Saturday, November 28, 2015

Sibel Kekilli spends a busy week in Santa Fe

After spending some time in Los Angeles the previous week, "Game of Thrones" actress Sibel Kekilli traveled to Santa Fe, New Mexico where she spent the week of Thanksgiving as a guest of author George R.R. Martin. During her visit, she attended two screenings of her 2010 movie "When We Leave," and she also dropped by a couple of local radio stations and spoke with a member of the local Humane Society before sharing Thanksgiving dinner with Martin.

In "When We Leave," Kekilli plays a Turkish-German woman living in Istanbul that escapes her abusive husband. She returns to her family in Berlin with her five-year-old son, but thanks to social pressure from the local Turkish community, her family rejects her. The screenings of the movie were held at Jean Cocteau Cinema the Tuesday and Wednesday nights prior to Thanksgiving. With Martin serving as her moderator, Kekilli introduced her movie on both nights and conducted Q&A sessions afterward. Martin owns the theater and is close friends with Kekilli, so he has arranged for her to appear at the theater several times, either in person or via Skype.

At the Wednesday night Q&A, Kekilli revealed that "When We Leave" producer, writer and director Feo Aladag initially did not want her to play the lead role, thinking that Kekilli was too famous for an independent film, and that the part was too similar to the one Kekilli played in "Head On," which was also about a Turkish-German woman fighting against the cultural norms of her community. Kekilli won the 2004 Lola Award for Best Actress for her performance in "Head On."

"We're friends now," Kekilli said of the Austrian filmmaker. "But she didn't want me, then. When I first read the script, I was crying, so I really wanted this role. Only after she couldn't find anyone else, she called my agency and asked me to audition, and I thought, 'I'll show you!'"

Kekilli also discussed her five-year-old co-star Nizam Schiller, who played her character's son. The movie features several scenes depicting domestic violence, and according to her, Schiller became frightened while filming some of those scenes.

"Of all the boys that came to audition, he was the only one who made me cry, because of those big, beautiful brown eyes," said Kekilli. "But I felt guilty like I couldn't protect him. I couldn't make him understand that there was no need to be afraid."

Although she feels more German than anything else, Kekilli expressed a deep affection for her Turkish roots, but that won't keep her from criticizing aspects of Turkish culture that she feels are negative.

"I love Turkish culture. Turkish food, Turkish music, and the Turkish people are very passionate," said Kekilli. "But most people from Turkey don't seem to like me because they think a movie like 'When We Leave' puts them in a bad light. But the things we show in the movie are true, and I won't shy away from talking about them." For 10 years, Kekilli has worked with "Terre des Femmes," a human rights organization that fights against institutionalized violence toward girls and women.

Earlier in the week, Kekilli met with on-air personality Chris Diestler of Radio Free Santa Fe, and with Mary-Charlotte Domandi of Santa Fe Radio Cafe. In the latter interview, which was conducted at the Santa Fe Baking Co. & Cafe, Kekilli mentioned that her next film project is to direct a short documentary about Terre des Femmes founder Christa Stolle.

"(Stolle and I) will go to Bulgaria because she's supporting the Roma girls," Kekilli said about the documentary. "It's really sad there because they don't have anything. They don't have jobs, some of them have to be a prostitute, and they are 13, 14 years old."

After getting interviewed by Domandi, Kekilli met with Ben Swan, the Public Information Officer for the Santa Fe Animal Shelter & Humane Society. In addition to being an activist for human rights, Kekilli is also an advocate for animal rights. After the Turkish city of Ankara was accused of killing hundreds of stray dogs and disposing the bodies in a garbage dump in 2006, PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) asked Kekilli to pose for a poster which promoted the implementation of birth control for stray dogs in Turkey.

Friday, November 20, 2015

Los Angeles Turkish cafe Mama's Secret gets a visit from Sibel Kekilli

While spending some time in the Los Angeles area this week, Turkish-German actress Sibel Kekilli dropped by a family-owned bakery/cafe known as Mama's Secret to experience some Mediterranean cuisine. The Beverly Hills-based eatery serves a variety of Mediterranean food, but it is particularly well-known for its Turkish breakfast, Turkish coffee and Turkish black tea.

"Ms. Kekilli was extremely warm and kind," said Mama's Secret owner Alican Bayar. "I believe she found us online. In my opinion, Ms. Kekilli was one of the kindest and most humble celebrities to ever visit."

