Biography
Name: Can Bartu Arslan
Date of Birth: May 6, 2000
Place of Birth: Istanbul, Turkey
Height: 5’8″ (1.72 m)
Marital Status: Single
Instagram: @canbartuarslan
Early Life
Can Bartu Arslan was born on May 6, 2000, in Istanbul, Turkey. His family’s roots trace back to Sivas, in central Turkey, though he grew up in Istanbul as an only child.
His path into acting started almost by chance. While he was still in elementary school, a children’s talent agency visited looking for young performers, and Arslan was invited to audition. That led to his first commercial work, and by age eight he had landed his first television role. In 2018, he added formal training to his years of on-set experience, earning a full scholarship to the Conservatory Theater Department at Istanbul’s Okan University.
Career
Arslan made his on-screen debut in 2008, at age eight, playing young İnan in the drama Cennetin Çocukları. Over the next several years, he kept working steadily as a child and teen actor, appearing in shows including Es-Es, Annem Uyurken, Köstebekgiller, and Galip Derviş. His profile grew further with the role of Giyaseddin in Ulan İstanbul, often cited as his breakthrough part.
From 2015 to 2019, Arslan played Ömer Çakırbeyli in Eşkıya Dünyaya Hükümdar Olmaz (roughly, “An Outlaw Can’t Rule the World”), a long-running crime drama and, at 108 episodes, one of the longest roles of his career. He then played Çetin in The Teacher (Öğretmen, 2020), made a guest appearance in Establishment: Osman (Kuruluş: Osman, 2021), and took on the role of Mert Demirkiran in Hakim (“Judge”) in 2022.
That same year, Arslan starred as Sinan Narinses — known by the nickname Arap — in the FOX teen drama Tozluyaka, about a group of friends investigating the mysterious death of a classmate. In 2023, he took on a more dramatic role as Hakan in director Nehir Tuna’s film Dormitory (Yurt), which premiered at the Venice Film Festival. The performance won him the Best Supporting Actor award at Turkey’s 57th SİYAD (Cinema Writers’ Association) Awards in 2024.
Also in 2023, Arslan joined the family drama Sapphire (Safir) as Okan Gülsoy, the youngest son of a wealthy family in Cappadocia; the series ran on atv for 26 episodes before ending in February 2024. His momentum continued in 2025 with the Disney+ film Umami, the miniseries Persona, and the Netflix series Letters from the Past (Geleceğe Mektuplar), in which he played a young version of the character Mert. That October, he took on one of his biggest recent roles as Taha Madran — the debt-ridden younger brother at the center of a family con — in the NOW drama Sahtekarlar, which ran for 22 episodes through March 2026. As of this writing, his latest credit is the Netflix series The Town (Kasaba).
Personal Life
Can Bartu Arslan keeps his personal life largely private. No relationship or marriage has been publicly confirmed, and he is currently understood to be single. He is represented by Icon Talent Management, and fans can catch behind-the-scenes updates from his projects on his Instagram account.
Interesting Facts
- He made his acting debut at age eight, after a children’s talent agency visited his elementary school looking for young performers.
- His first name, Can, is pronounced like the English name “John” and means “life” or “soul” in Turkish.
- Although born and raised in Istanbul, his family’s roots trace back to Sivas, in central Turkey.
- He earned a full scholarship to the Conservatory Theater Department at Istanbul’s Okan University in 2018.
- His role in Dormitory (Yurt), which premiered at the Venice Film Festival, won him the Best Supporting Actor award at Turkey’s 57th SİYAD Awards in 2024.
- Before moving into television, he appeared in a number of commercials as a child.
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