Gupse Özay Reveals the Real-Life Inspiration Behind Sepi in Her Hit Animated Film Gupi
Turkish actress and writer Gupse Özay wrote the script for the animated film Gupi and the King Who Never Laughed and voices its lead character. The film filled cinemas in its first weekend, and while it was topping the box office, Gupse Özay shared an old photo on Instagram that pointed fans to a sweet behind-the-scenes detail: the inspiration for the character Sepi was very close to home.
Gupse Özay became famous as Nurhayat in Yalan Dünya, then started writing her own stories with Deliha.
Gupse Özay began her career as a documentary director. She won over TV audiences as Nurhayat in Yalan Dünya, which aired on Kanal D in 2011. She then moved to cinema with Deliha, a film she wrote herself, and in 2018 she added directing to writing and starring with Deliha 2, becoming one of the most talked-about names in Turkish comedy.
After family comedies such as Görümce and Eltilerin Savaşı, Gupse Özay turned to children's stories. The Gupi character, which carries traces of her own childhood, first arrived as an animated series on Netflix. When the series climbed to the top of the platform's most-watched titles in November 2025, a big-screen version followed.
Gupi and the King Who Never Laughed drew more than 136,000 viewers and had the best Turkish opening of the year.
Directed by Arkın Aktaç, the film opened in cinemas on October 23 and became the new box office leader in its first weekend. According to Box Office Türkiye, it reached 136,539 viewers and earned more than 41 million Turkish lira between October 23 and 25, the best opening for a Turkish film in 2026.
The film follows Gupi and her friends on an adventure that starts in an empty apartment and leads to a kingdom where no one laughs. It is promoted as Türkiye's first IMAX animated film. It has also been released in many European countries, including Germany, France, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom, and will open in the Middle East and North Africa from November 12.
Gupse Özay revealed that Sepi is based on her closest cousin in real life.
As the film broke records, Gupse Özay shared a collage on Instagram. On one side were Gupi and her blonde friend Sepi from the film; on the other was a photo of Gupse Özay as a child.
She wrote: 'Did you know that in real life Sepi is my cousin, the person closest to me? And that their nickname is actually Sepi... Yes, the one next to them is me. So, Gupi.'
With that post, fans learned that the friendship between the two characters was inspired by the days Gupse Özay spent with her cousin as a child, and that even Sepi's name comes from the cousin's real-life nickname.
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