Hans Lundgren (, ; born 3 November 1957), better known as Dolph Lundgren, is a Swedish actor, filmmaker and

martial artist Martial arts are codified systems and traditions of combat practiced for a number of reasons such as self-defense; military and law enforcement applications; competition; physical, mental, and spiritual development; entertainment; and the preserv ...

. His breakthrough came in 1985, when he starred in '' Rocky IV'' as the imposing

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

boxer

Ivan Drago Ivan Vasilyevich Drago (russian: Иван Васильевич Драго, ) is a Soviet-Russian fictional character from the ''Rocky'' film series. He first appears in the 1985 film '' Rocky IV'', in which he is the central antagonist and ri ...

. Since then, Lundgren has starred in more than 80 films,all of them in the action genre. Lundgren received a degree in

chemical engineering Chemical engineering is an engineering field which deals with the study of operation and design of chemical plants as well as methods of improving production. Chemical engineers develop economical commercial processes to convert raw materials in ...

from the

KTH Royal Institute of Technology The KTH Royal Institute of Technology ( sv, Kungliga Tekniska högskolan, lit=Royal Institute of Technology), abbreviated KTH, is a public research university in Stockholm, Sweden. KTH conducts research and education in engineering and technolog ...

in the early 1980s and a

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

in chemical engineering from the

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD), also known as Sydney University, or informally Sydney Uni, is a public research university located in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and is one of the country's si ...

in 1982. He holds the rank of 4th ''

dan Dan or DAN may refer to: People * Dan (name), including a list of people with the name ** Dan (king), several kings of Denmark * Dan people, an ethnic group located in West Africa **Dan language, a Mande language spoken primarily in Côte d'Ivoir ...

'' black belt in Kyokushin karate and was European champion in 1980–81. While in

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mounta ...

, he became a bodyguard for Jamaican singer

Grace Jones Grace Beverly Jones (born 19 May 1948) is a model, singer and actress. Born in Jamaica, she and her family moved to Syracuse, New York, when she was a teenager. Jones began her modelling career in New York state, then in Paris, working for ...

and began a relationship with her. He received a

Fulbright scholarship The Fulbright Program, including the Fulbright–Hays Program, is one of several United States Cultural Exchange Programs with the goal of improving intercultural relations, cultural diplomacy, and intercultural competence between the people ...

to MIT and moved to

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

. Jones convinced him to leave the university and move to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

to be with her and begin acting, where, after a short stint as a model and bouncer at the

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

nightclub

The Limelight The Limelight was the name of a chain of nightclubs owned and operated by Peter Gatien. It had locations in New York City, Chicago, Atlanta, London and Hallandale. Context During the 1980s, club culture had died down because of the AIDS e ...

, Lundgren got a small debut role as a KGB henchman in the

James Bond The ''James Bond'' series focuses on a fictional British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short-story collections. Since Fleming's death in 1964, eight other authors hav ...

film ''

A View to a Kill ''A View to a Kill'' is a 1985 spy film and the fourteenth in the ''James Bond'' series produced by Eon Productions, and is the seventh and final appearance of Roger Moore as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond. Although the title is adapted ...

''. After appearing in ''Rocky IV'', Lundgren portrayed

He-Man He-Man is a fictional character and the main protagonist of the sword and planet '' Masters of the Universe'' franchise, which includes a toy line, several animated television series, comic books and a feature film. He-Man is characterized by ...

in the 1987

science fantasy Science fantasy is a hybrid genre within speculative fiction that simultaneously draws upon or combines tropes and elements from both science fiction and fantasy. In a conventional science fiction story, the world is presented as being scient ...

film ''

Masters of the Universe ''Masters of the Universe'' (sometimes referred to as the ''He-Man'' or '' She-Ra'' series) is a sword and planet-themed media franchise created by Mattel. The main premise revolves around the conflict between He-Man (the alter ego of Prince A ...

'', Lt. Nikolai Petrovitch Rachenko in ''

Red Scorpion ''Red Scorpion'' is a 1988 American action film starring Dolph Lundgren and directed by Joseph Zito. Lundgren appears as a Soviet special forces operative sent to assassinate an anti-communist rebel leader in Africa, only to side with the rebe ...

'' (1988) and

Frank Castle The Punisher (Francis "Frank" Castle, born Castiglione) is an antihero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by writer Gerry Conway and artists John Romita Sr. and Ross Andru. The Punisher mad ...

in the 1989 film '' The Punisher''. Throughout the 1990s he appeared in films such as ''

I Come in Peace ''I Come in Peace'' (released under the alternative title ''Dark Angel'') is a 1990 American science fiction action film directed by Craig R. Baxley, and starring Dolph Lundgren, Brian Benben, Betsy Brantley and Matthias Hues. The film was re ...

'' (1990), '' Showdown in Little Tokyo'' (1991), ''Universal Soldier'' film series (1992, 2009, 2012), '' Joshua Tree'' (1993), ''

Men of War ''Men of War'' is a real-time tactics video game franchise, based mainly in World War II. Main series Soldiers: Heroes of World War II ''Soldiers: Heroes of World War II'' is the original game of the 'Men of War' series, and uses an early GE ...

'' (1994), ''

Johnny Mnemonic "Johnny Mnemonic" is a science fiction short story by American-Canadian writer William Gibson. It first appeared in '' Omni'' magazine in May 1981, and was subsequently included in ''Burning Chrome'', a 1986 collection of Gibson's short fiction. ...

'' (1995), ''

Silent Trigger ''Silent Trigger'' is a 1996 American action thriller film directed by Russell Mulcahy starring Dolph Lundgren and Gina Bellman about a sniper and his female spotter. Lundgren plays Waxman, a former Special Forces soldier who is now working as a ...

'' (1996), and ''

Blackjack Blackjack (formerly Black Jack and Vingt-Un) is a casino banking game. The most widely played casino banking game in the world, it uses decks of 52 cards and descends from a global family of casino banking games known as Twenty-One. This fam ...

'' (1998). In 2004 he directed his first film, '' The Defender'', and subsequently directed ''

The Mechanik ''The Mechanik'' (released under the alternative title known as ''The Russian Specialist'') is a 2005 German-American action film starring and directed by Dolph Lundgren, who wrote with Bryan Edward Hill. The film co-stars Ben Cross, Ivan Petrush ...

'' (2005), '' Missionary Man'' (2007), '' Command Performance'' (2009), ''

Icarus In Greek mythology, Icarus (; grc, Ἴκαρος, Íkaros, ) was the son of the master craftsman Daedalus, the architect of the labyrinth of Crete. After Theseus, king of Athens and enemy of Minos, escaped from the labyrinth, King Minos sus ...

'' (2010), '' Castle Falls'' (2021) and upcoming film '' Wanted Man'' (2023), also starring in all of them. After a long spell performing in direct-to-video films since 1995, Lundgren returned to Hollywood in 2010 with the role of Gunner Jensen in '' The Expendables'', alongside

Sylvester Stallone Sylvester Enzio Stallone (; born Michael Sylvester Gardenzio Stallone, ) is an American actor and filmmaker. After his beginnings as a struggling actor for a number of years upon arriving to New York City in 1969 and later Hollywood in 1974, h ...

and an all-action star cast. He reprised his role in '' The Expendables 2'' (2012) and '' The Expendables 3'' (2014). Also in 2014, he co-starred in '' Skin Trade'', an action thriller about human trafficking he co-wrote and produced. He reprised his role of Ivan Drago in ''

Creed II ''Creed II'' is a 2018 American sports drama film directed by Steven Caple Jr. from a screenplay by Juel Taylor and Sylvester Stallone. The sequel to '' Creed'' (2015) and the eighth installment in the ''Rocky'' franchise, the film stars Mi ...

'' (2018), and is due to reprise his role as Gunner Jensen in ''

The Expendables 4 ''The Expendables 4'' (stylized as ''Expend4bles'') is an upcoming American action film directed by Scott Waugh, with a script co-written by Spenser Cohen and Max Adams, from an original story by Cohen. It is the fourth installment in ''The ...

''.Wales, George
"Confirmed: ''The Expendables 4'' will arrive in 2017"
''www.gamesradar.com'', published 10 December 2015. Retrieved 15 October 2015.Guerra, Victoria

''www.foodworldnews.com'', published 10 December 2015. Retrieved 15 October 2015. He appears in ''

Aquaman Aquaman is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by Paul Norris and Mort Weisinger, the character debuted in '' More Fun Comics'' #73 (November 1941). The character is a pastiche of Namor. Initially a ...

'' (2018), playing the father of Mera. He also had a recurring role in the fifth season of ''

Arrow An arrow is a fin-stabilized projectile launched by a bow. A typical arrow usually consists of a long, stiff, straight shaft with a weighty (and usually sharp and pointed) arrowhead attached to the front end, multiple fin-like stabilizers ...

