Shiro Sano
Known for
Born in Yamanashi in 1955, Shiro Sano built a career on the edges of Japanese genre film, admired for a slyly theatrical intensity. He worked with Kiyoshi Kurosawa on the horror Kairo (2001), appeared in Kinji Fukasaku's Battle Royale (2000) as the announcer, and figured in Takashi Miike's Gozu (2003). He remains a constant of prestige television drama and of tokusatsu productions like Godzilla 2000 (1999) and Godzilla Final Wars (2004). A hard-working supporting player who lends any scene an off-kilter charge, he is one of Japanese cinema's reliable eccentrics.
Shiro Sano
94 Movies
58 Series
Born in Yamanashi in 1955, Shiro Sano built a career on the edges of Japanese genre film, admired for a slyly theatrical intensity. He worked with Kiyoshi Kurosawa on the horror Kairo (2001), appeared in Kinji Fukasaku's Battle Royale (2000) as the announcer, and figured in Takashi Miike's Gozu (2003). He remains a constant of prestige television drama and of tokusatsu productions like Godzilla 2000 (1999) and Godzilla Final Wars (2004). A hard-working supporting player who lends any scene an off-kilter charge, he is one of Japanese cinema's reliable eccentrics.
Movies
Plays Vicious (voice)
Pokémon 4Ever
2001
Plays Principal Nagai
Happyend
2024
Plays Sugimoto
Good News
2025
Plays Tatsuo's Father
My Way
2011
Plays Assassin
Godzilla: Final Wars
2004
Plays Masaru Kanno
The Trap
1996
Plays Haruki Kadokura
Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack
2001
Plays Yoshinari
Violent Cop
1989
Plays Prof. Shiro Miyasaka
Godzilla 2000: Millennium
1999
Plays Prime Minister
Fukushima 50
2020
Plays Kamo Keiichiro
We Are Little Zombies
2019
Plays "Mysterious" Editor
The Great Yokai War
2005
Plays Yasuhide Kurihara
Four Days of Snow and Blood
1989
Plays Mâ-bô
20th Century Boys: Beginning of the End
2008
Plays Taizo Yoshida
My Little Monster
2018
Plays Katayama, a doctor
Lucky Sky Diamond
1989
Plays The chamberlain
The Sun
2005
Plays Chief
Cat's Eye
1997
Plays Uonuma
Two Seasons, Two Strangers
2025
Plays 이시이 테츠오
波の塔
2012
Plays Shigeo
Wasao
2011
Plays Tetsuji Hiramatsu
The Locked Room Murders SP
2014
Plays Morikazu Kadota
Under the Nagasaki Sky
2013
Plays Kiyoshi Akai
Infection
2004
Plays Junichi Narumi
Tokyo: The Last Megalopolis
1988
Plays Kazuo Kudo
Kiba: The Fangs of Fiction
2021
Plays Kidokoro
The Princess Blade
2001
Plays Cabinet Minister Kirigaya
Silence of the Sea
2024
Plays Satoshi
Dear Kaita Ablaze
2023
Plays Tokugawa’s vassal
Tatara Samurai
2017
Plays Nobuo Asanuma
Caution, Hazardous Wife: The Movie
2021
Plays Masaru Kanno
The Stairway to the Distant Past
1995
Plays Michio Nishino
Amalfi: Rewards of the Goddess
2009
Plays Utamaro
Sharaku
1995
Plays Kuwata
Shangri-La
2002
Plays Tutor
Haruka, Nostalgia
1993
Plays Yashiro
Seven Days War
1988
Plays Akihiro's Boss
Waiting in the Dark
2006
Plays Dr. Murakami
Geharha: The Dark and Long-Haired Monster
2009
Plays Jung Hak-sun
Stolen Identity: Final Hacking Game
2024
Plays Konomi Mitsuru
Kinki
2014
Plays Correspondent Morita
Ultra Q The Movie: Legend of the Stars
1990
Plays Masaru Kanno
The Most Terrible Time in My Life
1994
Plays Noritane Itoh
The Rocking Horsemen
1992
Plays Zeshin
Bikuu: The Movie
2015
Plays Ashurada (voice) / Weeval
Kaizoku Sentai Gokaiger vs. Space Sheriff Gavan: The Movie
2012
Plays Kurahashi
Evil Dead Trap 2: Hideki
1992
