Meet Defne Ozkan of New York City

Today we’d like to introduce you to Defne Ozkan

Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I came to New York after studying at the public high school Kadikoy Anadolu Lisesi in Istanbul, Turkey. I got into Pace University’s prestigious BFA Acting program. I came to New York to pursue my dreams of theatre and film. I always thought I would be a psychologist or lawyer, but I found my true passion in my high school’s student run English Theatre Club. (Shoutout to Kal ETC for being such a huge foundation of my acting career)
I starred in Off-Broadway and Off-off Broadway productions while I was still studying at Pace. Being far away from my family in Turkey, I truly wanted to make them proud and make each moment count here. I focused hard on my studies and truly enjoyed my time in college. One of my favorite classes were the ones I was learning dialects with the brilliant professor Lester Shane, studying Shakespeare with Julie Fain Lawrence-Edsell or learning about theatre history from the late Morgan Jenness, who I miss dearly. We got to learn about the industry of acting from professional casting directors and actors like Jamibeth Margolis, Wendy Kurtzman and Shaan Sharma.
I was born and raised in Istanbul, Turkey. I would go to Marmaris in the summers next to my family, and swimming was one of my favorite activities. I also love languages and speak English, Turkish and Spanish,

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
One of the biggest struggles along the way is being far away from your family and friends that you grew up with. If I was born a little earlier and lived abroad at a time when there were no video calls or text messages available, I think I would lose my mind. Other than that, I fell in love with New York and it has been an absolute joy and honor to be able to study and then afterwards, continue living here.
Of course, there were a lot more struggles along the way, but I would like to focus on the present and learn from all the things I’ve been through.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
One of the many projects I was proud to be a part of in college was the reading ‘Banksy’ with the Tony Award Nominated director Dennis Jones and ‘Small Mouth Sounds’ directed by Scout Davis. I had also translated a famous Turkish play by Haldun Taner into English and directed a staged reading of it at Pace. It was called ‘I Close My Eyes and Do My Duty’
After graduating from acting college, I worked at Jimmy Fallon’s Tonightmares show as a On Call Performer, starred in the play ‘Stories Will Not Mend This Broken World’ directed by Handan Ozbilgin at the Brick Aux Theater, worked in multiple short films and also did hair and makeup for short films and fashion brands. I also was an assistant of Shaan Sharma at the Storyteller’s Conservatory. He stars in the famous show Chosen. I also worked in LA for a web series based on the LAPD.
Right now, I am in the pre-production process of a really exciting project. A friend of mine, Ryan Curley, who is currently a senior at Pace BFA Acting, him and I, we wrote a short film together called ‘Selin’.
The short film will be directed by Olivia Simmons. The actors will be me (Defne Ozkan), Ryan Curley, Ozgur Tuna Eminoglu and Kendra Garnett.
The short film is about a talented Turkish swimmer grappling with her mother’s terminal illness back home. She navigates the pressures of maintaining her success in swimming with a scholarship in the U.S. and her deepening relationship with her American boyfriend, ultimately confronting the pain of cultural disconnection and the quest for belonging in a world that feels increasingly distant. I am incredibly excited and honored to be able to tell a story interconnecting different cultures while reminding us we are all human, after all, wherever or whichever culture we come from. We must move with understanding and love on this world.
We will be shooting the short film this April in New York City.
I am also passionate about saving and protecting the wildlife animals. One day, I would love to work in a documentary or film that donates the proceedings to the wildlife animals.
Other than that, this weekend, I will be playing the lead part in another short film, directed by the New School student Esther Elsa Jobi.

Is there something surprising that you feel even people who know you might not know about?
I was always a good student, and before I wanted to become an actor, I thought I would be either a psychologist or lawyer. And as a kid, I wanted to be a director or wildlife documentary filmmaker. My sister, cousin and friends would gather at our house and I would write a script for them to put on for our families. It would be a one day production type of fun. 🙂

Contact Info:

• Website: https://defneozkan.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/defozk/?hl=en
• Other: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm11683905/

Image Credits
(not in order) Jeffrey Mosier. New York Turkish Film Festival, Marina Brajovic, Mehboob Ahmedabadi, Tess Yan. Nestor Bongabong, Jonathan Morrey