''.

Early life

Royal Institute of Technology - Stockholm

Hans Lundgren was born on 3 November 1957 in

Spånga Spånga is a community and parish in the borough of Spånga-Tensta in Stockholm County, Sweden. Background Spånga was an independent municipality until January 1, 1949 when most of it was merged with the City of Stockholm, with smaller p ...

, the son of Sigrid Birgitta ( Tjerneld; 1932–1992), a language teacher, and Karl Hugo Johan Lundgren (1923–2000), an engineer (M.Sc.) and

economist An economist is a professional and practitioner in the social sciences, social science discipline of economics. The individual may also study, develop, and apply theories and concepts from economics and write about economic policy. Within this ...

(MBA) for the Swedish government. He lived in Spånga until the age of 13, when he moved to his grandparents' home in Nyland,

Ångermanland Ångermanland ( or ) is a historical province (''landskap'') in the northern part of Sweden. It is bordered (clockwise from the north) by Swedish Lapland, Västerbotten, the Gulf of Bothnia, Medelpad and Jämtland. The name is derived from ...

. Some sources wrongly state 1959 as his year of birth, but Lundgren himself has confirmed it to be 1957. He has two sisters, Katarina and Annika and a younger brother Johan. Lundgren claims his father was physically abusive and vented his frustration on his wife and eldest son. He has stated that, during his tirades, his father would call him a "loser", which motivated him later as he grew more ambitious to prove himself. But he also said, "I still love my father, no matter what happened. There are many things about him I still admire. As a child, I was probably too much like him, very stubborn—perhaps that's what he couldn't deal with." He has cited his troubled relationship with his father as the reason he developed a desire to participate in heavy contact sports such as boxing and karate. He was first credited as Dolph Lundgren with the release of '' Rocky IV''. The name "Dolph" came from a relative on his mother's side. Club formerly known as Limelight NYC

Lundgren has said that, as a child, he was insecure and suffered from allergies, describing himself as a "runt". He showed a keen interest in drumming and had aspirations to become a rock star. At age seven, he tried

judo is an unarmed modern Japanese martial art, Olympic sport (since 1964), and the most prominent form of jacket wrestling competed internationally.『日本大百科全書』電子版【柔道】(CD-ROM version of Encyclopedia Nipponica, "Judo") ...

and

Gōjū-ryū , Japanese for "hard-soft style", is one of the main traditional Okinawan styles of karate, featuring a combination of hard and soft techniques. Both principles, hard and soft, come from the famous martial arts book used by Okinawan masters d ...

. He took up

Kyokushin is a style of karate originating in Japan. It is a style of stand-up fighting and is rooted in a philosophy of self-improvement, discipline, and hard training. Kyokushin Kaikan is the martial arts organization founded in 1964 by Korean-Jap ...

karate (; ; Okinawan pronunciation: ) is a martial art developed in the Ryukyu Kingdom. It developed from the indigenous Ryukyuan martial arts (called , "hand"; ''tii'' in Okinawan) under the influence of Chinese martial arts, particularly Fuj ...

at the age of 10, and began lifting weights as a teenager. Lundgren stated that "My dad always told me that if I wanted to make something special with my life, I had to go to America." After graduating from high school with straight A's, he spent some time in the United States in the 1970s on various academic scholarships, studying chemical engineering at

Washington State University Washington State University (Washington State, WSU, or informally Wazzu) is a public land-grant research university with its flagship, and oldest, campus in Pullman, Washington. Founded in 1890, WSU is also one of the oldest land-grant uni ...

and

Clemson University Clemson University () is a public land-grant research university in Clemson, South Carolina. Founded in 1889, Clemson is the second-largest university in the student population in South Carolina. For the fall 2019 semester, the university enr ...

. He studied chemical engineering for a year at Washington State University between 1975 and 1976, prior to serving his mandatory one year in the

Swedish Coastal Artillery The Swedish Coastal Artillery ( sv, Kustartilleriet, KA) has its origin in the Archipelago Artillery that was raised in 1866. The Coastal Artillery was formed from the Archipelago Artillery, the Marine Regiment and parts of the Artillery in 1902 ...

at the Coastal Ranger School. In the late 1970s, he enrolled at the

Royal Institute of Technology The KTH Royal Institute of Technology ( sv, Kungliga Tekniska högskolan, lit=Royal Institute of Technology), abbreviated KTH, is a public research university in Stockholm, Sweden. KTH conducts research and education in engineering and technolog ...

in Stockholm and graduated with a degree in chemical engineering. Amidst his years of studying, Lundgren honed his karate skills by training hard in the dojo for five years, attaining the rank of 2nd ''

'' black belt in

in 1978. He captained the Swedish Kyokushin karate team, and was a formidable challenger at the 1979 World Open Tournament (arranged by the Kyokushin Karate Organization) when he was only a green belt. He won the European championships in 1980 and 1981, and a heavyweight tournament in Australia in 1982. In 1982, Lundgren graduated with a

from the

. During his time in

, he earned a living as a bouncer in a nightclub in the notorious King's Cross area. Lundgren was awarded a

Fulbright Scholarship The Fulbright Program, including the Fulbright–Hays Program, is one of several United States Cultural Exchange Programs with the goal of improving intercultural relations, cultural diplomacy, and intercultural competence between the people ...

to MIT in 1983. However, while preparing for the move to

, he was spotted in the nightclub where he worked in Sydney and was hired by

as a bodyguard, and the two became lovers. Their relationship developed dramatically, and he moved with her to New York City. While living with Jones in her New York City apartment, Lundgren dabbled in modeling at the

Zoli Agency The Zoli Agency was a modeling agency based in New York City, particularly notable in the 1970s and 1980s. Background It was established by a Budapest-born Hungarian designer named Zoltan "Zoli" Rendessy in 1971. He earned a living as a bouncer at the Manhattan nightclub

, which was housed in the former Episcopal Church of the Holy Communion, working with

Chazz Palminteri Calogero Lorenzo "Chazz" Palminteri (born May 15, 1952)
Chazzpalminteri.net. Retrieved on November 19, 2013. is an American ...

. In the daytime, he studied drama at the Warren Robertson Theatre Workshop and has said that "my time in New York City opened up my adolescent Swedish eyes to a multitude of different people and lifestyles, mostly in the arts. I hung out with

Andy Warhol Andy Warhol (; born Andrew Warhola Jr.; August 6, 1928 – February 22, 1987) was an American visual artist, film director, and producer who was a leading figure in the visual art movement known as pop art. His works explore the relationsh ...

Keith Haring Keith Allen Haring (May 4, 1958 – February 16, 1990) was an American artist whose pop art emerged from the New York City graffiti subculture of the 1980s. His animated imagery has "become a widely recognized visual language". Much of his wor ...

, Iman and Steve Rubell, danced at

Studio 54 Studio 54 is a Broadway theater and a former disco nightclub at 254 West 54th Street in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. Operated by the Roundabout Theatre Company, Studio 54 has 1,006 seats on two levels. The theater w ...

, and studied acting with

Andie MacDowell Rosalie Anderson MacDowell (born April 21, 1958) is an American actress and former fashion model. MacDowell's known for her starring film roles in romantic comedies and dramas. MacDowell has modeled for Calvin Klein and has been a spokeswoman ...

and

Tom Hulce Thomas Edward Hulce (; born December 6, 1953) is an American actor and theater producer. He is best known for his portrayal of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart in the Academy Award-winning film '' Amadeus'' (1984), as well as the roles of Larry "Pinto" K ...

." Friends told him he should be in movies. He would later quit studying at MIT after two weeks to pursue acting.

Career

1980s

On the set of the

film ''

'', Jones suggested that he try out for a part in the film, which led to his feature film debut playing the very minor role of a suited KGB henchman named Venz. In the film, Lundgren appears in the scene in which the KGB's

General Gogol This is a list of allies of ''James Bond'' who appear throughout the film series and novels. MI6 M M is a Rear Admiral of the Royal Navy, and the head of the Secret Intelligence Service. Fleming based the character on a number of people ...

( Walter Gotell) confronts

Max Zorin Maximillian Zorin is a fictional character and the main antagonist in the 1985 James Bond film '' A View to a Kill''. He is portrayed by Christopher Walken. Biography Zorin was born in Dresden around the end of World War II, after which Dresden be ...

(

Christopher Walken Christopher Walken (born Ronald Walken; March 31, 1943) is an American actor. Prolific in film, television and on stage, Walken is the recipient of numerous accolades including an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award, and a Screen Actors Guild Awa ...

