Rifat was born and raised in a close knit community of Istanbul. Throughout his childhood, he dreamed of becoming a very successful soccer player and joining the team he supported, Besiktas. Unfortunately, that didn't happen. So, his focus switched to acting which was introduced to him in his high school years. After taking part in school plays, Rifat auditioned for acting schools and got admitted to Istanbul University State Conservatory. Rifat's first major role in a film was in Three Monkeys (2008), by the Palme D'or winner director Nuri Bilge Ceylan. The film received the Best Directing Award at Cannes Film Festival and brought an international recognition to the young Turkish actor along with 'The Most Promising Actor' and 'The Best Supporting Actor' awards in his home country. Rifat's success continued by working with other accomplished film directors in Turkey such as Onur Ünlü and Ugur Yücel. His films traveled all around the world and screened at the top film festivals like Cannes and Berlin. His recent success was with 'Across the Sea (2014),' an international feature film which brought him the 'Best Actor' Award at the Golden Bolls. Rifat's latest international film, 'Le Chant des Hommes' by the Belgian directors, Mary Jimenez and Benedicte Lienard will be released next year. Besides acting in movies, Rifat so far did eight TV Shows in which he usually played sophisticated characters.