Takashi Kobayashi is a Japanese actor known for his work in film, television, and theater, who has also taken on select voice acting roles in anime. He was born on August 20, 1959, in Kawagoe, Saitama Prefecture. He graduated from the Department of English Literature at Meiji University.

Kobayashi began his career in theater, becoming a member of the Tokyo Sunshine Boys theater company under renowned playwright and director Koki Mitani. This collaboration with Mitani has been a defining feature of his career, extending to numerous stage productions, television dramas, and films. His most famous live-action role is the police officer Otokichi Mukojima in the long-running detective series Furuhata Ninzaburo. He has also appeared in many NHK taiga historical dramas, including Shinsengumi! and Sanada Maru. In film, he has worked frequently with Mitani and had a role in the live-action film Shin Godzilla, where he plays a character identified as Yamaoka.

Though primarily a live-action actor, Kobayashi has voiced characters in several notable anime films. He played Tasuke Jinnouchi in the acclaimed film Summer Wars and voiced Mrs. Nirasaki's husband in Wolf Children. His other anime voice credits include a role in The Legend of the Galactic Heroes as Graham Evert Noelbacker and the character of Male Student A in an episode of My Sister, My Writer. He also contributed voice work to the series Zettai Shonen.

Kobayashi has cultivated a reputation as a reliable and versatile supporting actor, able to move seamlessly between comedic and dramatic roles. This has made him a frequent collaborator with major directors and a familiar face in Japanese popular culture. He is represented by the talent agency K-Factory.