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Jesse Ventura

Jesse Ventura

Actor · Born July 15, 1951 · Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA

IMDb

Biography

Jesse "The Body" Ventura (born James George Janos) is an American politician, actor, and retired professional wrestler. After achieving fame in WWE, he served as the 38th governor of Minnesota from 1999 to 2003. He was elected governor with the Reform Party and is the party's only candidate to win a major government office. Ventura was a member of the United States Navy Underwater Demolition Team during the Vietnam War. After leaving the military, he embarked on a professional wrestling career as a heel from 1975 to 1986, taking the ring name "Jesse 'the Body' Ventura." He had a lengthy tenure in WWE as a performer and color commentator and was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame class of 2004. In addition to wrestling, Ventura pursued an acting career, appearing in films such as Predator and The Running Man. Ventura entered politics in 1991 when he was elected mayor of Brooklyn Park, Minnesota, a position he held until 1995. He was the Reform Party candidate in the 1998 Minnesota gubernatorial election, running a low-budget campaign centered on grassroots events and unusual advertising that urged citizens not to "vote for politics as usual". In a major upset, Ventura defeated both the Democratic and Republican nominees. Amid internal fights for control over the party, Ventura left the Reform Party a year after taking office and served the remainder of his term as a member of the Independence Party of Minnesota. Since holding public office, Ventura has referred to himself as a "statesman" instead of a politician. As governor, Ventura oversaw reforms of Minnesota's property tax as well as the state's first sales tax rebate. Other initiatives he took included construction of the METRO Blue Line light rail in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul metropolitan area and income tax cuts. Ventura did not run for reelection. After leaving office in 2003, he became a visiting fellow at Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government. He has since hosted a number of political television shows on RT America and Ora TV, and written several books. Ventura has been a prominent figure in third-party politics, having repeatedly floated the idea of running for President of the United States as an independent candidate. In late April 2020, Ventura endorsed the Green Party in the 2020 presidential election and showed interest in running for its nomination. He officially joined the Green Party of Minnesota on May 2. On May 7, he confirmed he would not run. The Alaskan division of the Green Party nominated Ventura without his involvement, causing the national party to disown it for abandoning its nominee, Howie Hawkins. Early life

Acted in 87

2020s

  1. 2024

    Saturday Night's Main Event XXXVII

    Jesse "The Body" Ventura

2010s

  1. 2014

    The Drunk

    Governor Littleton

  2. 2012

    Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

    The Finger (voice) · 1 episode

    80

2000s

  1. 2009

    Conspiracy Theory with Jesse Ventura

    TV

  2. 2006

    WWE: Hulk Hogan: The Ultimate Anthology

    Jesse Ventura

  3. 2005

    The Ringer

    Motivational Speaker (voice)

    52

  4. The Colbert Report

    TV · 11 Seasons · Documentary · Comedy

    80
  5. 2003

    Stuck on You

    Jesse Ventura (uncredited)

    58

1990s

  1. 1999

    WWF: It's Our Time

    Jesse Ventura

  2. WWE SummerSlam 1999

    Referee

  3. 1997

    WWF Summer Flashback!

    Movie

  4. Batman & Robin

    Arkham Asylum Guard

    32
  5. 1996

    E! True Hollywood Story

    TV

  6. Arli$$

    Jesse Ventura · 1 episode

    70
  7. 1994

    Major League II

    White Lightning

    43
  8. 1993

    WCW Clash of the Champions XXV

    Jesse "The Body" Ventura (Color Commentary)

  9. Demolition Man

    CryoCon

    60

  10. The X-Files

    Man in Black #1 · 1 episode

    85

  11. WCW SuperBrawl III

    Jesse "The Body" Ventura (Color Commentator)

  12. Living and Working in Space: The Countdown Has Begun

    DMV Testee

  13. Raw

    Jesse Ventura · 2 episodes

    74
  14. 1992

    Renegade

    Joe Don Butler · 1 episode

    62

  15. WCW Beach Blast

    Jesse "The Body" Ventura (Commentator)

  16. The Tonight Show with Jay Leno

    TV · 21 Seasons · Talk · Comedy

    53

  17. WrestleMania: The Greatest Hits

    Jesse "The Body" Ventura

  18. 1991

    Hulkamania 6

    Jesse "The Body" Ventura - Commentator

  19. Ricochet

    Chewalski

    62

  20. Tagteam

    Bobby Youngblood

  21. 1990

    Abraxas, Guardian of the Universe

    Abraxas

    31

  22. Hulkamania Forever

    Jesse "The Body" Ventura

  23. Wrestling Tough Guys

    Jesse "The Body" Ventura

  24. Wrestling Superheroes

    Jesse "The Body" Ventura

  25. WWE SuperTape: Volume 1

    Jesse "The Body" Ventura

1980s

  1. 1989

    Hulkamania 4

    Jesse 'The Body' Ventura

  2. Thunderground

    The Man

  3. WWE SummerSlam 1989

    Jesse Ventura

  4. Demolition: Witness the Power

    Jesse "The Body" Ventura

  5. The Best of the WWF: volume 20

    Jesse "The Body" Ventura

  6. The Best of the WWF: volume 19

    Jesse "The Body" Ventura

  7. The Ultimate Warrior

    Jesse "The Body" Ventura

  8. No Holds Barred

    Commentator #1

    35

  9. The Brains Behind the Brawn

    Jesse "The Body" Ventura

  10. The Best of the WWF: volume 18

    Jesse "The Body" Ventura

  11. Hulk Hogan: Real American

    Jesse "The Body" Ventura

  12. 1988

    The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad!

