Tarō Ishida was a Japanese actor and voice actor born on March 16, 1944, in Kyoto, Japan. In addition to his performing career, he was also a chief priest of the Jōdo Shinshū Buddhist temple Jōkei-ji in Kanazawa, Ishikawa Prefecture. He was the son of actor Shigeki Ishida. Ishida attended the Foreign Language Department at Sophia University but left before graduating. He died on September 21, 2013, from a myocardial infarction.

Ishida began his acting career in the 1960s and remained active until his passing in 2013. As a live-action actor, he was a familiar face in Japanese television, particularly in NHK's historical taiga dramas such as Dokuganryū Masamune, Sanga Moyu, and Aoi. His film appearances included roles in Violent Cop, Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack, Quill, and the Academy Award-winning Departures.

As a voice actor, Ishida was renowned for his deep, commanding voice, which made him a natural choice for authoritative figures, dignified villains, and wise mentors in anime and foreign film dubbing. One of his most celebrated early anime roles was as the antagonist Count Cagliostro in Hayao Miyazaki's Lupin III: The Castle of Cagliostro. He provided the voice for the intimidating Colonel Shikishima in the landmark film Akira. He played Duke Red in Metropolis, the menacing Gasparde in One Piece: Dead End Adventure, and the Nightmare King in Little Nemo: Adventures in Slumberland. His other significant anime film credits include Arcadia of My Youth as Zeda, Final Yamato as Lugal I, the narrator for Fist of the North Star, and Teiji Moriya in Case Closed: The Time-Bombed Skyscraper.

In original video animations, he was heard as Emperor Beld in Record of Lodoss War, Seijūrō Tabe in BioHunter, Wotan in Harlock Saga, and Hanzui the Evil Messiah in Giant Robo. On television, his roles included Deneil Young in Space Brothers and Inspector Radish Redwood in Detective Conan. He voiced Zhang Fei across multiple productions based on Romance of the Three Kingdoms, including Sangokushi [2] Chōkō Moyu!, Sangokushi [3] Harukanaru Daichi, and Great Conquest: The Romance of Three Kingdoms. He also played Honen Shonin in Nenbutsu Monogatari: Shinran-sama - Negai, Soshite Hikari, Yahei in Senbon Matsubara: Kawa to Ikiru Shōnen-tachi, Old Man Hotaru in Rainbow Fireflies, and the role of Lugal I in Final Yamato.

In tokusatsu productions, Ishida appeared as Inspector Sonoya in Kamen Rider 555 and as Kentaro Hisatsu in Juken Sentai Gekiranger. His video game work was extensive, most notably providing the Japanese voices for Exdeath in Dissidia: Final Fantasy and Dissidia 012 Final Fantasy, as well as King Triton in the Kingdom Hearts series.

Ishida was also a prolific voice actor for dubbing foreign films and series, becoming the regular Japanese voice for actors such as Gene Hackman, Anthony Hopkins (including as Hannibal Lecter in The Silence of the Lambs and Hannibal), Jack Nicholson, and Peter Falk as Lieutenant Columbo. In animation dubbing, he was beloved for his roles as Eeyore in the Winnie the Pooh franchise and as King Triton in The Little Mermaid series.