Sam Reklaw: Admired Istanbul and became an actor

British businessman Sam Reklaw first invested in a film shot in Turkey. Then he became the actor of the movie.

The horror-thriller movie “Shame”  will be released this year.  The British businessman, who was fascinated by Istanbul while flying from Tokyo to Madrid via Istanbul, later became an actor and associated producer of the film shot in English in Turkey.

We talked to Sam Reklaw, who aims to shoot a black comedy movie and a documentary in Göbeklitepe in Turkey.

You landed on a connecting flight from Tokyo to Madrid via Istanbul and you missed the plane on purpose. So how did your Istanbul story progress?

I deliberately missed my flight. I don’t regret it. Because I ate the best kebab in Taksim with a Turkish woman I met. When I came back to Istanbul a year later, the woman was already taken and the kebab shop was closed due to the pandemic. So I can say that this story did not end well.

A year later, you became a partner of the horror-thriller Shame, shot in Turkey. How did this topic develop?

I will take any job that I believe in success and that brings money. I participated in the project primarily as an investor. Afterwards, I took advantage of this opportunity because the film needed an English actor.

This was my first acting experience and I wanted to try it. I took acting lessons and I think it worked out. I worked with a successful acting coach.

You took part in the movie Shame, written and directed by Turkish director Kayhan Basoglu. What do you think about acting in general?

I realized that what was going on behind the camera was more dramatic than what we saw on screen. I wonder if it’s like that for every film out there but it wouldn’t surprise me.

As a cinema lover, to what do you attribute the fact that Turkish TV series and cinema have been among the rising stars of the world in recent years?

While I was living there, I saw that Turkish TV series are very popular especially in Latin America.

You say “The hardest job in the world is film”. What makes you think that?

Not the hardest obviously but I saw that the movie world is very complex. It’s tough in front of the camera. I will never criticise another film again after seeing how difficult it is to make one.

Apart from Shame, which will be released soon, you were aiming to shoot two more movies this year. Do you know the genres and scenario?

Yeah. I want to make a black comedy movie about a couple of strangers who go on a road trip in Turkey and do a lot of stupid things and get in trouble.

There is also an opportunity for a joint European/Indian production, but it will depend on the investment numbers as it’s a pretty big budget.

Can you tell us more about that?

It’s a romance film. I read the script and it seems pretty difficult – I will definitely need more acting classes. Also the shoot will take place over several months – which could present a problem for me as I’m due to get back into Motorsport next year to race in the Turkish championship.

It’s too early to talk about it in detail as there are many factors. But I really want to take part in the project – especially to see the locations. I haven’t been to India for many years and would be keen to make a vacation out of it.