Noboru Ando (安藤 昇 Andô Noboru, born 1926) is a Japanese film actor known for his yakuza roles. In fact, Ando was a real-life yakuza gang boss before becoming an actor in 1965, when he appeared in a film about himself, Chi to Okite ("Blood and Rules"). He later wrote, produced and starred in a series of films about his life and his former gang, the Ando-gumi. He also notably appeared in several films by Kinji Fukasaku.

One clear sign of his past occupation is the large knife scar on his left cheek, the result of a brawl with a Korean gangster as a young man. According to Ando, acting came easily to him as a result of his underworld life: "In Japanese, the only difference between yakuza and yakusha (actor) is one hiragana character," he was quoted in the Japan Times as saying. "All yakuza have to be actors to survive."

Credit to: Wikipedia

生平:

菅原中途从早稻田大学退学。他起先是一名时装模特，后于1958年被新东宝公司挖角，成为电影主演。然而英俊的扮相并未给他带来高知名度。

　　1961年，新东宝破产，菅原转到松竹公司。松竹的作品以家庭情节剧为主，菅原在那里只能出演一些小角色。1968年，菅原听从了安藤升的建议，转到以黑道电影著称的东映公司。在当时不景气的电影界，东映是最具市场号召力的电影公司。从1969年开始，菅原主演了一批侠义动作片。其中《无仁义战争》（1973、深作欣二）是其中的代表作，菅原由此赢得了一大批拥趸。1975年高仓健离开东映后，菅原接替他成了公司的头号明星，他主演的《卡车野蛮人》系列（1975、铃木泽文）又大受欢迎。

　　进入80年代，菅原渐渐从一线退下来，在电影中出演配角扶持新人。淡出影坛后的菅原开始把热情投注到公益事业中。1991年，菅原出任崎玉县自由森学园理事长。不久后又担任了故乡宫城县的米粮大使。菅原是日本影史上的一位重要人物，他代表了日本战后电影的风貌。他的作品多为警匪片、黑道片，菅原塑造了一系列硬派铁血的男子汉形象，拥有大批影迷。