Jesse Ventura
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
113 acting credits
Acting · 113
The X-Files
1993
Raw
1993
Real Time with Bill Maher
2003
The Colbert Report
2005
Jimmy Kimmel Live!
2003
Hunter
1984
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
2012
Renegade
1992
The Tonight Show with Jay Leno
1992
Arli$$
1996
Chelsea
2016
WWE Saturday Night's Main Event
1985
WWF Wrestling Challenge
1986
WWF Superstars
1986
Predator
1987
WWE Pay Per View
1985
Demolition Man
1993
Batman & Robin
1997
The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad!
1988
WWE Old School
1973
WWF All-Star Wrestling
1975
The Running Man
1987
Clash of the Champions
1988
Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling
1981
Mr. McMahon
2024
Tuesday Night Titans
1984
Hulk Hogan: Real American
2026
Major League II
1994
Ricochet
1991
Stuck on You
2003
E! True Hollywood Story
1996
10 Things Every Guy Should Experience
2004
The Master of Disguise
2002
Conspiracy Theory with Jesse Ventura
2009
WWE: Hulk Hogan: The Ultimate Anthology
2006
Joe Somebody
2001
Repossessed
1990
AWA Arena Shows
1981
WrestleMania II
1986
Minnesota Experience
2018
Andre the Giant
2018
Living and Working in Space: The Countdown Has Begun
1993
WWE: The Best of Saturday Night's Main Event
2009
Abraxas, Guardian of the Universe
1990
Saturday Night's Main Event XXXVII
2024
Beyond the Mat
1999
No Holds Barred
1989
WCW Beach Blast
1992
The Making of Trump
2015
Thunderground
1989
WWE SummerSlam 1989
1989
Tagteam
1991
The Obama Deception
2009
Hulkamania 6
1991
The Life and Times of Captain Lou Albano
1986
WWE Royal Rumble 1988
1988
The Brains Behind the Brawn
1989
9/11 Truth: Hollywood Speaks Up
2011
Biography: Wrestlemania I
2022
The Best of the WWF: volume 5
1986
WWE SummerSlam 1999
1999
Villains of the Squared Circle
1986
The Best of the WWF: volume 20
1989
WWE SummerSlam 1988
1988
The British Bulldogs
1986
The Drunk
2014
Wrestling's Most Embarrassing Moments
1987
Bob Uecker's Wacky World of Sports
1985
WCW SuperBrawl III
1993
Wrestling's Bloopers, Bleeps, & Bodyslams
1985
WWF: It's Our Time
1999
Best of the WWF Volume 1
1985
Hulkamania 4
1989
Hulkamania 3
1988
WWE Hall of Fame 2004
2004
WWF Hulkamania 2
1987
WCW Clash of the Champions XXV
1993
WWF Summer Flashback!
1997
Bob Uecker's Wacky World of Sports
1987
Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat
1986
The Best of the WWF: volume 13
1987
Most Unusual Matches
1985
Jesse Ventura Shocks the World
2024
If It Bleeds We Can Kill It: The Making of 'Predator'
2000
WWE SuperTape: Volume 1
1990
Woodshop
2010
WWE Hall of Fame: Jesse Ventura
2012
The Ken Patera Story
1987
Wrestling's Biggest, Smallest, Strangest, Strongest!
1985
AWA Super Sunday
1983
Wrestling's Living Legend Bruno Sammartino
1986
WWE: The Spectacular Legacy of the AWA
2006
WWE Grudge Match
1986
The Best of the WWF: volume 9
1986
The Ultimate Warrior
1989
This Was the XFL
2017
The WWF's Amazing Managers
1985
The Claw
2021
Demolition: Witness the Power
1989
Savage
1977
The Best of the WWF: volume 19
1989
Wrestling Superheroes
1990
The Best of the WWF: volume 14
1987
Hulk Hogan: Real American
1989
Macho Madness
1988
WWE Maple Leaf Wrestling: September '85
1985
Jake "The Snake" Roberts
1987
Tag Team Champions
1986
Trump: Anatomy of a Man
2018
Wrestling Tough Guys
1990
AWA Christmas Show 1983
1983
AWA Christmas Night 1983
1983
Women of the WWF
1988