Katsumi Chou is a Japanese actor and voice actor born on August 11, 1951, in Gunma Prefecture. He began his career in the early 1970s, initially appearing in live-action television dramas and on stage. His professional acting training was completed at the Aoyama Sugiyama Memorial Actor Training Center, and he has been affiliated with the Seinenza Theater Company. In addition to his work in anime and video games, he remains active in theatrical productions and is known for dubbing roles in foreign films and television series.

His voice acting career, which began in earnest during the 1990s, is extensive and spans numerous major franchises. He is frequently cast in roles that utilize his deep, authoritative voice, often portraying figures of authority such as kings, military commanders, villains, and wise mentors. This is exemplified by many of his notable roles, including the King of EX Panda in Gō-chan: Moco to Chinjū no Mori no Nakama-tachi, Jūzō Oki in Submarine Super 99, and Marcos Guerrero in The Princess and the Pilot. He also voiced the character Gil Graham in Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha A's and has had recurring roles as the Hyūga clan elder in the Naruto series and as Mifune in Naruto Shippūden. His work includes the role of Unicron in Transformers: Armada, Hinata and Hotaru's grandfather in H2O ~Footprints in the Sand~, and Kirōchō in Magical Sisters Yoyo & Nene. More recently, he has voiced King Ramposa III in the Overlord anime series.

Beyond these roles, Chou has an extensive filmography in other popular anime. He has had parts in long-running series such as One Piece, where he voices Elizabello II, and Detective Conan, in which he has played numerous characters over the years. He has also appeared in series like Cowboy Bebop, Psycho-Pass, JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Stardust Crusaders, and several installments of the Mobile Suit Gundam franchise, including Turn A Gundam and Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron-Blooded Orphans. His work in the Rockman.EXE (MegaMan NT Warrior) anime series as the iconic villain Dr. Wily is also a significant part of his career.

Chou is also highly accomplished in the realm of video games and dubbing. He is well-known for providing the voice of Kimahri Ronso in the acclaimed role-playing games Final Fantasy X and Final Fantasy X-2, a role he has reprised in other titles. He has also voiced characters in numerous other games, such as Heidegger in Final Fantasy VII Remake and Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, and various characters in the Tales of series, including Tales of Rebirth and Tales of the Abyss. In dubbing, his deep voice has been used for Japanese-language versions of films and series, where he has voiced characters played by actors such as Christopher Lee, Anthony Hopkins, and Brendan Gleeson. A notable and widely recognized dubbing role was providing the Japanese voice for Donald Trump in the television series The Apprentice.