Plays Michihiko Zaizen / Dr. Pac-Man
Kamen Rider Heisei Generations: Dr. Pac-Man vs. Ex-Aid & Ghost with Legend Riders
2016
Plays Officer
The Mystery of Rampo
1994
Plays The Dying Man
The Room
1993
TV Shows
Plays Eto Yasumune
The Ghost Writer's Wife
2025
Plays Officer 501
Detective Office 5: Another Story
2005
Plays Narration
Ultraman Max
2005
Plays Ashikaga Yoshimi
Hana no Ran
1994
Plays Narrator (voice)
Ultra Q: Dark Fantasy
2004
Plays Genji Onitsuka
24 JAPAN
2020
Plays Katagiri Shuntaro
Watashi no Unmei
1994
Plays Shuji Igarashi
Kuitan
2006
Plays Yuichi Oshima
SICK'S Jo no Shou
2018
Plays Yamada Mario
The Secret
1993
Plays Tenran
Vampire Host
2004
Plays Oikawa Kenichi
Frozen Summer
1998
Plays Tadashi Kirishima
A Taste of Honey
2011
Plays Hiromu Watanuki
Blue Bird
1997
Plays Takeo Sone
CSI: Crime Scene Talks
2011
Plays Katsuji Fudo
Dr. Ashura
2025
Plays Yamashita
Rich Man, Poor Woman
2012
Plays Shigeo Manabe
Dandarin Rules
2013
Plays Toru
Future Diary Another World
2012
Plays Miyazono Kyosaku
Food Fight
2000
Plays Takeshi Mizuguchi
How to Get a Divorce for the Whole Family!
2021
Plays Tateishi Funao
Is It Too Late for Sushi?
2026
Plays Yuzo Shindo
Whispers from a Crime Scene
2016
Plays Yutaka Naganuma
Secret of 10
2020
Plays Chief Tasaki
Dollhouse
2004
Plays Mizutani Itsuro
Harassment Game
2018
Plays Masato Shirabishi
The Killer Inside
2022
Plays Seiji Terauchi
The Habitation
2018
Plays Machida Yuzo
Eat and Sleep Together, Live Together
2014
Plays 竹屋喜好
しあわせのシッポ
2002
Latest Trailers
Watch Trailer
Living Corpse
Full Filmography
S&X
Norio Toyohara · 7 episodes
2026–
TV
Living Corpse
(voice)
2026
Film
Ultraman Teo
Takayuki Tsukahara · 2 episodes
2026–
TV
Is It Too Late for Sushi?
Tateishi Funao · 10 episodes
2026–
TV
The Flying Tackle: A Great Whirlwind
Daizo Sawada
2025
Film
Two Seasons, Two Strangers
Uonuma
2025
Film
The Ghost Writer's Wife
Eto Yasumune · 125 episodes
2025–
TV
Good News
Sugimoto
2025
Film
Dr. Ashura
Katsuji Fudo · 11 episodes
2025–
TV
Photos
Frequently Asked Questions
How old is Shiro Sano and where are they from?
Shiro Sano is 71 years old, born on March 4, 1955 in Yamanashi, Yamanashi, Japan.
What are the most famous roles of Shiro Sano?
Shiro Sano is best known for roles in Pokémon 4Ever, My Way, Violent Cop.
How many movies has Shiro Sano been in?
Over a 40-year career (since 1986), Shiro Sano has appeared in 94 movies and 57 TV shows.
What was Shiro Sano's first movie?
The career of Shiro Sano began with To Sleep So as to Dream (1986).
What is Shiro Sano's most recent movie or series?
Shiro Sano's most recent release is S&X, which premiered on August 20, 2026.
What TV shows has Shiro Sano appeared in?
On television, Shiro Sano has appeared in The Confidence Man JP, Rich Man, Poor Woman, The Journalist, SPEC ~ First Blood.
Shiro Sano
1955-03-04 · Yamanashi, Yamanashi, Japan
Shirō Sano (born March 4, 1955, in Yamanashi Prefecture, Japan) is a Japanese actor and director. After working with several theater companies, he had his first starring film role in To Sleep so as to Dream (1986) and gained wider recognition through the television drama Zutto Anata ga Suki datta (1992).
His film credits include Violent Cop (1989), Godzilla 2000 (1999), Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack (2001), and Godzilla: Final Wars (2004). He made his directorial debut with Karaoke in 1999.