Mama's Secret opened four years ago and serves Turkish and American breakfast and lunch dishes. According to Bayar, Turkish cuisine is very popular on the East Coast of the United States, but it is just beginning to gain popularity on the West Coast. The cafe also does full-service catering for a variety of events.

"Almost all Turkish celebrities visit us when they visit Los Angeles," said Bayar. "As is our tradition, Sibel Kekilli left her hand print on our wall."

The cafe's Facebook and Instagram accounts feature a number of photos of Turkish celebrities leaving their hand prints at the business. Those celebrities include model Çağatay Ulusoy and actress Büşra Pekin, who may be unknown to most Americans, but are well-known back in their home country.

As the daughter of Turkish immigrants, Kekilli grew up eating Turkish food. The former "Game of Thrones" star mentioned her love for Turkish food when she and "A Song of Ice and Fire" author George R.R. Martin appeared on an episode of the German/French reality TV series, "Durch die Nacht." Kekilli told Martin about how she and "Game of Thrones" co-creator David Benioff had an argument comparing Turkish food to Greek food.

"David Benioff said, 'Greek food is much better.' I said, ' Have you ever tried Turkish food in Turkey.' He said, 'No, but it's the same.' I said, 'No, it's not.'"

Thursday, November 19, 2015

Sibel Kekilli returns to Santa Fe for two screenings of 'When We Leave'

Eleven months after her previous appearance at Jean Cocteau Cinema, award-winning actress Sibel Kekilli will return to the Santa Fe, New Mexico movie theater November 24-25 for two screenings of her 2010 film, "When We Leave." The movie, originally released in Germany under the title "Die Fremde," features Kekilli as a German-born woman of Turkish descent who is rejected by her family in Berlin when she, along with her five-year-old son, flees her abusive husband in Istanbul. For that performance, Kekilli won her second award for best actress at the Lola Awards, which is the German equivalent of the Academy Awards.

"Last time she was here, I introduced her to margaritas and chile con queso, so of course she had to return," wrote George R.R. Martin on his blog Wednesday. According to Martin, Kekilli will introduce the film and answer questions afterwards on both nights. Advance tickets are available at the Jean Cocteau Cinema website.

Jean Cocteau Cinema is owned by Martin, who lives in Santa Fe and is the author of the "A Song of Ice and Fire" fantasy books series. The HBO television series "Game of Thrones" is based on that book series, and Martin met Kekilli after she was cast to play Tyrion Lannister's lover Shae on the TV show. The two have developed a close friendship, which was documented on the German/French reality TV show, "Durch die Nacht." During Kekilli's visit to Santa Fe in December, she and Martin were followed by a film crew as he gave her a tour of the city. The two of them also dropped by Jean Cocteau Cinema at attend a screening of Kekilli's 2004 debut movie, "Head On." She won her first Lola Award for her performance in that movie, originally titled "Gegen die Wand" in Germany.

Kekilli's last trip to Santa Fe was a bit of an adventure. According to an interview she gave the Santa Fe Reporter, her connecting flight from Denver was cancelled due to bad weather, so she accepted a ride from a stranger that was transporting fish to Santa Fe. The drive between Denver and Santa Fe takes six hours, so along the way they stopped for crushed ice for his cargo.

Tuesday, October 20, 2015

Grazia Deutschland receives birthday wishes from Sibel Kekilli

To help celebrate the fifth anniversary of the Germany's version of the Italian weekly fashion magazine Grazia this month, Turkish-German actress Sibel Kekilli submitted a personal photo of herself blowing out the candles on a birthday cake. The cake appeared to be a chocolate cake featuring five standard birthday candles plus a candle in the shape of the number five. The photo was published on Grazia's German-language website along with photos of other celebrities wishing happy birthday to the publication.

Kekilli's association with the German edition of Grazia goes back to 2010, when she granted the magazine an interview on what it was like living in Germany as a person of Turkish descent. She granted another interview in 2013 in which she discussed the international fame she achieved after starring as Shae on the HBO fantasy television series "Game of Thrones." Also in 2013, she attended Germany's Best Dressed Awards where Grazia named her "Best Dressed-Red Carpet."

