Early in his career, he mainly acted in comedy movies with Kemal Sunal such as “Hababam Sinifi”, “Tosun Pasa”, “Davaro” etc. Later, he had roles in movies criticizing Turkish society for its moral weaknesses as in “Milyarder”, ” Çiplak Vatandas” and the ones that reflected the contemporary social developments and problems as in “Zügürt Aga”. He played in “Gönül Yarasi-Lovelorn” that was nominated to be the candidate for Academy Awards in 2005. He had many national and international awards and honored as a state artist by Turkish Republic in 1998.

Şener Şen began acting in 1958 at the age of 17 as an amateur at the Yeşil Sahne Theater in Cağaloğlu. From 1964 to 1966 he taught in elementary schools in the villages of eastern Anatolia. In 1966 he returned to the stage at the City Theater in Istanbul. He made his film debut with a small role in the drama film So-Called Girls (1967), directed by Nejat Saydam.

He maintained a prolific output throughout the 1970s as a supporting cast member in a number of films by popular Turkish comedy actor Kemal Sunal, most significantly as Body Ekrem in the Hababam Sınıfı film series, and in 1978 he received the Golden Orange for Best Supporting Actor for Çöpçüler Krali (1977), directed by Zeki Ökten.

From 1980 to 1982 he continued his theater work in Germany. His first leading film role was alongside Müjde Ar in the comedy The Shalvar Trouser Trial (1983), directed by Kartal Tibet, for which he was named Best Film Actor by a number of film and stage publications, and he won the Golden Orange for Best Actor for his roles in Mr. Muhsin (1985), written and directed by Yavuz Turgul.

He starred in the award-winning The Bandit (1996), written and directed by Yavuz Turgul, for which he was also the executive producer. In 2004 he received a Golden Orange Lifetime Achievement Award and he won the Golden Orange for Best Actor a second time for his role in Lovelorn (2005), also written and directed by Yavuz Turgul.

He is the son of Turkish actor Ali Şen and was married to Turkish actress Şermin Hürmeriç from 1989 until their divorce in 1997.