) about leaving the KGB, at a racing ground and ends in a minor brawl in which Lundgren's character Venz points a gun at Zorin.

Roger Moore Sir Roger George Moore (14 October 192723 May 2017) was an English actor. He was the third actor to portray fictional British secret agent James Bond in the Eon Productions film series, playing the character in seven feature films between 1 ...

, in his last performance as James Bond, once memorably said, "Dolph is larger than Denmark". Lundgren found the entertainment business more attractive and rewarding than chemical engineering, so he decided to pursue a career in acting despite having no formal training. Upon learning that

was seeking an imposing fighter to play

in '' Rocky IV'' (1985), Lundgren sent videos and pictures of himself to a distant contact of Stallone, eventually reaching him. Lundgren tried out for the role, but as he himself has stated, he was initially turned down because he was too tall. However, he eventually beat 5,000 other hopefuls to land his breakout role opposite Stallone,

Carl Weathers Carl Weathers (born January 14, 1948) is an American actor and former professional football player. He is known for his roles as boxer Apollo Creed in the first four ''Rocky'' films (1976–85), George Dillon in '' Predator'' (1987), Action Ja ...

, and

Brigitte Nielsen Brigitte Nielsen (; born Gitte Nielsen; 15 July 1963) is a Danish actress, model, and singer. She began her career modelling for Greg Gorman and Helmut Newton. She subsequently acted in the 1985 films ''Red Sonja'' and ''Rocky IV'', later retu ...

. To improve his physique and athletic abilities, he trained intensely in

bodybuilding Bodybuilding is the use of progressive resistance exercise to control and develop one's muscles (muscle building) by muscle hypertrophy for aesthetic purposes. It is distinct from similar activities such as powerlifting because it focuses ...

and

boxing Boxing (also known as "Western boxing" or "pugilism") is a combat sport in which two people, usually wearing protective gloves and other protective equipment such as hand wraps and mouthguards, throw punches at each other for a predetermined ...

for five months before the film was shot. Lundgren said, "We trained six days a week—weights in the morning for about an hour, then boxing in the afternoon. We did a split of chest and back one day and then shoulders, legs, and arms the next. We boxed for an hour and a half, practiced the fight choreography, and did bag work and abs." He weighed – during filming, but in the film he was billed at ; one publisher said of Drago, "He's a hulking 261 pounds of merciless fighting machine, the best that Soviet science & medicine can create". His character's lines "If he dies, he dies" and "I must break you" are amongst the best known of the ''Rocky'' series, and have often been cited in popular culture. In an interview, Sylvester Stallone said, "I went to the emergency room. My blood pressure was like 290, and they put me on a low-level flight to St. John's Hospital where I was put into intensive care because the pericardial sac around my heart was swelling and impeding the beating of my heart. I was there, like I said, for nine days surrounded by nuns. Not good." Lundgren later fought in a real boxing match against former UFC fighter Oleg Taktarov, and lost via decision. Lundgren has highlighted the premiere of ''Rocky IV'' at Westwood Movie Theatre as the moment which changed his life, remarking, "I walked in to a Westwood movie theater as Grace Jones' boyfriend and walked out ninety minutes later as the movie star Dolph Lundgren. I was shell-shocked for years from the mind-boggling and daunting experience of being a student-athlete from tiny Sweden suddenly having to live up a new action-star persona." In 1987, Lundgren released on home media a workout video called ''Maximum Potential,'' and got his first lead role as

in ''

'', based on the popular children's toyline and cartoon. He starred alongside

Frank Langella Frank A. Langella Jr. (; born January 1, 1938) is an American stage and film actor. He has won four Tony Awards: two for Best Leading Actor in a Play for his performance as Richard Nixon in Peter Morgan's '' Frost/Nixon'' and as André in Flor ...

Meg Foster Margaret Foster is an American film and television actress. Some of her many roles were in the 1979 TV miniseries version of ''The Scarlet Letter'', and the films ''Ticket to Heaven'', ''The Osterman Weekend'', and '' They Live''. Early years F ...

, Chelsea Field,

Billy Barty Billy Barty (born William John Bertanzetti, October 25, 1924 – December 23, 2000) was an American actor and activist. In adult life, he stood tall, due to cartilage–hair hypoplasia dwarfism. Because of his short stature, he was often cast ...

and

Courteney Cox Courteney Bass Cox (previously Courteney Cox Arquette; born June 15, 1964) is an American actress and filmmaker. She gained international recognition for her starring role as Monica Geller on the NBC sitcom ''Friends'', which aired from 1994 ...

. Lundgren weighed his all-time heaviest during the filming at . The film was a critical failure and viewed as far too violent for a family picture. It is referred to as a "flop" by ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' magazine, and has a 13% "rotten" rating at

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wan ...

. Lundgren was criticized for being too wooden as a leading man, and it was dismissed as "a glossy fantasy starring monosyllabic Dolph Lundgren". He next starred in Joseph Zito's ''

'' in 1988, opposite

M. Emmet Walsh Michael Emmet Walsh (born March 22, 1935) is an American actor who has appeared in over 200 films and television series, including small but important supporting roles in dozens of major studio features of the 1970s and 1980s. He starred in '' B ...

, Al White, T. P. McKenna and

Carmen Argenziano Carmen Antimo Argenziano (October 27, 1943February 10, 2019) was an American actor who appeared in over 73 movies and around 100 television movies or episodes. He was best known for playing Jacob Carter on ''Stargate SG-1''. He had recurring role ...

. The plot centers on Lundgren's character Nikolai, a Soviet

Spetsnaz Spetsnaz are special forces in numerous post-Soviet states. (The term is borrowed from rus, спецназ, p=spʲɪtsˈnas; abbreviation for or 'Special Purpose Military Units'; or .) Historically, the term ''spetsnaz'' referred to the ...

-trained KGB agent who is sent to an African country where Soviet, Czechoslovakian and Cuban forces support the government's fight against an

anti-communist Anti-communism is political and ideological opposition to communism. Organized anti-communism developed after the 1917 October Revolution in the Russian Empire, and it reached global dimensions during the Cold War, when the United States and the ...

rebel movement. Nikolai is ordered to assassinate the movement's leader, but eventually switches sides. The film was partly shot in

Namibia Namibia (, ), officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country in Southern Africa. Its western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Zambia and Angola to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and ea ...

and it was claimed that Grace Jones joined him during production in

Swakopmund Swakopmund (german: Mouth of the Swakop) is a city on the coast of western Namibia, west of the Namibian capital Windhoek via the B2 main road. It is the capital of the Erongo administrative district. The town has 44,725 inhabitants and covers ...

, insisting on staying in a $3000-a-month villa, even though his girlfriend at the time was reported to be Paula Barbieri. The film was poorly received and has an 11% "rotten" rating at Rotten Tomatoes.

Stephen Holden Stephen Holden (born July 18, 1941) is an American writer, poet, and music and film critic. Biography Holden earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from Yale University in 1963. He worked as a photo editor, staff writer, and eventually be ...

of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' said, "Dolph Lundgren's pectorals are the real stars of ''Red Scorpion,'' an action-adventure movie set in the fictional African country of Mombaka. Filmed from below so that one has the sense of peering up at a massive kinetic sculpture, his glistening torso, which over the course of the film is subjected to assorted tortures, is the movie's primary visual focus whenever the action slows down. And since Mr. Lundgren remains stone-faced, rarely speaking except to issue commands in a surprisingly hesitant monotone, his heaving chest actually communicates more emotion than his mumbling lips." Lundgren then starred as

Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is an American comic book publisher and the flagship property of Marvel Entertainment, a divsion of The Walt Disney Company since September 1, 2009. Evolving from Timely Comics in 1939, ''Magazine Management/Atlas Comics'' in ...

character Frank Castle (a.k.a. The

Punisher The Punisher (Francis "Frank" Castle, born Castiglione) is an antihero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by writer Gerry Conway and artists John Romita Sr. and Ross Andru. The Punisher made ...

) in the 1989 film '' The Punisher''. The film was directed by

Mark Goldblatt Mark Goldblatt is an Academy Award nominated American film editor and film director and president emeritus of the American Cinema Editors. Brooklyn born Goldblatt studied at the University of Wisconsin and London Film School, where his instru ...

, with a screenplay by Boaz Yakin. Although it is based on the Marvel Comics character, the film changes many details of the original comic book origin and the main character does not wear the trademark "skull". ''The Punisher'' was filmed in Sydney, Australia and also featured Louis Gossett Jr.,

Jeroen Krabbé Jeroen Aart Krabbé (; born 5 December 1944) is a Dutch actor and film director with a successful career in both Dutch and English-language films. He is best known to international audiences for his leading roles in the Paul Verhoeven films ''So ...

