Why Ryu From Street Fighter (2026) Looks So Familiar

"Street Fighter" has its share of confusing moments, and while the movie's ending can be explained, it's so open-ended that it's not as much teasing a possible sequel as it is blatantly advertising one. However, one thing that the film definitely has in its corner is smart casting. With a combination of ultra-famous faces, relative unknowns, and people who are more recognizable from walks of life outside of acting, the movie rolls out a truly impressive cast who are just as colorful as their video game counterparts.

All of this starts with the protagonist, of course. Though Ken (Noah Centineo) gets a comparable amount of attention, the franchise's overarching hero has always been Ryu, and this remains true in the movie. The stoic, yet appropriately goofy Ryu is played with dedication by Andrew Koji, and it won't surprise you to learn that he has plenty of experience playing impressive warrior figures. Here's where you might know him from.

Andrew Koji has been acting since the 2000s, but rose to prominence in the 2010s with assorted guest and recurring roles. His breakthrough year is actually easy to pinpoint. In 2019, Koji appeared in "Peaky Blinders" as Brilliant Chang, and started his three-season stint as the main character Ah Sahm in the Cinemax historical martial arts crime drama "Warrior."

Since then, you've likely seen Koji in a fair few high-profile projects. In 2021, he was Storm Shadow in the G.I. Joe film "Snake Eyes," and in 2022, he was part of the all-star cast of the Brad Pitt assassin action film "Bullet Train." In 2024, he played Jason in Season 1 of the Netflix Keira Knightley spy series "Black Doves," and in 2025, he joined "Gangs of London" Season 3 as Zeek. 2026 has seen him star as Darren Yoshida on the Prime Video crime thriller "Steal." 

These and many other shows and movies have made Koji a name to keep an eye on, and his stint as arguably the most central "Street Fighter" movie character will no doubt only raise his profile.