Shōzō Iizuka was a prolific Japanese actor, voice actor, and narrator whose career spanned over seven decades, from 1951 until his passing in 2023. Born on May 23, 1933, in Fukushima Prefecture, he was a graduate of the fine arts department of Nihon University and was represented by the agency Sigma Seven at the time of his death. Iizuka passed away on February 15, 2023, from acute heart failure at the age of 89.

Iizuka was renowned for his deep and powerful voice, which made him a sought-after talent for voicing villains, giant characters, and authority figures across anime, tokusatsu, and video games. He is perhaps best known to international audiences as the voice of the Saiyan warrior Nappa in the iconic anime series Dragon Ball Z. Another signature role was Dr. Neo Cortex in the Japanese-language versions of the Crash Bandicoot video game series. In the realm of tokusatsu, he was a ubiquitous presence, providing the voices for numerous monsters and villains, including a remarkable 38 out of 50 Vader Monsters in Denshi Sentai Denjiman and playing major antagonist roles in the first eight Metal Hero Series.

His extensive filmography demonstrates incredible range and longevity. In anime, some of his many notable roles included Ryu Jose in Mobile Suit Gundam, Heart in Fist of the North Star, Android #8 in the original Dragon Ball, Inspector Lestrade in Sherlock Hound, and Dr. Jumba Jookiba in the various Japanese Stitch! television series. He also voiced Baraggan Louisenbairn in Bleach, the Demon King in The Seven Deadly Sins, and Genya Tachibana in the acclaimed film Millennium Actress. His work extended to original video animations such as Getter Robo: Armageddon and Giant Robo, as well as live-action drama voice roles in numerous Super Sentai series like Himitsu Sentai Gorenger and Kamen Rider Black.

Throughout his career, Iizuka built a legacy as one of Japan's most distinctive and hardworking character actors, leaving an indelible mark on the industry through his memorable performances in some of the country's most beloved franchises.