Grazia was founded in 1938 and originally modeled after the American magazine, Harper's Bazaar. Its first international edition was published in Bulgaria in 2004 with the United Kingdom edition starting publication the following year. Now the magazine is published in more than 20 countries including China, France and Mexico, although not in the United States. An Australian edition was discontinued in 2013 due to low sales. This past summer, the UK version drew the ire of animal rights activists when it published an article suggesting that breeding animals would be a good way of earning extra money. Grazia subsequently apologized for the article.

Thursday, October 15, 2015

Sibel Kekilli to appear at Design and Culture Days festival in Trier, Germany

The inaugural Design and Culture Days festival in Trier, Germany ("Design- und Kulturtagen Trier") will feature a special guest when Turkish-German actress Sibel Kekilli arrives for a public interview the evening of October 23. The interview will be conducted by German author, director and producer Hermann Vaske. The event is titled,"One Plus One Equals Three: Creative Talk with Sibel Kekilli."

The event will occur on the opening night of a three-day festival created by the city of Trier and the Department of Design at the University of Trier. The festival is designed to highlight many of the cultural and creative industries that exist in Trier and the surrounding region. Other events will include a number of exhibitions, a scientific symposium, presentations and panel discussions on the subject of design, and a fashion show with the awarding of the Trier Fashion Award.

As a director, Vaske has worked with actors such as John Cleese in the 2006 movie "The Art of Football from A to Z" and Dennis Hopper in the 2007 short film "Must I Write?" He has also interviewed such well-known figures as David Bowie, Stephen Hawking, Nelson Mandela and the Dalai Lama. Vaske has won more than 100 national and international creative awards in his career.

Kekilli's appearance at the festival will come less than two weeks after she was spotted in costume on the set of "Game of Thrones"in Peñiscola, Spain. Kekilli's character, Shae, was presumably killed at the end of Season Four, but her appearance in Peñiscola has fueled speculation that her character may return for Season Six.

Friday, October 9, 2015

Sibel Kekilli's visit to Peñíscola, Spain intrigues fans of 'Game of Thrones'

When Sibel Kekill showed up Monday on the set of  HBO's "Game of Thrones" in Peñíscola, Spain, it seemed as if she was there simply to visit old friends. After all, Peter Dinklage (Tyrion Lannister) and Conleth Hill (Varys) were filming in Peñíscola, and she had worked extensively with them before her character, Shae, was apparently strangled to death by Tyrion at the end of Season Four. She also had close relationships with show creators David Benioff and Dan Weiss, who are currently in the city supervising the shooting.

Things changed on Tuesday when Kekilli was spotted on the set once again -- this time, in costume.

Shooting for Season Six of "Game of Thrones" is currently underway in several locations, including Peñíscola, which serves as the location for the fictional city of Meereen. As of the end of Season Five, which aired this past spring, the characters for Dinklage and Hill were in Meereen. On Tuesday, based on photos and videos posted by various fans on Twitter and Instagram, Kekilli appeared to be wearing an outfit commonly worn by the former slaves in Meereen. This has set off a flurry of speculation among fans of the show, particularly on two fan websites, Winter Is Coming and Watchers on the Wall. The speculation typically falls into one of three categories:

  1. Shae somehow survived getting strangled by Tyrion and eventually showed up in Meereen. Kekilli's character was always particularly confident in her survival skills, so it doesn't appear to be a stretch that Shae might play dead in an effort to get Tyrion to stop strangling her.
  2. Shae has an identical twin who happens to be in Meereen. Very little is known about Shae's family, so the writers for the show have plenty of room to work with in this regard. Coincidentally, Kekilli actually has a twin sister, although she's a binovular twin.
  3. Tyrion has a dream or hallucination involving Shae. The "Game of Thrones" TV series is adapted from George R.R. Martin's fantasy book series, "A Song of Ice and Fire," and in the fifth book, "A Dance with Dragons," Tyrion goes through a downward spiral of guilt over murdering Shae. Seeing visions of her would be consistent with this.

Kekilli is particularly fond of working with Dinklage, saying in 2013, "I really love him and his acting. His acting is overwhelming, and I love to watch him. When we act together, I really forget to act. Acting for me is like a ping-pong game. That’s the secret of acting. When you have a really good actor, I always want to be as good as he is or she is. Peter gives me the ball and I just want to return it to him."

