About Necati Şaşmaz Necati Şaşmaz (born 15 December 1971 in Sivrice, Elazig) is a Turkish actor, who starred in the popular television series Valley of the Wolves and its movie spin-off Valley of the Wolves Iraq. Necati Şaşmaz was born in Elazığ, Turkey, oldest son of Abdülkadir Şaşmaz. He studied Tourism and Hotel Management both in Turkey and in Canada. He has lived in the USA for six years. He came to Turkey for a visit to his parents and decided to return to the USA on September 11, 2001. However because of the terrorist attacks made to the World Trade Center, he abandoned the idea to fly and decided to continue his life in Turkey. In Istanbul, Necati Şaşmaz met with 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. Also now he plays in another follow up of the original seris "Kurtlar Vadisi", called "Kurtlar Vadisi Pusu". Şaşmaz's position today as one of the most famous actors of Turkey is remarkable, considering that he has no education or background in theater or cinema.