Episode
The Running Man (1987): Jesse Ventura, Jim Brown, Toru Tanaka & the Full Fight Game Breakdown | Popcorn & Piledrivers
- Podcast
- Fight Game Media Network
- Published
- Jun 22, 2026
- Duration seconds
- 5054
- Processing state
not_requested- Canonical source
- https://fightgamemedia.com
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Summary
The Running Man (1987) has one of the most fight-game-stacked casts in Hollywood history, and most people don't even realize it. On this episode of Popcorn & Piledrivers, we break down every connection — Jesse "The Body" Ventura as the retired Stalker champion, Professor Toru Tanaka as the hockey-armored Subzero, Jim Brown (NFL Hall of Famer and the voice of UFC 1) as Fireball, Kurt Fuller two years before No Holds Barred, and Erland van Lidth — an actual NCAA heavyweight wrestling runner-up and Olympic alternate — as the opera-singing Dynamo. We also cover the chaotic production history (three directors, Christopher Reeve was nearly the star), how dramatically the film differs from Stephen King's original novel and why King refused to let his name appear on the poster, how Edgar Wright's 2025 remake starring Glen Powell compares to both, and which current wrestling stars belong in a modern version of this film. Find us on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@FightGameMedia Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/id1594255707 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4IpirI4FyHQA3BRMhwei5X Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fightgamemedia X / Twitter: https://twitter.com/fightgamemedia fightgamemedia.com Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy