The Street Fighter movie brings some of Capcom’s most recognizable video game characters to live-action, with a cast that includes Andrew Koji, Callina Liang, Noah Centineo, David Dastmalchian, Rayna Vallandingham, Cody Rhodes and Andrew Schulz.
Senior Writer Elijah Isaiah Johnson recently spoke with members of the fantastic cast, as well as director Kitao Sakurai, about their approach to the latest adaptation of the iconic video game franchise, the physical demands of the film and their efforts to capture what makes the games so beloved.
Honoring the Street Fighter Games
For Sakurai, the goal was about more than recreating familiar characters and moves. He wanted the movie to reflect the excitement he experienced playing the games growing up.
“My goal was to capture the essence of not just the game, but how I felt as a kid playing the game for the first time,” Sakurai said.
The director also discussed the influence of anime on the franchise and the importance of making creative choices that reflected what the filmmakers wanted to bring to the adaptation.
Dastmalchian similarly discussed the challenge of taking on material with an established history while finding a personal interpretation of an iconic line.
“It’s like somebody saying, ‘Okay now you’re going to say I am your father,’ Dastmalchian said. “You think about these iconic lines in the history of culture, and you go, ‘How do I make that completely mine? How do I let go of all the history that comes before it and yet honor it at the same time?'”
Training to Become Ryu, Chun-Li and Ken
Physical preparation was another major topic throughout the interviews.
Koji explained that portraying Ryu required the actors to develop the appropriate physiques while remaining capable of performing the movie’s martial arts choreography.
Liang, who plays Chun-Li, focused heavily on kicking techniques. She joked that she throws only one punch in the movie and that her favorite part of portraying the character was kicking people in the face.
“I think I only throw one punch in the whole movie and it wasn’t even at a human being. It was at an object. So yeah, and it worked out. You know, Chun-Li is all legs,” Liang said.
Centineo also discussed a different side of Ken. Rather than portraying him simply as an arrogant fighter, the actor explored how Ken’s relationship with Ryu contributed to his insecurity and need for outside validation.
“I think he was always in Ryu’s shadow. He was second best; at least he believed he was,” Centineo said. “And then once that brotherhood fell out, he still never really got over that hump of not feeling good enough.”
Cody Rhodes and Andrew Schulz Bring Different Experiences to Street Fighter
WWE superstar Cody Rhodes explained that performing stunts for a movie was significantly different from working in the wrestling ring. However, his experience performing in front of live audiences proved useful when sharing scenes with comedian Andrew Schulz.
“Where WWE and live crowds was very helpful, particularly with this guy right here, in ring promo…he was telling everybody before that first scene that he had all these zingers for me that he was loaded up. He was loaded up. So, you had to be ready,” Rhodes explained. “It’s the same way you get in the ring and you’re doing a promo with a Seth Rollins on a Monday Night Raw. They’re going to have something; you need to have something too.”
For Schulz, he shared a funny story about discovering he had been cast as Dan Hibiki, a character he wasn’t familiar with. Initially, describing himself as “delusionally optimistic,” he assumed the filmmakers wanted him to play Ryu.
“I looked up the role and the first description of the role was – all confidence, no ability – and I was like, ‘What what about this role would I be so perfect for?'” Schulz joked.
Together, the interviews offer a look at how the filmmakers approached Street Fighter, balancing recognizable elements of the games with practical action, humor and new interpretations of the characters.
Watch our full interviews for all the details from the cast and director.
Street Fighter is in theaters now.
Ron is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of POC Culture. He is a big believer in the power and impact of pop culture and the importance of representation in media.
