As Episode Magazine, we spoke with Derin Beşikçioğlu who plays Meriç on Disney+ original We’ll Be Fine.
In the world of We’ll Be Fine, Meriç is a character who doesn’t hold back, her unfiltered nature sometimes makes you laugh, and sometimes hits you right where it hurts. I met with Derin Beşikçioğlu to trace this “straight-talking” yet deeply heartfelt character. We talked about Meriç’s seemingly tough but actually fragile sides, her perspective on friendship, and her clear stance toward life.
You appear as Meriç in the series; carefree, fun, straightforward, and sometimes quite blunt. How did you define her when you first read the character?
When I first read it, it excited me a lot. It made me feel very free. She’s a very fun character. It’s very open-ended, which allowed me to add whatever I wanted. Meriç is Derin in her unfiltered form.
Meriç is actually one of Lal’s closest friends, but also the most blunt speaker in the group. Why do you think she is so unfiltered?
Meriç doesn’t look at love or life through a pink filter. I think that’s what sets her apart from the group the most. Her truths and boundaries are very clear. She doesn’t cover up what she sees as reality just to make her friend happy, comfort them, or ease their mind. Even if she knows it will hurt, she expresses her thoughts unfiltered. While everyone else in the group is in a relationship, Meriç lives life solo.
This has given her the chance to observe many relationships and people. Naturally, through both her own experiences and what she’s observed, she ends up being more experienced in this area. She can immediately recognize a flaw, maybe it happened to her before, and she knows exactly how it ends. She doesn’t want her friends to go through what she went through. You know how they say, “you know it from yourself.”
In friend groups, there’s often someone who says what everyone else thinks but doesn’t dare to say. Meriç feels like that person. What kind of tone did you aim for while playing her?
Meriç and Derin are actually very similar. All that bluntness comes from wanting the best for her friends. She doesn’t want anyone to get hurt. You could also call her impulsive, whatever comes to her mind, she says or does it in that moment.
Lal and Aktan’s relationship is quite complex and emotional. From the outside, what do you think Meriç sees in it?
A relationship on the verge of collapse. They’ll either rise together or sink together.
Meriç seems to bring both energy and realism into the story. How would you define her role within this friend group?
She represents the real side of the group. Her friends have become her family. Meriç is someone who hasn’t been accepted by many people, and the only ones who accept her as she is are her friends. That’s why she has the courage to stand against the world for them.
The world created by Neslihan Yeşilyurt has a very strong, stylized atmosphere. What was it like for you to work with her?
I can say a dream came true. Being part of the world she created, meeting her, and working together was something I had always wanted. When I learned that Neslihan would direct this project, I was very excited. The working environment she created was incredibly comfortable, safe, sincere, and real. I feel very lucky to have experienced such an environment.
What kind of friendship energy formed on set, especially in your scenes with Miray Daner?
Miray is an incredible person and actor. She’s extremely respectful and gives space to the person she’s working with. I think the reason this project feels so real is because everyone was like that. We worked with a team that is very good at what they do. As actors, we understood each other very well from the very first day. What you see on screen wasn’t constructed, it was real.
How do you think Meriç views love? Is she more romantic or more realistic?
I think Meriç approaches love a bit impulsively. She has made many mistakes while searching for the right person and has had her heart broken. She’s not exactly what she appears to be. Even though she says she loves being alone, deep down she wants someone by her side. She wants to be loved too. From the outside, she seems strong and surrounded, but when she turns inward, we see a woman who is tired of being alone and strong. That’s why Meriç is romantic enough to do anything in the first rush of excitement, yet realistic enough to foresee everything at the first crack.
If you had the chance to sit down and talk with Meriç, would you give her any advice about life or love?
I wouldn’t give her advice, I’d want her to give me advice 🙂 Whatever I say, she wouldn’t listen anyway; she’d go her own way.
Lastly, I’m curious about your career: what excites you most in your acting journey, and is there a type of character you particularly dream of playing in the future?
Any project that has something meaningful to say excites me. I don’t think I limit myself when it comes to the future. I don’t have a specific character I can say “I definitely want to play this.” The only thing I can say is that I love improving myself and pushing my limits. I would love to work with a team that allows me to do that. But if I have to give an example—I did ballet for many years and then modern dance. That’s why Black Swan holds a special place for me. I would love to be part of a project like that.
