Chasing Dreams, Facing Reality w/ Demet Özdemir

When the sun keeps speaking, but you choose to listen to the moon: that’s when dreams begin to echo. Demet Özdemir’s passion is sharp enough to carry you to distant worlds, while her confidence is as grounding as the moment your feet touch the earth. Her inner voice is so dominant it’s impossible not to hear it. She knows the weight of reality, yet her spirit is always reaching skyward. And we linger somewhere in between, wondering: is it what she’s learned that shaped who she is, or the quiet pull upward? In Demet’s world, self-realisation and moving fearlessly toward your dreams aren’t goals, but ways of being, rooted in moving forward without losing touch with yourself. This is not a race; it is courage itself. And after a few hours spent witnessing the transformation of a passion fuelled by fear, we’re left alone with Demet’s inner voice.

DUYGU What does self-realisation mean to Demet Özdemir?

DEMET To me, it’s a very deep subject. Even the weight of the sentence itself feels heavy. Since what I’m really concerned with is an inner life, I’m not sure it’s even possible to give a universal answer. I think self-realisation has to do with trying to understand why you came into this world in the first place, with remembering your purpose. And of course, before anything else, it’s about being human, more specifically, about being a genuinely good person. Having a conscience above all, being sensitive and aware in every way your reach allows, without ever placing yourself above anyone else. The list could go on. But in order to move forward, a person needs to be focused only on themselves: feeling unrivalled in their own existence, competing only with who they were yesterday, and aiming for their own goals. These feel like the essentials of the journey toward self-realisation.

If I’m to answer from a more personal place, I’ll go back to what I said at the beginning: finding your reason for being here and taking the right steps along the way. Personally, I learned how to inspire others by being inspired myself – by many women in particular, especially my family, my sister, my mother, and everyone who has added value to my life. With every experience I’ve had, good or bad, I chose to transform it into something constructive, something that would help me create the best version of myself. So this journey isn’t as simple as it might seem. And yet, in another sense, it really is. Everything comes back to the self: to one’s choices and to the place from which one looks at life.

The key ideas in my self-realisation journey are strength, being able to make others feel that strength, and setting an example. Finding the power within ourselves to face the difficulties that come our way. Being able to say, “If I could do it, anyone can,” and making others believe that too. I think self-realisation is, quite simply, about remembering your purpose.

“Personally, I learned how to inspire others by being inspired myself – by many women in particular, especially my family, my sister, my mother, and everyone who has added value to my life. With every experience I’ve had, good or bad, I chose to transform it into something constructive, something that would help me create the best version of myself.“

-Demet Özdemir

DUYGU You’re someone who’s always pushing your own limits, always imagining what lies one step beyond. That seems to be fuelled by the passion you have for your work. So what feeds that passionate side of you more: courage, or fear?

DEMET Yes, I’ve pushed my own limits every single time. I can feel it, and I genuinely enjoy doing it. It’s a very strange feeling. I think I’m someone who’s deeply passionate not only about my profession, but about everything I truly care about. Because passion is what makes life feel truly alive and colourful. And what brings out that side of me is my fears. When I move toward my fears, I realise my capacity to go beyond myself. As I pay attention to what scares me and makes me hesitate, I keep reminding myself, again and again, of how brave I actually am. And that’s what allows me to do what I do. I’d say it’s both, but the starting point is definitely the courage to face the things I think I’m afraid of.

DUYGU How did you realise that acting would become your profession? How did this journey begin, and where do you feel it’s heading?

DEMET If I were to give a somewhat cliché answer about choosing acting as a profession, a cliché that I actually think holds true for many people, it applies to me as well. From a very young age, that magical visual world I first encountered through cartoons drew me in. I adapted to it quickly and always found the screen fascinating. Later on, I started out by wondering about the real identities of the people I saw in series and TV programmes, asking questions, because I had very quickly convinced myself that they were real. When I eventually learned that this wasn’t the case, that feeling became something quite mysterious to me.

If I set aside the necessities of my own life journey:the need to work, to earn money… what lies at the very beginning of the road is the magic of encountering characters who are completely different from yourself. Their perspectives, their psychology, and the process of preparing yourself to embody them. It’s a magical experience, both as a way of escaping yourself and, at the same time, of discovering who you are.

I never really knew that this would be my profession. The moment I realised how magical it could be, it turned into a very mysterious adventure for me. And in life, the more curious you are about something, the more it seems you truly do receive its answer. I suppose you could say the universe gave me mine.

“Being able to say, “If I could do it, anyone can,” and making others believe that too. I think self-realisation is, quite simply, about remembering your purpose.”

-Demet Özdemir

DUYGU What are the qualities that make an actor truly successful for you?

DEMET I’ll answer this from my own perspective. I also have my observations, of course. Imagination, without question. Empathy, absolutely. And discipline. At least for me, these three are what have allowed me to work in a truly productive way. If everything goes smoothly and this journey carries you forward like a gentle wind, if the profession fully pulls you in, people start wondering about the great secrets of your acting. For me, the real answer; the most important thing I’ve discovered is approaching the path as if you’re stepping onto it for the very first time, every single second. 

