Olivier Richters

Biography

Olivier Richters is a Dutch bodybuilder, actor, and entrepreneur who holds the title of the "tallest professional bodybuilder in the world" at 7 feet 2 inches (2.18 m). He overcame a severe case of pectus excavatum (hollow chest) in his youth to build one of the most imposing physiques in the entertainment industry. In 2026, he takes on a role he was physically born to play. He stars as the "Red Cyclone" Zangief in the live-action reboot of "Street Fighter" (October 16, 2026). His casting was widely celebrated by fans of the franchise, as Richters is one of the few actors who naturally matches the massive, exaggerated proportions of the video game character without the need for CGI enhancement. Prior to this, he gained attention as the gulag inmate Ursa Major in Marvel's Black Widow (2021) and the towering henchman Hauke in Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny (2023). He also recently terrified audiences as the villainous Paul "Pauly" Masserella in Season 3 of the hit series "Reacher" (2025), where he was one of the few on-screen adversaries physically larger than Alan Ritchson.