Ayao Wada, also known as Wada Fumio, was a Japanese actor and voice actor born on July 16, 1929 in Tokyo, Japan. He passed away on September 6, 2010 at the age of 81 due to pneumonia. Wada graduated from the Faculty of Agriculture at the Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology. His career in performance began in November 1946 when he joined the Baraza theater company, making his stage debut in Tokyo Elegy. He left Baraza in May 1948 and later joined the theater company GEKIDAN TOUGEI from September 1954 to August 1956. In September 1956, he joined Theatre Echo, eventually serving as the president of the company from 1967 to 1992.

Wada is perhaps best known for his voice role as Higeoyaji, also known as Shunsaku Ban or Pompous, the familiar white-mustached character seen in many Osamu Tezuka works, in the first Astro Boy television series which aired from 1963 to 1966. He took over this role from Masaaki Yajima. His voice acting work extended to several films from the Panda! Go, Panda! series, where he voiced the zoo director in Panda! Go, Panda! and the circus director in Panda! Go, Panda!: Rainy Day Circus. In the realm of tokusatsu live-action special-effects series, he held significant roles in the Kamen Rider franchise. In Kamen Rider X, he voiced two primary characters: the villainous Dr. Noroi, the leader of the Government of Darkness organization, and the giant robot King Dark, which serves as the series' final antagonist. Wada also provided the voice for Mr. Wine in the film Golgo 13. His other voice credits include the role of the Ultra Seven supervisor in the Ultra Seven series. As a live-action actor, he appeared in films such as Japan Sinks and the television drama Mito Komon. Wada was also active in dubbing foreign films and television series into Japanese.