Kim Miyori Kim Miyori (born Cheryl Utsunomiya; January 4, 1951) is an American actress, best known for the role of Dr. Wendy Armstrong, a beleaguered resident, on the first two seasons (1982–1984) of the medical drama ''St. Elsewhere''. Miyori was born i ...

, and Barry Otto. The film received mainly negative reviews, currently holds a 24% "rotten" rating at Rotten Tomatoes.

Christopher Null Christopher Null is an American writer, film critic, and columnist. A former blogger for Yahoo! Tech, he was the editor of Drinkhacker.com, and the founder and editor-in-chief of Filmcritic.com, which operated from 1995 to 2012. In 2003, CNN cal ...

gave the film 1 out of 5, stating the film was "marred by cheeseball sets and special effects, lame fight sequences, and some of the worst acting ever to disgrace the screen." Whilst criticizing the film's storyline and acting, ''Time Out'' magazine concluded the film was "destructive, reprehensible, and marvelous fun".

1990s

1990–1994

In 1990, Lundgren starred in Craig R. Baxley's sci-fi thriller ''

'' (also known as ''Dark Angel'') opposite Brian Benben,

Betsy Brantley Betsy Brantley is an American actress. She has appeared in numerous films, plays, and television shows since the early 1980s. Her breakout role was in the 1982 film '' Five Days One Summer'' with Sean Connery. Early years Betsy Brantley was ...

, Matthias Hues and

Jay Bilas Jay Scot Bilas (born December 24, 1963) is an American college basketball analyst who currently works for ESPN. Bilas is a former professional basketball player and coach who played for and served as an assistant under Mike Krzyzewski at Duke Uni ...

. Lundgren plays a tough

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 ...

cop with an inner sensitivity, who does not let the rules of police procedure prevent him pursuing his mission to wipe out a gang of drug dealers who killed his partner. Lundgren said of his role, "What attracted me to Dark Angel is that I get to do more than just action. There's some romance, some comedy, some drama. I actually have some clever dialogue in this one. I get to act." One author said "Universe (1987) or Dark Angel (1990), demonstrates that nature and his undgren'shairdresser have suited him perfectly to Nazi genetically engineered baddie roles." In 1991, Lundgren starred in

Manny Coto Manuel Hector "Manny" Coto (born June 10, 1961) is an American writer, director and producer of films and television programs. Coto was the executive producer and showrunner of '' Star Trek: Enterprise'' in its final season, and executive produ ...

's action film ''Cover Up'' opposite Louis Gossett Jr. Lundgren portrays a US Marine veteran turned reporter and who finds his own life in jeopardy after stumbling across a political cover-up over a Middle Eastern terrorist plan to kill thousands of people. The primary terrorist group in the film is the fictional group Black October, in reference to

Black September Black September ( ar, أيلول الأسود; ''Aylūl Al-Aswad''), also known as the Jordanian Civil War, was a conflict fought in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan between the Jordanian Armed Forces (JAF), under the leadership of King Hussein ...

. The film was shot in Israel. Later in 1991, Lundgren appeared in martial arts action film '' Showdown in Little Tokyo'' opposite

Brandon Lee Brandon Bruce Lee (February 1, 1965 – March 31, 1993) was an American actor and martial artist. Establishing himself as a rising action star in the early 1990s, he landed his breakthrough role as Eric Draven in the dark fantasy film ''The ...

. In the film, Lee and Lundgren play cops who are partnered to investigate yakuzas. The film received a mainly negative reception from critics and was criticized for its violence;

Vincent Canby Vincent Canby (July 27, 1924 – October 15, 2000) was an American film and theatre critic who served as the chief film critic for ''The New York Times'' from 1969 until the early 1990s, then its chief theatre critic from 1994 until his death in ...

of ''The New York Times'' described it as "violent, but spiritless." ''

'' wrote "Lundgren can hold his own with other action leads as an actor and could easily be Van Damme-marketable if only he'd devote as much attention to quality control as he does to pectoral development." David J. Fox of the ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the ...

'', however, described the film as a "class act", and some retrospective critics find it to be entertaining for its genre. In 1992, Lundgren starred in one of the biggest blockbusters of the year in the sci-fi action picture '' Universal Soldier'' directed by

Roland Emmerich Roland Emmerich (; born 10 November 1955) is a German film director, screenwriter, and producer. He is widely known for his science fiction and disaster films and has been called a "master of disaster" within the industry. His films, most of wh ...

. Lundgren (as Sergeant Andrew Scott) and

Jean-Claude Van Damme Jean-Claude Camille François Van Varenberg (, ; born 18 October 1960), known professionally as Jean-Claude Van Damme (, ), is a Belgian actor, martial artist, filmmaker, and fight choreographer. Born and raised in Brussels, Belgium, at the ag ...

(as Luc Deveraux) play U.S. soldiers during the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...

who are sent to secure a village against

North Vietnam North Vietnam, officially the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (DRV; vi, Việt Nam Dân chủ Cộng hòa), was a socialist state supported by the Soviet Union (USSR) and the People's Republic of China (PRC) in Southeast Asia that existed f ...

ese forces. However they end up shooting each other dead after Devereaux discovers that Scott has gone

insane Insanity, madness, lunacy, and craziness are behaviors performed by certain abnormal mental or behavioral patterns. Insanity can be manifest as violations of societal norms, including a person or persons becoming a danger to themselves or to ...

and has resorted to torture and kill the villagers. They are later

reanimated ''Re-Animated'' is a television film that aired on Cartoon Network on December 8, 2006. It was the first original production on the genre for the network. It was released on DVD on September 11, 2007, and serves as a pilot for the follow-up se ...

in a secret Army project along with a large group of other previously dead soldiers and sent on a mission as GR operatives. At the

1992 Cannes Film Festival The 45th Cannes Film Festival was held from 7 to 18 May 1992. The Palme d'Or went to the '' Den goda viljan'' by Bille August. The festival opened with ''Basic Instinct'', directed by Paul Verhoeven and closed with ''Far and Away'', directed by R ...

, Van Damme and Lundgren were involved in a verbal altercation that almost turned physical when both men pushed each other only to be separated, but it was believed to have only been a publicity stunt. ''Universal Soldier'' opened in theatres on 10 July 1992, a moderate success domestically with $36,299,898 in US ticket sales, but a major blockbuster worldwide, making over $65 million overseas, which earned the film a total of $102 million worldwide, on a $23 million budget. Despite being a box office hit however, it was not well-received; mainstream critics dismissed the movie as a ''

Terminator 2 ''Terminator 2: Judgment Day'' is a 1991 American science-fiction action film directed by James Cameron, who co-wrote the script with William Wisher. Starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, Linda Hamilton, Robert Patrick, and Edward Furlong, it is t ...

'' clone. Film critic

Roger Ebert Roger Joseph Ebert (; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American film critic, film historian, journalist, screenwriter, and author. He was a film critic for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. In 1975, Ebert beca ...

said, "it must be fairly thankless to play lunks who have to fight for the entire length of a movie while exchanging monosyllabic idiocies", including it in his book ''I hated, hated, hated this movie''. In 1993, Lundgren starred opposite Kristian Alfonso and

George Segal George Segal Jr. (February 13, 1934 – March 23, 2021) was an American actor. He became popular in the 1960s and 1970s for playing both dramatic and comedic roles. After first rising to prominence with roles in acclaimed films such as ''Ship o ...

in Vic Armstrong's '' Joshua Tree''. Lundgren plays Wellman Anthony Santee, a former racecar driver who has turned to hauling exotic stolen cars with his friend Eddie Turner (

Ken Foree Ken or KEN may refer to: Entertainment * ''Ken'' (album), a 2017 album by Canadian indie rock band Destroyer. * ''Ken'' (film), 1964 Japanese film. * ''Ken'' (magazine), a large-format political magazine. * Ken Masters, a main character in ...

). One day he is framed by police officer Frank Severance (Segal) for the murder of a highway patrolman, also killing his friend Eddie. Santee is sent to prison after recovering in a prison hospital, but escapes during transfer and takes a female hostage named Rita Marrick (Alfonso) at a gas station, not suspecting that she's a cop. On the run from the law, involving exotic cars and desert scenery, Santee must prove his innocence and prove Severance guilty of being involved in the car ring and for murder. Much of the film was filmed in the

Alabama Hills The Alabama Hills are a range of hills and rock formations near the eastern slope of the Sierra Nevada in the Owens Valley, west of Lone Pine in Inyo County, California. Though geographically separate from the Sierra Nevada, they are part o ...

of the Sierra Nevada and the desert of the Joshua Tree National Park of southeast California. In 1994, Lundgren starred in

Bruce Malmuth Bruce Malmuth (February 4, 1934 – June 29, 2005) was an American film director, best known for his work in the action and thriller genres and for his acting role in ''The Karate Kid'' film franchise. Biography Early life Malmuth was the bro ...

