Baykal Saran

Baykal Saran — Biography

Over a career of nearly fifty years, Turkish stage and television actor Baykal Saran divided his work between the State Theatres and the television screen. Wide audiences knew him as the mafia boss Hüsrev Ağa in Kurtlar Vadisi and as Ertuğrul Gazi in Kuruluş / Osmancık. He died in 2006, and the Baykal Saran Theatre Award, presented every year in his name, keeps his stage legacy alive.

After graduating from the Theatre Department of the Ankara State Conservatory he joined the State Theatres company and spent most of his working life at the Ankara State Theatre. On stage he took roles in many plays, among them Yeryüzü Cenneti (Tennessee Williams), Yaban Ördeği, Jül Sezar, Vişne Bahçesi, Kuvayi Milliye Destanı and Fil Adam, and he directed several productions, including Eski Toprak, Acılı Toprak, Kız Doğdu and Deli Emine. In 1970 he received a commendation from the Sanat Sevenler Derneği for his performance in Yeryüzü Cenneti, and from 1985 to 1987 he served as director of the Ankara State Theatre.

His television career opened in the early 1980s with Küçük Ağa and Parmak Damgası. Deniz Gurbetçileri, Elif Ana and Ferhunde Hanımlar, in which he played Behzat Bey alongside his wife Beyhan Saran, followed, then Bizim Evin Halleri and Havada Bulut (as Kamil Ağa), and from 2003 Kurtlar Vadisi. One of his last television roles was Nazım Bey in Kırık Kanatlar. He was buried at Cebeci Asri Cemetery in Ankara.