Jeep Swenson wasn't one of the most famous wrestlers of the late 1980s, but he was definitely one of the biggest, as when he debuted in World Class Championship Wrestling, he arguably had the largest biceps in the world. His only notable match in wrestling's big leagues was when he wrestled at WCW Uncensored 1996 as The Ultimate Solution (his character was originally named The Final Solution, but Jewish organizations obviously had an issue with that name). Swenson had a small role in Hulk Hogan's No Holds Barred and played a bodyguard in Bulletproof, and he also appeared in two episodes of Walker, Texas Ranger - but Swenson's most memorable role is remembered for all the wrong reasons. Because, in case you didn't know, Swenson played Bane in 1997's Batman and Robin, and not the well-received cerebral character portrayed by Tom Hardy in The Dark Knight Rises. Instead Swenson's Bane was a grunting brute who was completely wasted in the film as a sidekick and weird love interest to Poison Ivy. Swenson's massive size contributed to his death of heart failure in 1997 when he was only 40 years old. The last movie he appeared in, The Bad Pack, was released direct-to-video in the U.S. almost a year later and co-starred much more successful wrestler-turned-actor Roddy Piper.
Chris McKittrick is a published author of fiction and non-fiction and has spoken about film and comic books at conferences across the United States. In addition to his work at WhatCulture!, he is a regular contributor to CreativeScreenwriting.com, MovieBuzzers.com, and DailyActor.com, a website focused on acting in all media. For more information, visit his website at http://www.chrismckit.com.