's ''

Pentathlon A pentathlon is a contest featuring five events. The name is derived from Greek: combining the words ''pente'' (five) and -''athlon'' (competition) ( gr, πένταθλον). The first pentathlon was documented in Ancient Greece and was part of ...

'' as an East German

Olympic Olympic or Olympics may refer to Sports Competitions * Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896 ** Summer Olympic Games ** Winter Olympic Games * Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece bet ...

gold medalist

pentathlete A pentathlon is a contest featuring five events. The name is derived from Greek: combining the words ''pente'' (five) and -''athlon'' (competition) ( gr, πένταθλον). The first pentathlon was documented in Ancient Greece and was part of t ...

on the run from an abusive coach (

David Soul David Soul (born David Richard Solberg; August 28, 1943) is an American-British actor and singer. He is known for his role as Detective Kenneth "Hutch" Hutchinson in the television series ''Starsky & Hutch'' from 1975 to 1979; Joshua Bolt on ' ...

). Lundgren trained with the U.S. pentathlon team in preparation for the role, which later led to him being selected to serve as the (non-competing) Team Leader of the 1996 U.S. Olympic

Modern Pentathlon The modern pentathlon is an Olympic sport consisting of fencing (one-touch épée), freestyle swimming, equestrian show jumping, pistol shooting, and cross country running. The event is inspired by the traditional pentathlon held during the anc ...

team during the Atlanta Games, to promote the image of the sport and to coordinate planning and other details between the team and the

United States Olympic Committee The United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee (USOPC) is the National Olympic Committee and the National Paralympic Committee for the United States. It was founded in 1895 as the United States Olympic Committee, and is headquartered in Col ...

. The film was seen negatively by most critics; ''Film Review'' said it was "appallingly acted and monotonous" and Video Movie Guide 2002 described it as a "silly Cold War thriller". Later in 1994, Lundgren appeared in Perry Lang's ''

'' (scripted by

John Sayles John Thomas Sayles (born September 28, 1950) is an American independent film director, screenwriter, editor, actor, and novelist. He has twice been nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay, for ''Passion Fish'' (1992) and '' ...

) alongside Charlotte Lewis and

BD Wong Bradley Darryl Wong (born October 24, 1960) is an American actor. Wong won a Tony Award for his performance as Song Liling in ''M. Butterfly'', becoming the only actor in Broadway history to receive the Tony Award, Drama Desk Award, Outer Critic ...

as Nick Gunar, a former Special Ops soldier who leads a group of mercenaries to a treasure island in the

South China Sea The South China Sea is a marginal sea of the Western Pacific Ocean. It is bounded in the north by the shores of South China (hence the name), in the west by the Indochinese Peninsula, in the east by the islands of Taiwan and northwestern Ph ...

. The film was mainly shot in Thailand, with Krabi and Phong Nga making up most of the island scenery. The film was well received by some critics. One author said "''Men of War'' invokes the most vividly remembered fighting in a foreign land of recent Western history. This innovation, associating the muscle image with the Vietnam experience, is carried over into other contemporary muscle films." Another said, "fine performances by an all-star Dolph Lundgren as a mercenary assigned to "convince" a cast in this offbeat and disturbing film."

1995–1999

In 1995, Lundgren appeared in

Robert Longo Robert Longo (born 1953) is an American artist, filmmaker, photographer and musician. Longo became first well known in the 1980s for his ''Men in the Cities'' drawing and print series, which depict sharply dressed men and women writhing in cont ...

's ''

'', co-starring

Keanu Reeves Keanu Charles Reeves ( ; born September 2, 1964) is a Canadian actor. Born in Beirut and raised in Toronto, Reeves began acting in theatre productions and in television films before making his feature film debut in '' Youngblood'' (1986). ...

. The film portrays screenwriter

William Gibson William Ford Gibson (born March 17, 1948) is an American-Canadian speculative fiction writer and essayist widely credited with pioneering the science fiction subgenre known as ''cyberpunk''. Beginning his writing career in the late 1970s, hi ...

dystopian A dystopia (from Ancient Greek δυσ- "bad, hard" and τόπος "place"; alternatively cacotopiaCacotopia (from κακός ''kakos'' "bad") was the term used by Jeremy Bentham in his 1818 Plan of Parliamentary Reform (Works, vol. 3, p. 493). ...

cyberpunk Cyberpunk is a subgenre of science fiction in a dystopian futuristic setting that tends to focus on a "combination of lowlife and high tech", featuring futuristic technological and scientific achievements, such as artificial intelligence and ...

view of the future with the world dominated by megacorporations and with strong

East Asia East Asia is the eastern region of Asia, which is defined in both geographical and ethno-cultural terms. The modern states of East Asia include China, Japan, Mongolia, North Korea, South Korea, and Taiwan. China, North Korea, South Korea ...

n influences. Reeves plays the title character, a man with a

cybernetic Cybernetics is a wide-ranging field concerned with circular causality, such as feedback, in regulatory and purposive systems. Cybernetics is named after an example of circular causal feedback, that of steering a ship, where the helmsperson ma ...

brain implant designed to store information. Lundgren plays Karl Honig, a

Jesus Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label= Hebrew/ Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and relig ...

-obsessed hitman and street preacher who wears a robe and carries a shepherd's staff. The film was shot on location in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...

and

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple- ...

in 12 weeks, filling in for the film's

Newark, New Jersey Newark ( , ) is the List of municipalities in New Jersey, most populous City (New Jersey), city in the U.S. state of New Jersey and the county seat, seat of Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County and the second largest city within the New Yo ...

and

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), Chinese postal romanization, alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the Capital city, capital of the China, People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's Li ...

settings. The film was premiered in Japan first on 15 April 1995 and features a previously composed score by Michael Danna, different editing, and more scenes with Lundgren and Japanese star

Takeshi Kitano is a Japanese comedian, television presenter, actor, filmmaker, and author. While he is known primarily as a comedian and TV host in his native Japan, he is better known abroad for his work as a filmmaker and actor as well as TV host. With th ...

. Critical response was negative overall; Roger Ebert said, "Johnny Mnemonic is one of the great gestures of recent cinema, a movie which doesn't deserve one nanosecond of serious analysis." The film was a financial disappointment, grossing $19,075,720 in the domestic American market against its $26m budget. The cloak worn by Lundgren in the film is now located in the lobby of the Famous Players Coliseum in

Mississauga, Ontario Mississauga ( ), historically known as Toronto Township, is a city in the Canadian province of Ontario. It is situated on the shores of Lake Ontario in the Regional Municipality of Peel, adjoining the western border of Toronto. With a popu ...

, it was his last theatrical release film until 2010. Later in 1995, Lundgren appeared in

Ted Kotcheff William Theodore Kotcheff (born April 7, 1931) is a Bulgarian-Canadian film and television director, writer and producer, known primarily for his work on British and American television productions such as '' Armchair Theatre'' and '' Law & Or ...

's '' The Shooter'', an action drama in which he plays Michael Dane, a U.S. Marshall who gets caught up in politics when he is hired to solve the assassination of a Cuban ambassador. Dolph203

In 1996, Lundgren starred in

Russell Mulcahy Russell Mulcahy ( ; born 23 June 1953) is an Australian film director. Mulcahy's work is recognisable by the use of fast cuts, tracking shots and use of glowing lights, neo-noir lighting, windblown drapery, and fans. He directed music videos ...

's ''

'', about a

sniper A sniper is a military/paramilitary marksman who engages targets from positions of concealment or at distances exceeding the target's detection capabilities. Snipers generally have specialized training and are equipped with high-precision r ...

(Lundgren) and his female spotter (played by Gina Bellman). Lundgren plays a former

Special Forces Special forces and special operations forces (SOF) are military units trained to conduct special operations. NATO has defined special operations as "military activities conducted by specially designated, organized, selected, trained and equi ...

agent who joins a secretive government agency (called "The Agency") as an assassin. The movie takes place in and around an unfinished city

skyscraper A skyscraper is a tall continuously habitable building having multiple floors. Modern sources currently define skyscrapers as being at least or in height, though there is no universally accepted definition. Skyscrapers are very tall high-ri ...

, shot in Montreal. The Motion Picture Guide to the films of 1997 said, "this stylish but empty thriller gives square-jawed Dolph Lundgren another shot at straight-to-video immortality". In 1997, Lundgren starred in Frédéric Forestier's '' The Peacekeeper'', playing Major Frank Cross of the US Air Force and the only man who can prevent the president being assassinated and with the ability to thwart an imminent

nuclear holocaust A nuclear holocaust, also known as a nuclear apocalypse, nuclear Armageddon, or atomic holocaust, is a theoretical scenario where the mass detonation of nuclear weapons causes globally widespread destruction and radioactive fallout. Such a scenar ...

