Necati Şaşmaz

Muhammed Necati Şaşmaz (born 15 December 1971) is a Turkish actor, best known for playing the lead role of Polat Alemdar in the popular television series Kurtlar Vadisi (Valley of the Wolves) and its movie spin-offs, including Kurtlar Vadisi Irak (Valley of the Wolves Iraq).

Life and career
Necati Şaşmaz was born to a family of Kurd-Zaza origin in Harput, Elazığ, Turkey, as the oldest son of Abdülkadir Şaşmaz. He studied Tourism and Hotel Management, both in Turkey and in Canada. He lived in the United States for six years before returning to Turkey for a visit to his parents.

In Istanbul, Necati Şaşmaz met renowned Turkish director Osman Sınav, who offered him the leading role in the Valley of the Wolves. He played the fictional character Polat Alemdar in the series and in the movie. He currently plays in another spin-off of the original series titled Kurtlar Vadisi: Pusu (Valley of the Wolves: Ambush).

He married Nagehan Kaşıkçı in 2012, but filed for divorce in 2019. Their divorce was finalized in 2021.

Cinema

 * 2006: Valley of the Wolves: Iraq (Kurtlar Vadisi: Irak) as Polat Alemdar.
 * 2011: Valley of the Wolves: Palestine (Kurtlar Vadisi: Filistin) as Polat Alemdar.
 * 2017: Valley of the Wolves: Homeland (Kurtlar Vadisi: Vatan) as Polat Alemdar

TV

 * 2003–2005: Valley of the Wolves (Kurtlar Vadisi) as Polat Alemdar.
 * 2005: Ekmek Teknesi as Polat Alemdar (guest appearances).
 * 2007 Valley of the Wolves: Terror (Kurtlar Vadisi: Terör) as Polat Alemdar.
 * 2007–2016: Valley of the Wolves: Ambush (Kurtlar Vadisi: Pusu) as Polat Alemdar.
 * 2010: Halil İbrahim Sofrası as Necati Şaşmaz (guest appearances).
 * 2012: Kurt Kanunu as Ismail Enver (guest appearances).
 * 2015: Kara Kutu as the producer.
 * 2019: Nöbet as the producer.