Thursday, October 8, 2015

Sibel Kekilli and the cast of 'Tatort' hit the red carpet at Filmfest Hamburg

Fans at this year's Filmfest Hamburg got a bit of a sneak preview on October 2 when an upcoming episode of the German television crime series "Tatort," titled "Borowski und die Rückkehr des stillen Gastes" ("Borowski and the Return of the Silent Guest"), was screened at the event. The screening was marked by a red carpet appearance of the Kiel cast of "Tatort," including Turkish-German actress Sibel Kekilli and her co-star Axel Milberg. The episode, which was filmed February 24-March 25, won't be aired on German television until January 1, 2016.

According to the official "Tatort" website, the episode is a sequel to "Borowski und die Rückkehr des stillen Gastes" ("Borowski and the Silent Guest"), which was aired in 2012. The original episode was about a notorious serial killer named Kai Korthals played by Lars Eidinger, who reprises his role in the new episode. In the sequel, Korthals is a suspect in the disappearance of the girlfriend of Milberg's character, Klaus Borowski. An additional Kiel episode, titled "Borowski und die große Stille" (Borowski and the Great Silence), was filmed this past summer. It has not been screened anywhere, and an air date has yet to be announced.

For her festival appearance, Kekilli appeared in a black dress sold by Weekday, accordingly to a post on Instagram by Prag Agency, a public relationships firm that specializes in fashion, beauty and art. Weekday bills itself as a "progressive retail store concept offering jeans and creative fashion at an affordable price." Weekday's retail stores are located in Denmark, Germany, Norway and Sweden.

Filmfest Hamburg is the third-largest film festival in Germany, after Berlin International Film Festival and Filmfest München. This year marks the 23rd edition of the festival. It continues through October 10.

Saturday, July 4, 2015

Sibel Kekilli's relationship status given away by George R.R. Martin

After a 10-day trip to Europe during which he spent some time in Hamburg, Germany with former "Game of Thrones" actress Sibel Kekilli, "A Song of Ice and Fire" author George R.R. Martin posted the highlights of that trip on his LiveJournal page on Thursday, July 2. Within that blog entry, he revealed something that had been a closely-guarded secret -- Kekilli is not single.

Martin spoke before a crowd of 3000 fans in Hamburg Sunday, June 21 when he appeared at the Harbourfront Literaturfestival. Kekilli was in the audience, and that weekend she served as Martin's tour guide to the city. Last December, Martin served as Kekilli's tour guide in Santa Fe, New Mexico during a visit that was videotaped for the European documentary TV program, "Durch die Nacht." According to Martin, he spent his leisure time in Hamburg hanging out with Kekilli, her boyfriend, and his German publicist, Sebastian.

"Sibel fed me Turkish food and showed me some of Hamburg's nightlife," Martin wrote. "Hamburg stays up later than Santa Fe, you will be surprised to learn, but chile con queso is nowhere to be found. We drank White Russians while huddled under blankets in an outdoor cafe. (We) took a canal boat tour as well."

Kekilli has fiercely guarded her personal life ever since the German tabloid "Bild" broke the story of Kekilli's previous work in porn films. The story was published in February 2004 shortly after Kekilli received acclaim at the Berlin International Film Festival for her performance in her debut mainstream film, "Gegen die Wand." She briefly went into hiding before giving an interview to the "Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung" to discuss her seven-month career in porn, but after speaking with that newspaper and several other media outlets that year about her past, she stopped talking about her personal life altogether.

"It was then I spoke in public against my will a lot about myself." Kekilli said in a 2010 interview with "Die Welt." "Now I think: Okay, that's enough! That was six years ago, it's enough. Let's talk about my work!" [translated from German]

Kekilli has never been married, although she did participate in a wedding ceremony in 1999 with her then-finance, Stephan. However, as the daughter of Turkish immigrants, Kekilli was not considered a German citizen, and thus she needed a certificate of no impediment ("Ehefähigkeitszeugnis") from the Turkish government in order to officially marry Stephan, who was a native-born German citizen. The certificate was not issued in a timely fashion, so the marriage was not completed and the couple later broke up. Kekilli subsequently became an official German citizen.

During her acting career, Kekilli has appeared at numerous red carpet events, but she does so almost exclusively without a male companion. In 2009, Kekilli was reported to be dating Finnish actor Antti Luusuaniemi, her co-star in the movie "Pihalla." Kekilli recently told "Neon Ghost" that for a two-year period, she spent more time in Finland than in Germany. According to "Bild," Kekilli currently lives in an apartment in the Altona section of Hamburg, but it's unclear if she lives there with her unidentified current boyfriend. 