. The threat is from a terrorist group, which has stolen the President's personal communications computer with the capability of launching the US arsenal to threaten global security. The film co-starred Michael Sarrazin, Montel Williams,

Roy Scheider Roy Richard Scheider (; November 10, 1932 – February 10, 2008) was an American actor and amateur boxer. Described by AllMovie as "one of the most unique and distinguished of all Hollywood actors", he gained fame for his leading and supporting ...

and Christopher Heyerdahl, and was shot on location in Montreal. The film was praised for its exciting action sequences. Doug Pratt described the first half of the film as "excellent" and described Lundgren's character as "tenacious", although Robert Cettl wrote "the Peacekeeper trades on the presence of B-movie action star Dolph Lundgren, an actor who never became as popular as his action contemporaries Jean-Claude Van Damme and Steven Seagal." In 1998, he appeared in Jean-Marc Piché's action/ supernatural horror film '' The Minion'' alongside Françoise Robertson Lundgren portrays Lukas Sadorov, a middle eastern templar and member of an order who are charged with guarding the gateway to Hell that, if opened, will unleash all evil. The only thing that can open it is a key which is sought by the Minion, a demonic spirit that transfers itself into the nearby host body when his previous one is killed off. Awakening in New York City, the Minion tracks down Karen Goodleaf as Lukas arrives to America to protect her and the key. Michael Haag in his book ''Templars: History and Myth: From Solomon's Temple to the Freemasons'' (2009) said, "The budget for this film was $12 million. A pity they did not spend a cent on research (citing that one reference was 600 years out) ... Lundgren is a butt-kicking Templar monk with a spiked leather glove whose sacred duty it is to do what the Templars have always done and stop a key that has kept the Anti-christ imprisoned for thousands of years from falling into the right hands.". The DVD and Video Guide of 2005 described the film as being "possibly one of the worst films ever". Later in 1998, Lundgren appeared alongside Bruce Payne and

Claire Stansfield Claire Stansfield is a British-Canadian actress, director, fashion designer and former model who is best known for her recurring role as Alti in several episodes of the TV series '' Xena: Warrior Princess'' and guest-starring roles on ''Cybill' ...

in '' Sweepers'' as Christian Erickson, a leading demolition expert and head of an elite team of specialists, trained to disarm mine fields in a humanitarian minesweeping operation in

Angola , national_anthem = "Angola Avante"() , image_map = , map_caption = , capital = Luanda , religion = , religion_year = 2020 , religion_ref = , coordinat ...

. The Video Guide to 2002 said, "that noise you hear isn't the numerous on-screen explosions but action star Lundgren's career hitting rock bottom." He also featured in the TV pilot ''

'' (directed by

John Woo John Woo Yu-Sen SBS (; born September 22, 1946) is a Hong Kong filmmaker, known as a highly-influential figure in the action film genre. He was a pioneer of heroic bloodshed films (a crime action film genre involving Chinese triads) and the gun ...

) as a former US Marshal who has a phobia of the color white, who becomes the bodyguard and detective of a young supermodel ( Kam Heskin) who is the target of a psychotic assassin (Phillip MacKenzie). Shot on location in Toronto, the film was originally meant to be the pilot episode of a series focusing around his character, Jack Devlin but it was not accepted as a series as it was poorly received. One review said "the narrative is laughably stupid" and the DVD and Video Guide to 2005 said, "dull, lightweight, made-for-TV action fully to a satisfying climax". In 1999, he played a mercenary in Isaac Florentine's '' Bridge of Dragons,'' a military pilot in

Anthony Hickox Anthony Hickox (born 30th January 1959) is an English film director, producer, actor and screenwriter. He is best known for his work in the horror genre, with films like '' Waxwork'' and its sequel, '' Waxwork II: Lost in Time'', '' Sundown: T ...

's '' Storm Catcher,'' and a cop who's a former boxer in '' Jill Rips'', also directed by Hickox, based on a 1987 novel by Scottish writer Frederic Lindsay.

2000s

2000–2004

In 2000, Lundgren starred in '' The Last Warrior'' as Captain Nick Preston under director

Sheldon Lettich Sheldon Lettich ( ; born January 14, 1951) is an American screenwriter, film director and producer. He is best known for his collaborations with Jean-Claude Van Damme and his work in the action film genre. Early life He was born in New York City ...

. The film was partly shot in

Eilat Eilat ( , ; he, אֵילַת ; ar, إِيلَات, Īlāt) is Israel's southernmost city, with a population of , a busy port and popular resort at the northern tip of the Red Sea, on what is known in Israel as the Gulf of Eilat and in Jorda ...

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

. Later in 2000, Lundgren appeared in

Damian Lee Damian Lee is a Canadian film director, writer, and producer responsible as well as notable for such films as '' Abraxas, Guardian of the Universe'', ''No Exit'' and ''Ski School A ski school is an establishment that teaches skiing, typicall ...

's '' Agent Red'' (also known as ''Captured''), alongside Alexander Kuznetsov,

Natalie Radford Natalie Radford (born 24 June 1966) is a Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of thes ...

and

Randolph Mantooth Randolph Mantooth (born Randy DeRoy Mantooth, September 19, 1945) is an American actor who has worked in television, documentaries, theater, and film for more than 40 years. A graduate of the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, he was discovere ...

. The film is set during the

Cold War The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because t ...

, and is about two soldiers trapped on a submarine with a group of terrorists who plan to use a chemical weapon against the United States. Lundgren's character, Matt Hendricks, must work with his wife, a virologist, to prevent the scenario occurring. After the film was completed, producer

Andrew Stevens Herman Andrew Stevens (born June 10, 1955) is an American executive, film producer, director and actor. Early life Stevens was born in Memphis, Tennessee, the only child of actress Stella Stevens and her former husband Noble Herman Stephens. Ca ...

thought it was too poor to be released and multiple people had to be hired to at least make the film half-competent. The film was very poorly received, given its "shoestring budget"; the DVD and Film Guide of 2005 wrote, "low-budget mess stars Dolph Lundgren as a navy special operations commander trying to keep a deadly virus out of the hands of terrorists. This subpar effort sinks to the bottom of the ocean in a tidal wave of cliche." During an interview on ''The Tonight Show'' with

Jay Leno James Douglas Muir Leno (; born April 28, 1950) is an American television host, comedian, writer, and actor. After doing stand-up comedy for years, he became the host of NBC's '' The Tonight Show'' from 1992 to 2009. Beginning in September 20 ...

in May 2008, ''

Gladiator A gladiator ( la, gladiator, "swordsman", from , "sword") was an armed combatant who entertained audiences in the Roman Republic and Roman Empire in violent confrontations with other gladiators, wild animals, and condemned criminals. Some gla ...

'' director

Ridley Scott Sir Ridley Scott (born 30 November 1937) is a British film director and producer. Directing, among others, science fiction films, his work is known for its atmospheric and highly concentrated visual style. Scott has received many accolades th ...

said Lundgren had been considered for the part of undefeated fighter Tigris of Gaul in 2000, but was eventually rejected because "as an actor, he just didn't fit in with what we were trying to achieve". In 2001, Lundgren starred in '' Hidden Agenda'', directed by Marc S. Grenier. He plays Jason Price, an ex-FBI agent who protects a witness. In 2003, Lundgren featured in Sidney J. Furie's '' Detention''. In 2004, he appeared opposite

Polly Shannon Polly Shannon (born September 1, 1973) is a Canadian actress. She is best known for her portrayal of Margaret Trudeau in the 2002 miniseries '' Trudeau'', a film about the late Prime Minister of Canada Pierre Trudeau. Biography Polly Shannon wa ...

in ''Direct Action'' under Sidney J. Furie, portraying Sergeant Frank Gannon, an officer who has spent the last three years on the Direct Action Unit (DAU) task force, fighting gang crime and corruption and after he leaves he is hunted down by former colleagues for betraying the brotherhood. Next Lundgren made a cameo in

Ed Bye Edward Richard Morrison Bye (born 12 June 1955) is a British film and TV producer and director. He directed the episodes of the science-fiction sitcom '' Red Dwarf'' from Series I-IV and VII-VIII. Early life Ed Bye is the son of Royal Marine Co ...

's '' Fat Slags'', alongside

Geri Halliwell Geraldine Estelle Horner (née Halliwell; born 6 August 1972) is an English singer, songwriter, author, and actress. She rose to prominence in the 1990s as Ginger Spice, a member of the girl group the Spice Girls. With over 100 million records ...

