Aşk ve Gözyaşı brings together some of Turkey’s most talented actors — faces that carry both strength and quiet emotion. Each one adds something real and human to their role. Below is a closer look at the people at the center of this story.
Selim Keskin (Barış Arduç)
Selim is the chief legal counsel of Aksel Group. Raised in a modest but loving family, he’s the kind of man who believes in principles — until life tests them. Selim’s marriage to Meyra once looked perfect from the outside, but over time everything between them began to crumble. Just as he decides to end it, he learns that Meyra is gravely ill — a truth that catches him completely off guard. The discovery leaves him torn between his feelings and his sense of duty. While their marriage seems to be falling apart, the ordeal forces Selim to look at love and loyalty in a way he never has before.
Meyra Aksel Keskin (Hande Erçel)
Meyra is the heiress of one of Turkey’s most powerful family empires — Aksel Group. People around Meyra call her “the Iron Lady” — and they’re not wrong. She’s disciplined, calm, and rarely lets emotions take over. Her marriage to Selim, once built on trust, has grown distant and strained. But when life confronts her with a painful diagnosis, everything shifts. For the first time, Meyra must learn how to let someone in and allow herself to be loved, even as everything else falls apart.
Ercan Sezer (Berk Cankat)
Ercan is a financial consultant at a top U.S. investment firm and an old acquaintance of Meyra from their university days — back when there was more than friendship between them. Intelligent, charming, and effortlessly confident, Ercan’s sharp instincts in finance and strategy bring him back into the Aksel orbit, where old feelings may resurface.
Yeliz Aksel (Şenay Gürler)
Yeliz, the youngest daughter of Çetin and Ahsen, is the family’s most independent and rebellious spirit. A fashion designer by trade — and, as she says, an artist at heart — she has weathered three marriages and three divorces. Her biggest battle is with Dilşah, whom she blames for her mother’s death. Nothing frustrates Yeliz more than the fact that no one else seems to see Dilşah’s “true face.”
Zuhal Aksel (Senan Kara)
Zuhal is the wife of Aziz and the mother of Meyra and Harun. She grew up surrounded by comfort and still carries herself with that distant elegance that comes from it. Her marriage to Aziz rests on order and formality more than affection. Something that happened long ago left her colder, and her distance shows most in how she treats her daughter.
Menekşe Keskin (Feri Baycu Güler)
Menekşe is the devoted mother of Oğuz, Eda, and Selim — warm, selfless, and endlessly patient. She married her husband Emin for love and built a life grounded in affection and hard work. Her nurturing nature extends to everyone around her, making her the emotional anchor of the Keskin family.
Aziz Aksel (Kubilay Tuncer)
Aziz is the father of Meyra and Harun — and, after Çetin, the most influential figure in the family. His marriage to Zuhal is calm and respectable. Unlike many in his circle, Aziz wasn’t born into wealth; he earned his status through determination and discipline. He values unity above all else and sees himself as the guardian of the Aksel legacy.
Sema Tunalı (Öznur Serçeler)
Sema became part of the Aksel family by marrying Çetin’s nephew, but she was widowed at a young age. She manages the luxury spa at the AKS Vadi complex and has her sights set on securing a place in high society. Ambitious and calculating, she believes befriending Zuhal will help her climb — but ambition has a way of leading her astray.
Furkan Akçay (Mert Denizmen)
Furkan is Selim’s closest friend — a lawyer in his thirties with quick wit and a big heart. He’s one of those people who know how to make even a hard moment feel lighter. For him, Selim is more than a friend; he’s family. And when trouble comes, Furkan never waits to be asked for help.
Eda Keskin (Aslı İnandık)
Eda, Selim’s sister, is lively, outspoken, and unfiltered. Her blunt honesty sometimes crosses the line into tactlessness, but her ambition is undeniable. With Meyra’s help, she opened her own beauty salon and now dreams of expanding into an elite studio at AKS Vadi — along with a spot among the city’s social elite.
Emin Keskin (Necat Bayar)
Emin — father of Oğuz, Eda, and Selim — is the quiet center of the Keskin family. He grew up on the land and still keeps that calm, grounded way about him. Devoted to his wife and children, he believes happiness comes from small things: honesty, laughter, peace at home. Everyone who knows him feels that warmth right away. His greatest wish? To one day become muhtar — the head of his village.
Harun Aksel (Lorin Merhart)
Harun is Meyra’s younger brother — cheerful, impulsive, and a little naïve. In contrast to his serious family, he radiates youthful energy. His wife Işıl and their baby daughter Peri are his entire world. Having always been his mother’s favorite, Harun grew up spoiled and constantly seeks the approval of his family — especially his powerful grandfather.
Işıl Aksel (Afranur Karagöz)
Işıl is Harun’s devoted wife — graceful, patient, and endlessly understanding. She’s a caring ther and the kind of daughter-in-law every family hopes for. Whether dealing with Zuhal’s coldness or Harun’s missteps, Işıl faces everything with quiet strength.
Oğuz Keskin (Gürhan Altundaşar)
Oğuz, Selim’s brother, is a divorced father raising his son Mete on his own. Using a building gifted by Meyra, he opened a boxing gym in their hometown. Energetic and direct, Oğuz is determined to give his son the opportunities he never had — and refuses to settle for a small, predictable life.
Çetin Aksel (Ali İpin)
The patriarch of the Aksel dynasty, Çetin is the father of Edip, Aziz, and Yeliz. He lost his first wife Ahsen years ago and has spent the last twenty years with Dilşah, who is much younger than he is. Despite a difficult past, Çetin built his family’s fortune and influence through sheer willpower. Stern but respected, he’s the kind of man whose word is law.
Dilşah Yıldırım (Sanem Çelik)
Dilşah is a striking, refined woman with an air of quiet mystery. She entered the Aksel household as a caretaker for Çetin’s ailing wife, Ahsen, and later became his partner. The family never fully accepted her — especially Yeliz, who despises her — but Çetin’s authority keeps everyone in check. With her calm grace and disarming gentleness, Dilşah hides her true intentions behind a flawless mask.
