Why Zangief From Street Fighter (2026) Looks So Familiar

Paramount Pictures Add SlashFilm on Google: Preferred Source Google Discover Kitao Sakurai’s “Street Fighter” film is shockingly authentic to the Capcom video game series that it’s based on. Unlike the previous “Street Fighter” movies, Sakurai’s film takes the franchise’s character designs quite literally, giving its live-action actors the same haircuts, outfits, and body hair patterns as their animated counterparts.

Case in point: the film’s version of Zangief is a massive Russian bruiser with X-shaped scars on his shoulders, a weird bird-shaped chest hair pattern, and a big bushy beard. Zangief is played by Dutch bodybuilder Olivier Richters, and he definitely fits the part. According to GQ’s 2025 profile of the actor, Richters is 7’2″, weighs well over 300 pounds, and is colloquially known as “The Dutch Giant” in bodybuilding circles.

As far as his acting goes, Richters famously starred in the hit TV series “Reacher” as Paulie Van Hoven, a brutish villain from the show’s third season. He also portrayed the Russian inmate Ursa in the Marvel Cinematic Universe film “Black Widow,” the Huge Machine Shack Guard (as he’s credited) in the cheeky spy actioner “The King’s Man,” a burly thug in “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny,” and the daunting Krom in the video game movie “Borderlands.” Basically, he’s been swimming in the pool of high-profile Hollywood releases for several years now. Zangief is merely his latest effort.

Lucasfilm Olivier Richters once described his interest in acting in an interview on “Good Morning Britain.” As he explained, he hopes to live the Arnold Schwarzenegger/Richard Kiel dream. Schwarzenegger, of course, began his career on the bodybuilding circuit, while Kiel played the towering henchman Jaws in the James Bond movies. Moreover, these men are noted for their size, and Richters seems to have taken a lot of inspiration from them. According to the talk show, he’s the world’s tallest bodybuilder to boot.

And Richters takes his craft just as seriously. He mentioned how stressful it was for him to audition for “The King’s Man,” noting that he had to prove he could both act and handle the fight choreography required for his role. He added that his diet, as with all bodybuilders, is quite substantial.

Per a profile published by Essentially Sports, a young Richters struggled with pectus excavatum (a condition where one’s breastbone is sunken into their chest). He eventually began acting in smaller B-movies in the early 2010s, including the 2013 film “Points of View” (where he plays a harmonium player) and 2018’s “Ravers,” a movie that credits him as “Warehouse Guy.” However, it was 2021 that really served as his breakout year thanks to his roles in “Black Widow,” “The King’s Man,” and the biopic “The Electrical Life of Louis Wain” starring Benedict Cumberbatch. From there, it was just a hop, skip, and a jump to “Indiana Jones,” “Borderlands,” “Reacher,” and, finally, “Street Fighter.”

And if the acting doesn’t play out any further, Richters is, as it so happens, a hustling entrepreneur, too.

Amazon Prime Video If you were interested in what a seven-foot-two bodybuilder eats, know that it involves a lot of protein. Like, a lot of protein. As such, it’s understandable that Olivier Richters would want to start his own meat company with his family. Hence, his website, MuscleMeat.nl, sells a lot of ready-to-eat meat products that allow bodybuilders to eat all the meats they need without having to live in the kitchen. And until recently, Richters also ran his own clothing store called Tall Origin, which was intended to dress extraordinarily large men. He’s since announced on Instagram that he’s closed Tall Origin to focus on Muscle Meat and his acting instead.

To date, the 2026 “Street Fighter” hasn’t been a huge hit at the box office. Meanwhile, critics have been pretty lukewarm towards the movie, although /Film’s own “Street Fighter” review called it “highly watchable,” adding that “it’s not too hard to convince yourself you’re having fun while seeing it.” It’s certainly a high-profile release, what with its colorful photography and cartoonish character designs. Moreover, Zengief is a widely recognized pop culture figure, so people’s eyes are sure to light up when you tell them that Richters plays him in the new “Street Fighter” movie.

May Richters continue to thrive professionally, and may his meat company be ever successful.