Naomi Campbell Naomi Elaine Campbell (born 22 May 1970) is an English model, actress, singer, and businesswoman. She began her career at the age of 15, and established herself amongst the most recognisable and in-demand models of the past four decades. Cam ...

and

Angus Deayton Gordon Angus Deayton (; born 6 January 1956) is an English actor, writer, musician, comedian, and broadcaster. He was the original presenter of the satirical panel game '' Have I Got News for You,'' the host of British panel show '' Would I Lie ...

. His next starring role was in the science fiction picture '' Retrograde.'' In it Lundgren plays a man who is in a group of genetically unique people who travel back in time to prevent the discovery of meteors containing deadly bacteria." Shot in Italy, the film received the support of the Film Fund of

Luxembourg Luxembourg ( ; lb, Lëtzebuerg ; french: link=no, Luxembourg; german: link=no, Luxemburg), officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, ; french: link=no, Grand-Duché de Luxembourg ; german: link=no, Großherzogtum Luxemburg is a small lan ...

. He made his directorial debut, replacing Sidney J. Furie who got ill during pre-production, with '' The Defender'', in which he also starred alongside Shakara Ledard and

Jerry Springer Gerald Norman Springer (born February 13, 1944) is a British-American broadcaster, journalist, actor, producer, former lawyer, and politician. He hosted the tabloid talk show '' Jerry Springer'' between September 30, 1991 and July 26, 2018, an ...

, who played the President of the United States. Lundgren plays Lance Rockford, the bodyguard of the head of the

National Security Agency The National Security Agency (NSA) is a national-level intelligence agency of the United States Department of Defense, under the authority of the Director of National Intelligence (DNI). The NSA is responsible for global monitoring, collecti ...

, Roberta Jones ( Caroline Lee-Johnson), in a war on terror.

2005–2009

In 2005, Lundgren starred and directed his second picture ''

'' (The Russian Specialist), playing a retired Russian Special Forces hitman Nikolai "Nick" Cherenko caught in the crossfire with Russian mobsters.

Sky Movies Sky Cinema is a British subscription film service owned by Sky Group (a division of Comcast). In the United Kingdom, Sky Cinema channels currently broadcast on the Sky satellite and Virgin Media cable platforms, and in addition Sky Cinema ...

remarked that ''The Mechanik'' is "hardcore death-dealing from the Nordic leviathan" and said that "The Mechanik delivers all the no-nonsense gunplay you'd want of a Friday night". In 2006, Lundgren played gladiator Brixos in the Italian-made historical/biblical drama, '' The Inquiry'' (''L'inchiesta'') a remake of a 1986 film by the same name, in an ensemble that includes

Daniele Liotti Daniele Liotti (born 1 April 1971, in Rome) is an Italian actor. He performed in more than thirty films since 1993. Selected filmography External links * Italian male film actors 1971 births Living people Male actors from Rome ...

, Mónica Cruz,

Max von Sydow Max von Sydow ( , ; born Carl Adolf von Sydow; 10 April 1929 – 8 March 2020) was a Swedish-French actor. He had a 70-year career in European and American cinema, television, and theatre, appearing in more than 150 films and several television ...

F. Murray Abraham F. Murray Abraham (born Murray Abraham; October 24, 1939) is an American actor. Known for his roles on stage and screen, he came to prominence for his acclaimed leading role as Antonio Salieri in the drama film '' Amadeus'' (1984) for which he w ...

and

Ornella Muti Ornella Muti (born Francesca Romana Rivelli; 9 March 1955) is an Italian actress. She made her film debut as Francesca Cimarosa in the 1970 film ''La moglie più bella.'' Early life Muti was born in Rome to a Neapolitan journalist father and ...

. Set in AD 35 in the

Roman Empire The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post-Roman Republic, Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings aro ...

, the story follows a fictional Roman general named Titus Valerius Taurus, a veteran of campaigns in

Germania Germania ( ; ), also called Magna Germania (English: ''Great Germania''), Germania Libera (English: ''Free Germania''), or Germanic Barbaricum to distinguish it from the Roman province of the same name, was a large historical region in north-c ...

, who is sent to

Judea Judea or Judaea ( or ; from he, יהודה, Standard ''Yəhūda'', Tiberian ''Yehūḏā''; el, Ἰουδαία, ; la, Iūdaea) is an ancient, historic, Biblical Hebrew, contemporaneous Latin, and the modern-day name of the mountainous so ...

by the emperor

Tiberius Tiberius Julius Caesar Augustus (; 16 November 42 BC – 16 March AD 37) was the second Roman emperor. He reigned from AD 14 until 37, succeeding his stepfather, the first Roman emperor Augustus. Tiberius was born in Rome in 42 BC. His father ...

to investigate the possibility of the divinity of the recently crucified Jesus. The film, shot on location in Tunisia and Bulgaria It premiered at the Capri, Hollywood and the Los Angeles Italia Film Festival. That same year, he appeared in the music video "Kosmosa" sung by the Russian singer Irson Kudikova. Dolph2

In 2007, Lundgren directed and starred in the Mongolia-based action adventure, '' Diamond Dogs''. Lundgren plays a mercenary hired by a group of fortune hunters to act as their guide and bodyguard. The film, a Canadian-Chinese production, was shot on location in

Inner Mongolia Inner Mongolia, officially the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China. Its border includes most of the length of China's border with the country of Mongolia. Inner Mongolia also accounts for a ...

. Later in 2007, Lundgren wrote, directed and starred in '' Missionary Man'' alongside Charles Solomon Jr.. Described as a "modern western" by Lundgren, He plays a lone, Bible-preaching stranger named Ryder who comes into a small Texas town on his 1970's

Harley-Davidson Harley-Davidson, Inc. (H-D, or simply Harley) is an American motorcycle manufacturer headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States. Founded in 1903, it is one of two major American motorcycle manufacturers to survive the Great Depre ...

motorcycle to attend the funeral of his good friend J.J., a local Native American carpenter, only to later get mixed up in a series of brawls with a local gang. According to Lundgren, it had long been a desire of his to direct a western, having long been a fan of

Clint Eastwood Clinton Eastwood Jr. (born May 31, 1930) is an American actor and film director. After achieving success in the Western TV series '' Rawhide'', he rose to international fame with his role as the " Man with No Name" in Sergio Leone's "'' Do ...

and

John Wayne Marion Robert Morrison (May 26, 1907 – June 11, 1979), known professionally as John Wayne and nicknamed The Duke or Duke Wayne, was an American actor who became a popular icon through his starring roles in films made during Hollywood's Go ...

, yet he did not want to spend the time and money building an old western town and hiring horses, so decided to set it in modern times with a motorbike instead of entering the town on a horse in the manner than Clint Eastwood would. Lundgren's co-writer, Frank Valdez's wife's brother happened to be a notable actor working in Texas and invited Lundgren's team to shoot there. The film was shot on location in Waxahachie, south of

Dallas Dallas () is the third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 million people. It is the largest city in and seat of Dallas County ...

and was produced by Andrew Stevens and it was specially screened at the 2008 AFI Dallas Film Festival. In 2008, Lundgren starred opposite

Michael Paré Michael Kevin Paré (born October 9, 1958) is an American actor. He is best known for his roles in the films ''Eddie and the Cruisers'' (1983), '' Streets of Fire'' (1984), and '' The Philadelphia Experiment'' (1984), and on the series ''Starhun ...

in the direct-to-video action flick '' Direct Contact''. He plays an ex-US

Special forces Special forces and special operations forces (SOF) are military units trained to conduct special operations. NATO has defined special operations as "military activities conducted by specially designated, organized, selected, trained and equi ...

operative on a rescue mission. This was followed by another direct to video film '' Command Performance'' (2009), a hostage action drama in which Lundgren, a proficient musician in real life, plays a rock drummer forced to face terrorists at a concert. The film co-starred Canadian pop singer Melissa Smith, playing a world-famous pop singer in the film and his own daughter Ida on her screen debut, who played one of the daughters of the Russian president. The story was inspired by a concert

Madonna Madonna Louise Ciccone (; ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer-songwriter and actress. Widely dubbed the " Queen of Pop", Madonna has been noted for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, songwriting, a ...

put on for Russian President

Vladimir Putin Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin; (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who holds the office of president of Russia. Putin has served continuously as president or prime minister since 1999: as prime min ...

, although Lundgren has also likened the pop singer to

Britney Spears Britney Jean Spears (born December 2, 1981) is an American singer. Often referred to as the " Princess of Pop", she is credited with influencing the revival of teen pop during the late 1990s and early 2000s. After appearing in stage producti ...