This journey will never end. And staying in that same sense of excitement throughout it, regardless of how much you grow as a person, comes from believing in a character, in a project, with the same innocence: believing like a child. Being able to hold on to that innocence, to believe the way you once did when you were playing house, is really where all the magic lies. I know it’s not easy, but I think the more you chase those moments where you imagine your own life and return to your childhood, the longer you’re able to stay connected to that magic.

DUYGU Was it harder to become Demet Özdemir, or to remain Demet Özdemir?

DEMET Without a doubt, remaining Demet Özdemir has been harder. At no point in this journey was “becoming Demet Özdemir” something I consciously aimed for. Of course there are expectations, of course there are responsibilities. But it was never about existing under a brand label in a more plastic, emotionally distant way. Staying Demet Özdemir is harder, because from the moment I started this journey, I’ve been trying, in one way or another, to keep returning to myself, to my essence. I try to place a piece of my childhood self into every moment. I move forward with that care.

For me, remaining Demet Özdemir represents being able to stay true to your own name, your surname, your existence, your pure identity. That isn’t really possible in any profession, at any age, but it’s especially difficult in this industry. So yes, I think staying myself was the harder part. Not in terms of who I am, but in terms of how I’m reflected to others. Still, I think we’re doing quite well, and moving forward in a good way.

DUYGU As an actor, do the stories you work on inspire your own personal journey?

DEMET Absolutely. Every character I’ve played has inspired my personal journey. I don’t say this from a place of arrogance at all. Sometimes it’s the other way around too: the good and bad experiences in my own life end up inspiring the characters I play. For me, it all becomes part of a beautiful weave. Every character has taught me something, in every project. What not to do, and what to do. The characters I felt truly taught me something have, without exception, tested me along my own life journey. And whether I had really learned those lessons was always put to the test.

That’s also one of the main reasons I chose this profession in the first place.

“Step into dreaming fully, pass through it. I know from my own life just how much it can transform a person’s world.”

-Demet Özdemir

DUYGU When you come face to face with yourself, are there parts of you that unsettle you, that you want to rebuild?

DEMET I’m constantly confronting myself. Both in terms of my character and emotionally, I’m someone who questions my own decisions far more than other people’s life choices or ways of existing. That’s why every character I’ve read and tried to bring to life has, in one way or another, confronted me with myself. I wasn’t disturbed by it, not at all. Because a part of me already knew these things. The characters didn’t suddenly reveal something out of the blue. I must have asked myself those questions at some point in my life, and I found the answers through the characters I played.

There are parts of me I want to rebuild. In other words, there’s a lot I want to transform. And that actually makes me very happy, because I see my journey as one of transformation and growth. The part I most want to rebuild is my patience. I’m so impatient that I wish I could change that instantly.

DUYGU Tell us something about you that only those close to you really know.

DEMET This might sound strange, and it’s something I’ve only become aware of recently, and I think only the people close to me have noticed it too. If there’s a truly serious problem, and I don’t mean every issue or negative thing that happens to us, when it’s genuinely serious, my first instinct is to minimise it. Facing it head-on usually comes later for me, as a second or third step. I won’t even say unfortunately, but people think I downplay things so much that they automatically take courage from it. They say, “Yeah, there’s nothing to get hung up on here.” Most likely, my way of looking at things and approaching situations is a little too dismissive when it comes to negativity. That’s why only people who know me very well are aware of this side of me.

DUYGU How much space does dreaming take up in your life? 

DEMET I’d say about 95% of it. Of course, it has both positive and negative sides, and I accept that. I’ve been an intense dreamer since childhood. What makes me really happy is that, for most of my life, my heart has carried me forward with good dreams as I move toward the person I truly want to be, the person I’m trying to become. Of course, there have been moments when I’ve caught myself thinking negative thoughts too, but dreaming still occupies a huge part of my life. I believe it plays a major role in my career and in the way I choose to live.

I always tell the people who follow me and care about me that they should never give up on dreaming. It’s important not to treat it like a slogan, but to truly live it and internalise it. Step into dreaming fully, pass through it. I know from my own life just how much it can transform a person’s world. That’s why, to me, it’s the most beautiful thing in life.

DUYGU Everything is possible. So, will you dream something up for us?

DEMET From the moment I met you, an atmosphere started forming in my mind. I don’t know if this fits into your own dreams, but the way you look at everything through the camera: at people, at fashion, at publishing… is so different that I imagine you somewhere inside a galaxy, on another planet, creating an incredible shoot. You can decide who you’re shooting with. I hope it’s me, but I picture you capturing a striking cover, surrounded by colours and patterns completely unlike anything on Earth.

Talent Demet Özdemir

Creative Direction & Interview by Duygu Bengi

Photography byYağız Yeşilkaya

Co-styled byAnt Süzer & Hakan Yıldırım

Makeup by Nihal Dinç

Hair bySebastian Iskander

Photos Retouched byTouch Eighty Seven

Creative Production by BI Creative

Creative Team Emirkan Cörüt, Yankı Tan & Ali Aydın Ustaoğlu, Duru Ustaoğlu

Thanks to On Talent