Olivier Richters, the seven-foot-tall actor who played Zangief in the 2026 Street Fighter movie, competed in a Street Fighter 6 tournament using the same character he portrayed in the film.
The tournament, called Chip Damage, took place in Richters’ home country of the Netherlands. Richters competed under the screen name ‘TheDutchGiant’ using Modern controls, a simplified control scheme that is more approachable for newer players.
Taking a look at the tournament bracket on Start.gg, Richters was knocked out of the winners side and won two sets by DQ before getting defeated by a player named ‘BlackBeard.’ Regardless of his results, the fact that he felt inspired to start competing as Zangief after playing the character in a major Hollywood movie spoke volumes to the fighting game community.
They weren’t free matches, either; Richters uploaded a video showing himself competing on stream at the event, where it’s clear that he has a solid understanding of his character, even taking a round off of his opponent — much to the crowd’s delight.
Richter’s presence at the tournament instantly went viral within the FGC, with one writing on X/Twitter, “This dude was the best cast hands down, and has also turned out to be cool af! Love it!”
“I was so hyped at seeing the actor playing the game, I didn’t even notice he’s on Modern. And I honestly don’t care! This is an actor caring about the source material, let him enjoy it as it’s more convenient to him!” another wrote.
Zangief actor Olivier Richters from the Street Fighter movie is actually playing in tournament with Gief! Dude has the reads! Oh my days!!! 🔥🔥🔥😱😱😱
#StreetFighter https://t.co/9DdWeOIXAP
— Ryan Hart (@RyanJosephHart) November 8, 2026
Even legendary fighting game player and commentator Ryan Hart got in on the excitement, taking photos with the actor and spreading the word of his involvement in the scene.
We actually got the chance to chat with Richters on the Street Fighter movie red carpet in October, where he told us that he wants to get so good at playing his character in tournaments that he becomes “the ultimate Zangief.”
“I’m not lying — I’m really dedicated to becoming one of the best Zangiefs out there,” he told us. “I’m not there yet, but I want to enter a tournament one time as the real Zangief playing Zangief. I just met a pro Zangief player, we spoke, and we’re gonna train together. If there is gonna be a second [movie], I want to be the ultimate Zangief.”
Thus far, word of a second Street Fighter film is still up in the air, but a sequel is already being written. The cast and crew are keen to make another movie together, and even told us that they’d love to film a crossover flick with the cast of the Mortal Kombat movies one day.
Image Credits: Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images for Paramount Pictures
