“Street Fighter” has no shortage of baffling moments. Although the movie’s ending can be pieced together, its deliberately unresolved nature feels less like a subtle setup for a sequel and more like an outright advertisement for one. Still, the film has a major strength in its casting. Blending globally recognizable stars, rising performers, and familiar faces from outside traditional acting circles, it assembles a lively ensemble that reflects the colorful personalities of the video game series.
That begins with the story’s central hero. Ken (Noah Centineo) receives a significant share of the spotlight, but Ryu has always been the franchise’s defining protagonist, and the movie maintains that tradition. Andrew Koji brings commitment to the role, capturing Ryu’s stoic presence while allowing the character’s appropriately goofy side to emerge. Given Koji’s background portraying formidable fighters, his casting makes perfect sense—and you may already recognize him from several major projects.
Andrew Koji knows the way of the warrior
Koji began acting in the 2000s, building momentum throughout the following decade with a range of guest and recurring roles. His breakthrough came in 2019, when he appeared as Brilliant Chang in “Peaky Blinders” and began his three-season run as Ah Sahm, the lead character in Cinemax’s historical martial arts crime drama “Warrior.”
Since then, Koji has appeared in a growing list of high-profile productions. He played Storm Shadow in the 2021 G.I. Joe movie “Snake Eyes” before joining the star-studded cast of Brad Pitt’s 2022 assassin thriller “Bullet Train.” In 2024, he portrayed Jason in the first season of Netflix’s Keira Knightley-led spy series “Black Doves.” The following year, he joined Season 3 of “Gangs of London” as Zeek, and in 2026, he stars as Darren Yoshida in Prime Video’s crime thriller “Steal.”
Those credits, along with his many other film and television roles, have established Koji as a performer worth watching. Taking on one of the most important characters in the “Street Fighter” movie could raise his profile even further.