Born in kyiv. Graduated in 1951 from the M. Shchepkin Theatre School, Rolan Bykov has been working in cinema since 1960 as an actor and director at Mosfilm. Organizer of the National Center for Children and Youth Cinema and Television (1989), which became the Rolan Bykov Foundation (International Foundation for the Development of Children and Youth Cinema and Television). In 1994, he received the Leo Tolstoy Gold Medal, given annually to the International Association of Children's Foundations. Honored Artist of Russia since 1973.