Wrestler, actor, politician Jesse Ventura: biography, filmography

2024 Author: Henry Conors | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-12 02:47

Jesse Ventura is the pseudonym of a famous American actor, politician, TV and radio show host. The real name of this multifaceted man is James George Janos. Almost every one of you may have seen him in "Running Man" directed by Paul Michael Glaser and starring Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Jesse was also the governor of Minnesota, and also a famous wrestler. In the World Wrestling Federation, he competed as Jesse Telo Ventura and was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2004.

Childhood and youth

James was born July 15, 1951 in Minneapolis, in the US state of Minnesota. His mother, Bernice Marta, is German by nationality, and his father, George William Janos, is Slovak.

Growing up, Jesse went to Cooper Elementary School and then Roosevelt High School in Minneapolis.

After graduating from school, the guy went to serve in the army. From 1969 to 1975, Jesse served in the US Navy. The future politician took part in the war duringVietnam. This later helped James believable in playing SWAT roles in movies.

After military service

Returning from the service, James Janos began to look for work. One of the stages of his career was the work of a bodyguard for the musical group The Rolling Stones. With them, he traveled quite a lot to different countries and saw the world.

Then Jesse Ventura got really into wrestling. To do this, he had all the necessary data. The height of the man is 193 cm, and the weight ranged from 110-120 kg. He devoted eleven years to this sport (from 1975 to 1986), having achieved significant success in it. James has proven himself in wrestling as both a fighter and commentator.

Working in movies

For the first time in the movie, Jesse Ventura, whose filmography includes a huge number of films about wrestling, feature films and TV shows, starred at the age of 21. The actor got into the cinema from wrestling. The first work in his film career is the series "WWWF Champions of Wrestling", filmed from 1972 to 1986. After him there was the series "Hunter", here James still played himself - the wrestler Jesse Telo Ventura.

The first feature film starring Jesse Ventura was Predator, released in 1987 and directed by John McTiernan. Here the actor played one of the members of the Alan Schaeffer squad, sent into the jungle in search of a crashed helicopter and its crew. The film was nominated for an Oscar in 1988 in the Best Visual Effects category.won the Saturn Award for Best Music.

Filmography

The most notable works in the actor's filmography are:

In 1987, the films "Predator" and "Running Man".
In 1991 the film "Ricochet".
From 1992 to 1997 the series "The Renegade".
In 1993, The X-Files TV series and The Destroyer movie.
In 1994, the picture "Major League 2", where the actor plays himself.
In 1997 the film "Batman and Robin".
In addition, Jesse can be seen in the series "Dead Zone", where he played himself in the chronicle.

Political career

In 1990 Janos becomes interested in politics. He is running for mayor of the small town of Brooklyn Park in his home state. Jesse's rival in the election, the current mayor of the city, had headed the mayor's office by that time for 25 years. Nevertheless, Jesse wins the election this time. Success inspires the actor and wrestler to further try out in politics.

In 1998, Jesse Ventura, whose photos now and then flicker in the press, decides to compete for the post of governor of Minnesota. He's running for the job with a small Reform Party that no one takes seriously. James by this time is already recognized on the streets as the man who played in the movie "Predator". Janos goes around the state, speaks to voters.

Jesse's campaign slogans are close to simplepeople. He scolds the local "two-party dictatorship", "the power of corporations", and promises to speak out "for the common people". Thanks to such actions, Ventura's rating grows by more than 10 percent, and this, according to American law, gives him the right to speak on television debates.

A wonderful speaker and a talented person in many areas easily defeats his rivals in televised debates. Just a few weeks later, Jesse is elected governor of the state. Ventura served as governor from 1999 to 2003.

Merit as a politician

During his years as governor of Minnesota, the politician boasts a number of successes. Among his accomplishments are:

Abandoned the governor's residence, which saved budget funds.
Solved the problem of public transport by launching light rails.
Reduced tax burden.
State revenues exceeded spending during Jesse Ventura's governorship.
Received, not spent profit from the state budget once a year returned to the residents of Minnesota.

Jesse was under enormous pressure during his years as governor from the local press, as well as from other major politicians in the state. They tried to find dirty details in his personal life, hindered the implementation of his political and social projects. Unable to bear such a life, Ventura decided to limit himself to one term as governor.

It was rumored that Jesse would run for President of the United States in 2016, but the politician decided to support in the electionscandidacy of Bernie Sanders.