Sampath Kumar (18 September 1950 – 30 December 2009), known by his stage name Vishnuvardhan, was an Indian actor who worked predominantly in Kannada cinema besides also having sporadically appeared in Tamil, Hindi, Telugu and Malayalam language films. Vishnuvardhan has a prolific career spanning over four decades, during which he has acted in more than 220 films. A popular cultural icon of Karnataka, and holds the status of a matinée idol amongst the Kannada diaspora. He is popularly called as Sahasa Simha, Dada and The Angry Young Man of Kannada Cinema. Vishnuvardhan's contributions to Kannada cinema have been praised by his contemporaries in the Indian film industry. The Government of Karnataka honoured him with the Rajyothsava Prashasthi in 1990 and the Dr. Rajkumar Lifetime Achievement Award in 2007 for his contributions to Kannada cinema. He was called The Phoenix of Indian Cinema by CNN-News18. In 2008, a poll conducted by CNN-IBN listed Vishnuvardhan as the most popular star in the Kannada film industry.

Vishnuvardhan made his acting and onscreen debut at age 21 in B. V. Karanth and Girish Karnad's Vamsha Vriksha in 1971. In 1972, he attained stardom after starring in Puttanna Kanagal's Naagarahaavu . By the late-1970s, he established himself as a bankable leading actor after starring several successful films throughout the 70's; the crime drama Sahasa Simha released in 1982 catapulted him into superstardom in Karnataka. He predominantly works in Kannada films, but he has also appeared in some of Hindi, Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam films. Some of his best known non-Kannada films include the Tamil mythological Sri Raghavendrar (1985) and the Malayalam crime thriller Kauravar (1992). He was also the story writer of the 1997 film Ganesha I Love You directed by Phani Ramachandra.

Vishnuvardhan has won six Filmfare Award South—four Best Actor and two Special Jury Mention, three Cinema Express Awards for Best Actor and eight Karnataka State Film Awards—seven Best Actor and one Dr. Rajkumar Lifetime Achievement Award. He has won the second most number of Best Actor awards at the Karnataka State Film Awards, behind Dr. Rajkumar. As an acknowledgment to his service to Indian cinema, the state government named its annual lifetime achievement award to long-serving film personalities after Vishnuvardhan, renaming it as the Karnataka State Dr. Vishnuvardhan Award. Vishnuvardhan was given the Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award - South in 2002 for his contribution to the Kannada film industry. A road stretching 14.5 kilometers (9.0 miles) from Banashankari Temple to Kengeri in Bangalore was named after him. It is the longest road in India to be named after an actor.