Tuesday, June 23, 2015

George R.R. Martin shows up at Harbourfront Literaturfestival with Sibel Kekilli

A crowd of 3000 fans showed up to see author George R.R. Martin when he spoke Sunday at Harbourfront Literaturfestival in Hamburg, Germany, but the audience received an extra treat when actress Sibel Kekilli showed up to listen to the lecture. Kekilli, who lives in Hamburg, was fulfilling her promise to Martin to show him the city whenever he came to visit. Kekilli made that promise when she visited Martin's hometown of Santa Fe, New Mexico last December. That visit was captured on video for an episode of "Durch die Nacht" which was aired on German and French television in March.

After an interview conducted at the Congress Center Hamburg convention center by literary critic Denis Scheck, Martin treated fans to a reading of a chapter from his still-unpublished book, "The Winds of Winter," which will be the sixth novel in the fantasy series "A Song of Ice and Fire." The HBO television series "Game of Thrones" is based upon that series, and Martin met Kekilli when she was cast as the prostitute Shae for that series. In an interview in April, Martin told Entertainment Weekly that he hopes to have the new book published by next spring, before "Game of Thrones" begins its sixth season.

After Martin finished his reading, a number of fans took the opportunity to pose for selfies with both Martin and Kekilli. Many of those photos were posted on social media. Instagram user "Juleficent" called her selfie with Kekilli a "Shae-fie."

Martin told Shez.de that Kekilli served as his personal tour guide for his visit to Hamburg. They took the opportunity to travel some of the city's network of canals and they also visited the St. Pauli Elbe Tunnel, which was originally constructed in 1911. Martin was amazed that the tunnel was older than any of the tunnels he knew as a child growing up in New Jersey.

Monday, June 22, 2015

Sibel Kekilli and Kaviar Gauche make a great fashion team

When "Tatort" and "Game of Thrones" actress Sibel Kekilli hit the red carpet at the German Film Awards last week, she was wearing an all-white outfit designed by Kaviar Gauche. The Berlin-based fashion house was founded in 2004 by designers Alexandra Fischer-Roehler and Johanna Kühl, and it is now known as one of the most successful young German fashion labels. Kaviar Gauche is currently sold in boutiques in 10 countries, including the United States.

The 35-year-old Kekilli is a fan of Kaviar Gauche's designs. Last September, she attended Paris Fashion Week as a guest of the company and VOGUE Germany came along to shoot a video of Kekilli consulting with designers in one of their fitting rooms. Shortly before this year's German Film Awards, the company posted on its Facebook page a photo of Kekilli getting fitted for the dress she would later wear to the ceremony.

At 5-foot-4, Kekilli doesn't have the height for the fashion runway, but she has nevertheless established herself as a popular model in Europe. The photo page on her official website displays samples from dozens of fashion shoots she has done over the years. Early in her career, she had the honor of appearing on the April 2006 cover of Elele magazine in Turkey. More recently, photographers Till Janz and Hendrik Schneider conducted a particularly edgy and colorful shoot that was published in the Winter 2014 issue of QVEST. That issue also featured an interview in which she discussed her fashion preferences.

[Translated from German] "Fashion is an expression of personality for me," she told QVEST. "The individual style of women like Kate Moss or Charlotte Gainsbourg is great, but with help from my stylist, I'm slowly developing a good sense of what is me and what is not. I like a simple elegance on the red carpet, without too many patterns or too much decoration. Kaviar Gauche, for example, is my absolute favorite label."

Sunday, June 21, 2015

Sibel Kekilli starts filming a new episode of 'Tatort'

Filming is underway for Sibel Kekilli's newest episode of the long-running German TV crime series "Tatort." According to Tatort Blog, production for the episode, titled "Borowski und die große Stille" (Borowski and the Great Silence), will continue through July 14 in Kiel and several cities near Kekilli's hometown of Hamburg -- Wentorf, Glinde, Großhansdorf and Reinbek.

According to Filmförderung Hamburg Schleswig-Holstein, the film commission in the German state of Schleswig-Holstein, many of the scenes shot in Kiel will coincide with Kieler Woche (Kiel Week), an annual event that bills itself as "the greatest sailing event in the world and the largest summer festival in northern Europe." The festival will serve as the backdrop for the murder mystery that will be investigated by Klaus Borowski (played by Axel Milberg) and Sarah Brandt (played by Kekilli). The victim is a woman whose body is found in a vacant apartment in the heart of Kiel, and it appears that the perpetrator had been hiding in that apartment for months.

