Born in 1931, Erol Keskin continued his acting journey, which he began while studying to be an interior designer in the Academy of Fine Arts, as a theatre and cinema actor, documentary producer, director, and scriptwriter. After retiring from acting in the İstanbul Metropolitan Municipality Theatres, where he also served as General Artistic Director, he carried on as a guest actor for a period, while continuing his work on theatre anthropology in the Stage Research Laboratory. Keskin also continued to share his experience through the seminars and courses he taught in Eskişehir Anadolu University, Akademi İstanbul, Müjdat Gezen Art Centre, and Sadri Alışık Culture Centre.
The countless plays in which he performed include Sarah Bernhardt (Life is a Play), Ferhad and Shirin, Gilgamesh, Tuesday Visits, Everyone in the Same Garden, Olianna, Those who Live with Plays, Threshold, Troy, Wild West, Boulevard, The Bear Story, The Great Justinian, Fuji-Yama, Russian Comes to Love, Newspaper Newspaper, Modigliani, The Case of Oppenheimer, Ibrahim the Crazy, Antonius and Cleopatra, King Lear, Magnificent Widow, Golden Fist, Antigone, and Under the Black Trees. The plays that the artist directed include Cenghis Khan’s Bicycle, Rain Gloom, Bound Man, Halay (play), Montserrat - For a Hope, and Micado’s Sticks.
Some of the film works in which the master actor performed since the 1960s include Mr. Fikret (Selma Köksal, 2007), Each at His Own Home (Semih Kaplanoğlu, 2001), While Abdulhamid Falls (Ziya Öztan, 2002), Independence (Ziya Öztan, mini series, 1996), Three İstanbuls (Feyzi Tuna, mini series, 1983), Offering (Atıf Yılmaz, 1979), Hasip and Nasip (Atıf Yılmaz, 1976), Crazy Yusuf (Atıf Yılmaz, 1975), Fearless Lovers (Vedat Türkali, 1972), Honour and Gun (Ertem Göreç, 1971), Corrupt Order (Haldun Dormen, 1966), For a Beautiful Day (Haldun Dormen, 1965), Two Ships Side by Side (Atıf Yılmaz, 1963), Sunken Fish (Atıf Yılmaz, 1962), Love and Fist (Aram Gülyüz, 1961), Years Without You (Aram Gülyüz, 1960).
The awards Keskin received in over fifty years of his career in theatre and cinema include the Best Script Award in 1966 Antalya Golden Orange Film Festival with the film Bozuk Düzen (Corrupt Order), the Best Script Award in 1967 Antalya Golden Orange Film Festival with Güzel Bir Gün için (For a Beautiful Day), the Best Actor Award in the 20th International İstanbul Film Festival with Herkes Kendi Evinde (Each at His Own Home, 2001), and the Best Actor Award in the 23rd SIYAD Turkish Cinema Awards.