad that people can’t take a break from themselves. We are constantly exposed to ourselves.“

-Pınar Deniz

How is your life; are you satisfied about your position when you confront yourself?

Pınar Deniz: I’m quite happy with where I stand and the person I am. I experience so much to be thankful about every day. But humankind is erratic. Always yearning to see ahead and be more successful. When I turn back to look at the child Pınar, I know that her eyes would sparkle with pride for the place I’m in today. But people always want more. What keeps us alive is dreaming of the next step. When you get the order you dreamed of, you want to embark on a new adventure. You find yourself in dreams and wishes that change day by day. This is life itself. It is a surprising uncertainty that motivates people to live.

Do you believe in cause and effect relationships? Do you make use of this connection in your life?

Pınar Deniz: Absolutely. I think we exist for a reason and every action we create is rooted in a cause we brought from the past. That’s the only reason I can understand people’s negative emotions. For example, I am not someone who takes the bad behavior of others personally. I look for a reason rooted in their history. If the outcome doesn’t affect me negatively, I try to understand and empathize. 

How do you deal with the times you are “bored with yourself”?

Pınar Deniz: By trying to renew myself. If I get bored with what I do, I immediately try to quit. If I can’t simply let go, I create spaces for myself to breathe and make affirmations. It is so sad that people can’t take a break from themselves. We are constantly exposed to ourselves. I would have been very bored with myself if I were someone static and non-transforming.

How much space does dreaming take up in your life? Do you believe in dreaming and fighting for your dreams?

Pınar Deniz: I spent my childhood dreaming and believing in the utopia I created. I tried to believe in whatever makes life livable. No matter how difficult the conditions I was in, my greatest motivation has always been believing in the universe I dreamed of and following that dream. It still is; I can pursue anything I dream of and wish to come true, and I try to do whatever it takes to get what I want without limiting myself.

I spent my childhood dreaming and believing in the utopia I created. I tried to believe in whatever makes life livable.

-Pınar Deniz

What are your dreams for the future? 

Pınar Deniz: I think I stopped dreaming for the future. I’m interested in the moment. I started to protect my hopes and dreams for the present and make my sentences for today. It’s not about feeling pessimistic at all. The question “What kind of a person do I want to be when I grow up?” evolved into “What does the person I am today want to do now?” The life that’s being shaped for me has the ability to change all the sentences I make about the future.

The last book you’ve read?

John Berger, Drawn to That Moment

Tell us about a movie that had an impression on you recently.

Close, Lukas Dhont

The identity crisis that a child experiences while entering adolescence can only be described in such a naive way.

What’s your phone’s wallpaper?

Which song do you find yourself humming right now?

I Can Never Go Home Anymore – The Shangri-Las

Your  “Cause and Effect” playlist?

Talent Pınar Deniz
Creative Direction & Interview by Duygu Bengi
Fashion Director Burak Sanuk
Photographer & Director Ergin Turunç
Hair & Make-up by Önder Tiryaki
Head of Talent and Content Management by Miray Kaya
Art Director Ecem Tungaz
Dop Celal Burak Özgül
Creative Team Can Kılınç, Ceydanur Demir, Şevval Küçüktır, Belgin Demirhan
Fashion Team Murat Kıvık, Samiye Seda Korkmaz, Yusuf Kanat
Production by BI Creative
Head of Production Yağmur Yıldız
Gaffer Okan Ateş
Photography Assistants Mehmet Çağrı Yılmaz, İzgi Yılmaz, Şimal Dilhan
Camera Assistant Gazi Yılmaz
Dit Emre Yılmaz
Hair & Make-up Assistant Doğukan Tuncer
Lighting Assistants Ali Şimşek, Beykan Baloğlu, Arda Seyrek
Talent Management by Tuba Taçan
Special Thanks to İletişim Deposu