This episode is the second one that Kekilli has filmed this year. A previous episode, titled "Borowski und die Rückkehr des stillen Gastes" (Borowski and the Return of the Silent Guest), was filmed February 24 through March 25. The official "Tatort" website calls this episode a sequel to a 2012 episode titled "Borowski und der stille Gast" (Borowski and the Silent Guest). "Tatort" began its run in 1970 and has aired more than 900 episodes, but this will be the first time the series has advanced a story over two episodes. Lars Eidinger played suspect Kai Korthals in the original episode, and he will reprise that role in the sequel.

"Borowski und die Rückkehr des stillen Gastes" is scheduled to air on January 1, 2016, and "Borowski und die große Stille" will air later in the year.

Saturday, June 20, 2015

George R.R. Martin pays a return visit to Sibel Kekilli

George R.R. Martin, author of the "A Song of Ice and Fire" fantasy books series upon which the TV series "Game of Thrones" is based, announced on his blog this week that he'll be flying to Hamburg on Thursday for a "big event." Martin wrote that during his visit, former "Game of Thrones" actress Sibel Kekilli will show her around the city.

Last December, Kekilli traveled to Martin's hometown of Santa Fe, New Mexico, where she made a personal appearance at a screening of her 2004 debut film, "Gegen die Wand" (released in the United States as "Head-On"). The film was screened at the Jean Cocteau Cinema, which was purchased and restored by Martin in 2013. Kekilli's visit with Martin was filmed by a Zweites Deutsches Fernsehen (ZDF) production crew for the Arte television show "Durch die Nacht," a documentary series that features two celebrities exploring a city together in each episode. Kekilli's episode, which was aired in Germany and France in March, shows her inviting Martin to her hometown of Hamburg, where she has lived for more than a decade.

Although Martin did not specify the "big event" in Hamburg, the website for the Harbourfront Literaturfestival is advertising that Martin will appear at the book festival on Sunday, June 21. About 3000 fans are expected to show up for a Q&A session which will be hosted by Denis Scheck. It will be Martin's first public appearance in Germany.

It's not certain when Martin will get a chance to hang out with Kekilli because the latter has been pretty busy this week. Filming for her latest episode of the Germany TV crime series "Tatort" started on June 15 and will continue through July 15, and Kekilli still took time off to attend the German Film Awards in Berlin on June 19. The new episode is titled, "Borowski und die große Stille," and it is expected to air some time in 2016.

Friday, June 19, 2015

German Film Awards 2015: Again, Sibel Kekilli looks stunning on the red carpet

Although two-time Lola Award winner Sibel Kekilli wasn't nominated this year, she nonetheless showed up for the 2015 German Film Awards on June 19 in a classy outfit. Her white floral top with a sheer white tea-length skirt was fairly typical for Kekilli, who has worn white at a number of red carpet events in recent years, include this year's Berlinale International Film Festival in February. White heeled sandals and a white clutch completed her outfit.

This year, the Lola Award for best actress went to Spanish actress Laia Costa for her portrayal of the title character in "Victoria," a drama about a runaway girl who gets caught up in a bank robbery perpetuated by three men she had just met. Also nominated were Nina Hoss for her role in "Phoenix," and Katharina Marie Schubert for her role in "Ein Geschenk der Götter." Kekilli's awards came in 2004 for her performance in "Gegen die Wand" (released in the United States as "Head-On"), and in 2010 for her performance in "Die Fremde" ("When We Leave"). 

Kekilli was already a star in Europe when she was cast as Shae in the HBO fantasy series "Game of Thrones" in 2010. Shae was the proud, feisty prostitute who entered into an exclusive relationship with Lord Tyrion Lannister, played by American actor Peter Dinklage. "Game of Thrones" creators David Benioff and D. B. Weiss asked the Turkish-German actress to audition for the part after seeing her performance in "Gegen die Wand." Kekilli's audition inspired them to expand Shae's part beyond what was originally planned.

"Sibel brought such life and intelligence to the part," said Benioff. "Her intensity inspired us to make the character more complex." 

Currently, Kekilli has a starring role in the long-running German TV crime series "Tatort." An episode that aired in March featured a guest-starring appearance by Tom Wlaschiha, who plays Jaqen H'ghar in "Game of Thrones."