Katsumi Suzuki is a veteran Japanese voice actor and narrator born on August 5, 1956, in Aichi Prefecture, Japan. He began his career in 1982 after graduating from the Tokyo Actors' Cooperative Association's acting institute, fulfilling a desire to enter the entertainment industry that sparked during his university years. He is a graduate of the Faculty of Letters at Aichi Gakuin University and has also served as a lecturer at Senzoku Gakuen College of Music. Over his decades-long career, he has been affiliated with several talent agencies, including Production Baobab and Arts Vision, before joining his current agency, 81 Produce, in 2018.

Suzuki's debut role was as Hayao Kakizaki in the seminal 1982 series The Super Dimension Fortress Macross. He would reprise this role in the 1984 feature film The Super Dimension Fortress Macross: Do You Remember Love? and various later projects. This early work established him in the industry and led to a wide variety of roles across multiple genres.

Among his most recognized performances is his long-running role as Grandpa Higurashi, the grandfather of the heroine Kagome, in the popular fantasy series Inuyasha. He took over the role in 2000 following the passing of the original actor, Ginzo Matsuo, and continued to voice the character in the series' sequel, Yashahime: Princess Half-Demon, and its second act. Another iconic role is the villainous Elder Toguro brother in the classic 1990s series Yu Yu Hakusho.

His career is also notable for a wide range of character types. In the 1993 mecha series The Brave Express Might Gaine, he voiced the rock singer villain Purple and even performed the character's theme song, releasing a single under the name "PURPLE". He has frequently played comedic or elderly characters, such as the human-beast Rairai and Dark General Datzugha in Magical Circle Guru Guru, and various roles in the long-running Nintama Rantaro. In 1997, he took on an astonishing number of distinct roles in the series Hikarian - Great Railroad Protector, voicing characters like Dr. 300X, Fire N'Ex, Max, Old Kodama, Rapi:t, and Silver Express. His filmography also includes a voice role in the landmark anime Neon Genesis Evangelion and a part in the film Spriggan.

Beyond Japanese animation, Suzuki has an extensive career in dubbing foreign films and television series. He has provided the Japanese voice for numerous characters, including Bugs Bunny in Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Mandark in Dexter's Laboratory, the Red Guy and Flem in Cow and Chicken, Alpha 5 in Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, and Nute Gunray in the Star Wars prequel trilogy. In the realm of video games, he is internationally known as the long-standing voice of Diddy Kong in the Donkey Kong and Super Mario franchises since 2004.

Suzuki's career demonstrates remarkable longevity and versatility, spanning lead roles, iconic supporting characters, and a prolific amount of voice-over work. He continues to be active in the industry, with recent roles including Jūbē Aoki in Let's Make a Mug Too and its second season, and Morioka Tomio in the Tsurune series.