Shirō Sano is a Japanese actor and film director born on March 4, 1955. His career in the entertainment industry began in 1975, and he first achieved a starring film role in 1986. While he is primarily known for an extensive body of live-action work in film and television, his filmography includes a number of notable voice acting roles in anime and related media.

Sano provided the voice for the protagonist Kenji Miyazawa in the 1996 anime biographical film Spring and Chaos. Directed by Shoji Kawamori, the film was produced to mark the 100th anniversary of the poet's birth and is distinctive for depicting its characters as anthropomorphic cats. His other anime voice roles include the character Ryukoma in the film Atagoal wa Neko no Mori and Elite Johnny in an episode of the fourth GeGeGe no Kitarō television series in 1996. He also voiced the character Vicious in the Japanese version of the anime film Pokémon 4Ever. In the 2008 live-action film Kitaro and the Millennium Curse, which is based on the same source material as the anime series, he voiced the character Jakotsu Babaa while also appearing in an interview capacity alongside series creator Shigeru Mizuki.

Beyond traditional animation, Sano's voice work frequently crosses over into live-action tokusatsu productions. For instance, in the 2012 film Kaizoku Sentai Gokaiger vs. Space Sheriff Gavan: The Movie, he voiced the character Makuu Prison Warden Ashurada while also appearing on-screen as Chief of Space Police Weeval. Similarly, in the 2016 film Kamen Rider Heisei Generations: Dr. Pac-Man vs. Ex-Aid & Ghost with Legend Rider, he voiced both Dr. Pac-Man and Genomes in addition to his live-action role. A significant narration credit includes providing the voiceover for 40 episodes of the television series Ultraman Max from 2005 to 2006.

Other voice and live-action roles credited to him include Shimada in the film Tojin Kit, Detective Shibata in the live-action film adaptation of Cat's Eye, Junichi Narutaki in Doomed Megalopolis: The Last Megalopolis, Kidokoro in Princess Blade, an Officer in Rampo, and both Yanbo and Mabo in the live-action film adaptation of 20th Century Boys.