Biography
Kaoru Kobayashi is a Japanese actor born on 4 September 1951 in Kyoto. He began his career in the theatre, joining Jūrō Kara's Situation Theatre troupe in 1971 and remaining until 1980 before moving into film and television.
He is known for voice performances in Studio Ghibli films, including Jikobo in Princess Mononoke (1997), the King in Tales from Earthsea (2006) and the Noble Pelican in The Boy and the Heron (2023). In live action he has played the Master in the Midnight Diner television series (2009–2014) and its film adaptations, as well as roles in The Funeral (1984), The Great Passage (2013) and We Made a Beautiful Bouquet (2021).
Kobayashi has received several awards, including Best Supporting Actor at the 8th Yokohama Film Festival for Sorobanzuku (1986) and Best Actor at the 30th Yokohama Film Festival.