    Baseball Announcer (uncredited)

    78

  13. Macho Madness

    Jesse "The Body" Ventura

  14. WWE SummerSlam 1988

    Jesse "The Body" Ventura (Referee)

  15. Hulkamania 3

    Jesse 'The Body' Ventura

  16. Women of the WWF

    Jesse "The Body" Ventura

  17. Clash of the Champions

    Jesse "The Body" Ventura (Color Commentary) · 1 episode

  18. WWE Royal Rumble 1988

    Jesse "The Body" Ventura

  19. 1987

    The Best of the WWF: volume 14

    Jesse "The Body" Ventura

  20. Wrestling's Most Embarrassing Moments

    Jesse "The Body" Ventura

  21. The Running Man

    Captain Freedom

    60

  22. The Best of the WWF: volume 13

    Jesse "The Body" Ventura

  23. The Ken Patera Story

    Jesse "The Body" Ventura

  24. Predator

    Blain Cooper

    68

  25. Hulkamania 2

    Jesse 'The Body' Ventura

  26. Bob Uecker's Wacky World of Sports

    Jesse "The Body" Ventura

  27. 1986

    The Best of the WWF: volume 9

    Jesse "The Body" Ventura

  28. The British Bulldogs

    Jesse "The Body" Ventura

  29. WWF Wrestling Challenge

    Jesse 'The Body' Ventura · 15 episodes

  30. WWF Superstars

    Jesse "The Body" Ventura · 174 episodes

  31. Villains of the Squared Circle

    Jesse "The Body" Ventura

  32. The Best of the WWF: volume 7

    Jesse "The Body" Ventura

  33. Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat

    Jesse "The Body" Ventura

  34. The Best of the WWF: volume 6

    Jesse "The Body" Ventura

  35. WrestleMania II

    Jesse "The Body" Ventura (Commentator)

  36. WWE Grudge Match

    Jesse "The Body" Ventura

  37. The Life and Times of Captain Lou Albano

    Jesse "The Body" Ventura

  38. Tag Team Champions

    Jesse Ventura

  39. The Best of the WWF: volume 5

    Jesse "The Body" Ventura

  40. 1985

    The WWF's Amazing Managers

    Jesse 'The Body' Ventura

  41. WWE Saturday Night's Main Event

    Jesse Ventura, Jesse "The Body" Ventura, Jesse "The Body" Ventura (Commentary) · 3 episodes

    72

  42. Bob Uecker's Wacky World of Sports

    Jesse "The Body" Ventura (archive footage)

  43. Best of the WWF Volume 1

    Jesse "The Body" Ventura (Ringside)

  44. Wrestling's Bloopers, Bleeps, & Bodyslams

    Jesse "The Body" Ventura

  45. Wrestling's Biggest, Smallest, Strangest, Strongest!

    Jesse "The Body" Ventura

  46. Most Unusual Matches

    Jesse "The Body" Ventura

  47. 1984

    Hunter

    Jesse, Phil Slade · 1 episode

    70

  48. Tuesday Night Titans

    Jesse Ventura, Jesse Ventura (Interviewer), Jesse Ventura (Archive footage) · 9 episodes

  49. 1983

    AWA Christmas Night 1983

    Jesse "The Body" Ventura

  50. AWA Super Sunday

    Jesse "The Body" Ventura

  51. 1981

    AWA Arena Shows

    Jesse "The Body" Ventura · 1 episode

  52. Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling

    Jesse "The Body" Ventura · 1 episode

Appearances26

2020s

  1. 2026

    Hulk Hogan: Real American

    Self · 4 episodes

    76
  2. 2024

    Mr. McMahon

    Self (Archival Footage) · 1 episode

    77

  3. Jesse Ventura Shocks the World

    Self

  4. 2022

    Biography: Wrestlemania I

    Self (archival footage)

  5. In Search of Tomorrow

    Self

    74
  6. 2021

    The Claw

    Himself

2010s

  1. 2018

    Minnesota Experience

    Self (archive footage) · 1 episode

  2. Andre the Giant

    Self (archive footage)

    81
  3. 2017

    This Was the XFL

    Himself

    72
  4. 2016

    Chelsea

    Self · 1 episode

    60
  5. 2015

    The Making of Trump

    Self (archive footage)

  6. 2012

    WWE Hall of Fame: Jesse Ventura

    Himself

2000s

  1. 2009

    The Obama Deception

    Self

  2. WWE: The Best of Saturday Night's Main Event

    Himself

  3. 2006

    WWE: The Spectacular Legacy of the AWA

    Self

  4. 2004

    WWE Hall of Fame 2004

    Self

  5. 2003

    Real Time with Bill Maher

    Self · 1 episode

    69

  6. Jimmy Kimmel Live!

    Self, Self - Guest · 1 episode

    61
  7. 2002

    The Master of Disguise

    Self (uncredited)

    24
  8. 2001

    Joe Somebody

    Self

    50

  9. Predator: Old Painless

    Self

  10. 2000

    If It Bleeds We Can Kill It: The Making of 'Predator'

    Self

1990s

  1. 1999

    Beyond the Mat

    Self

  2. 1990

    Repossessed

    Himself

    38

1980s

  1. 1987

    Jake "The Snake" Roberts

    Self

1970s

  1. 1977

    Savage

    himself