. Filming took place over 5 weeks between August and September 2008 in

Sofia Sofia ( ; bg, София, Sofiya, ) is the capital and largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain in the western parts of the country. The city is built west of the Iskar river, and h ...

, Bulgaria and Moscow, Russia. The film premiered at the Ischia Global Film & Music Festival on 18 July 2009. In 2009, The Dolph Lundgren Scholarship was instituted in his name, which is awarded to the student with the best grades at Ådalsskolan in

Kramfors Kramfors () is a locality and the seat of Kramfors Municipality in Västernorrland County, Sweden. It had a population of 5,990 inhabitants in 2010. The town grew on the western bank of the Ångerman river in the 19th century as harvested logs we ...

, the school where he himself studied. Lundgren then reunited with

in '' Universal Soldier: Regeneration'', where he plays Andrew Scott's clone. The film was released theatrically in the Middle East and Southeast Asia and directly to video in the United States and other parts of the world. Since its release, the film has received better than average reviews for a straight-to-DVD franchise sequel, with film critic Brian Orndorf giving the film a B, calling it "moody, pleasingly quick-draw, and knows when to quit, making the ''Universal Soldier'' brand name bizarrely vital once again."

Dread Central Dread Central is an American website founded in 2006 that is dedicated to horror news, interviews, and reviews. It covers horror films, comics, novels, and toys. Dread Central has won the Rondo Hatton Classic Horror Award for Best Website ...

gave it 3 out of 5 knives, saying "there is almost nothing but solid b-level action until the credits roll." On the negative side, Pablo Villaça said in his review that while he praised Van Damme's performance, he criticized that of Lundgren and described the film "dull in concept and execution". Later in 2009, Lundgren directed and starred in the hit-man thriller ''

'' (retitled in the US and the UK as ''The Killing Machine''). He plays a businessman named Edward Genn, working for an investment company, who has a shady past as a KGB special agent known as "Icarus". He tries to escape from his past life, but his identity is discovered and he is hunted down, placing the lives of his wife and daughter and himself in jeopardy. Retitled in the US and the UK as ''The Killing Machine'', it opened theatrically in Los Angeles on 10 September 2010, for an exclusive one-week engagement at Laemmele's Sunset 5 Theater in

West Hollywood West Hollywood is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Incorporated in 1984, it is home to the Sunset Strip. As of the 2020 U.S. Census, its population was 35,757. It is considered one of the most prominent gay villages ...

. It was his last directorial effort until 2021.

2010s: ''Expendables'' and direct-to-video films

In 2010, Lundgren made a guest star appearance on the TV series '' Chuck'' in the fourth-season premiere episode, "

Chuck Versus the Anniversary "Chuck Versus the Anniversary" is the fourth season premiere of ''Chuck''. It originally aired September 20, 2010. When the CIA gains control over the Buy More, Chuck Bartowski begins searching for his mother (Linda Hamilton). Sarah and Casey ...

", as Russian spy Marco, with references to '' Rocky IVs Ivan Drago. He then played a drug-addled assassin in the ensemble action film '' The Expendables''. It was his first American theatrically released film since 1995. The film is about a group of elite mercenaries, tasked with a mission to overthrow a Latin American dictator. It was described by Lundgren as "an old-school, kick-ass action movie where people are fighting with knives and shooting at each other." Film production began on 3 March 2009, with a budget of $82 million. Filming commenced 25 days later in

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a b ...

and other locations in Brazil, and later in

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is bord ...

. The film received mixed reviews from critics but was very successful commercially, opening at number one at the box office in the United States, the United Kingdom, China and India. Lundgren was one of three hosts for the 2010

Melodifestivalen Melodifestivalen (; literally "the Melody Festival") is an annual song competition organised by Swedish public broadcasters Sveriges Television (SVT) and Sveriges Radio (SR). It determines the country's representative for the Eurovision Song C ...

, where the Swedish contribution to the

Eurovision Song Contest The Eurovision Song Contest (), sometimes abbreviated to ESC and often known simply as Eurovision, is an international songwriting competition organised annually by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), featuring participants representing pr ...

is selected. In the first installation on 6 February, Lundgren co-hosted the competition together with comedian

Christine Meltzer Marie Christine Meltzer Lind (born 4 December 1974 in Viksjö) is a Swedish television hostess, actress and comedian. She rose to fame as an impersonator on the TV4 comedy show Hey Baberiba. She has also hosted the Swedish version of '' Popsta ...

and performer Måns Zelmerlöw. Lundgren's appearance was hailed by critics and audience, particularly his rendition of

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the " King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. His ener ...

's " A Little Less Conversation". Lundgren played the lead role in

Uwe Boll Uwe Boll (; born June 22, 1965) is a German filmmaker. He came to prominence during the 2000s for his adaptations of video game franchises which often starred international stars like Jason Statham, Burt Reynolds, Ray Liotta, Christian Slater, ...

's '' In the Name of the King 2: Two Worlds'', and had supporting roles in

Jonas Åkerlund Hans Uno Jonas Åkerlund (; born 10 November 1965) is a Swedish film director, screenwriter, music video director, and drummer. His video for Madonna's song " Ray of Light" won a Grammy Award for Best Music Video, Short Form, and a record of fiv ...

's ''

Small Apartments ''Small Apartments'' is a 2012 American independent comedy film directed by Jonas Åkerlund. It tells the story of Franklin Franklin, played by Matt Lucas, who by mistake kills his landlord, Mr. Olivetti, played by Peter Stormare. The cast co-star ...

'' and a thriller called '' Stash House''. Principal photography for '' Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning'' began on 9 May 2011 in Louisiana, and filming wrapped on '' One in the Chamber'' (co-starring Cuba Gooding Jr.) around the same time. '' The Expendables 2'' entered principal photography in late September/early October 2011, with Lundgren reprising his role as Gunner Jensen. Filming wrapped in January 2012, and it was released by Lionsgate on 17 August later that year. In 2013, Lundgren starred alongside Steve Austin in '' The Package''. Directed by Jesse Johnson, principal photography wrapped in March 2012, and the film was released on 9 February 2013. For a direct-to-DVD film, ''The Package'' was not a financial success. In its first week of release, the film debuted at no. 81; grossing $1,469 at the domestic box office. He starred in a number of other films later that year, including ''Legendary'', ''

Battle of the Damned ''Battle of the Damned'' is a 2013 American science fiction action horror film written, produced and directed by Christopher Hatton. The film stars Dolph Lundgren, Melanie Zanetti, Matt Doran and David Field. Following a deadly viral outbreak, pr ...

'', '' Ambushed'', and '' Blood of Redemption''. In 2014, Lundgren co-starred opposite

Cung Le Cung Le ( vi, Lê Cung; born May 25, 1972) is a Vietnamese-born American actor, retired mixed martial artist, Sanshou fighter and kickboxer. He competed as a middleweight in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), holding a record of ...

in the action film '' Puncture Wounds'', and reprised his role as Gunner Jensen for the third time in '' The Expendables 3''. He then wrote, produced, and starred alongside Jaa and

Ron Perlman Ronald Perlman (born April 13, 1950) is an American actor. His credits include the roles of Amoukar in '' Quest for Fire'' (1981), Salvatore in ''The Name of the Rose'' (1986), Vincent in the television series '' Beauty and the Beast'' (1987–1 ...

in '' Skin Trade'', an action thriller about human trafficking. Principal photography started on 2 February 2014 in

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is b ...

, and wrapped in

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the city, up from 631,486 in 2016. ...

; April the same year.Friel, Eoin (19 March 2014
"Tony Jaa Interview"
, ''The Action Elite''; retrieved 9 March 2015. The film received a limited theatrical release, followed by a Blu-ray and DVD release on 25 August 2015."'Skin Trade' DVD release"
dvdreleasedates.com; retrieved 20 August 2015."August 2015 DVD Releases"
movieinsider.com; retrieved 20 August 2015. In February, he filmed a cameo for the

Coen brothers Joel Daniel Coen (born November 29, 1954) and Ethan Jesse Coen (born September 21, 1957),State of Minnesota. ''Minnesota Birth Index, 1935–2002''. Minnesota Department of Health. collectively known as the Coen brothers (), are American film ...

' 2016 comedy film ''

Hail, Caesar! ''Hail, Caesar!'' is a 2016 period mystery musical black comedy film written, produced, edited and directed by the brothers Joel and Ethan Coen. An American-British-Japanese co-production, the film stars Josh Brolin, George Clooney, Alden Ehr ...

'', portraying a Soviet submarine captain. 2015 Gumball 3000 09

On 21 January 2015, Lundgren started filming straight-to-video film ''Shark Lake'' on the Mississippi Gulf Coast.Clarion-Ledger
"Dolph Lundgren 'Shark' movie to film on Gulf Coast"
''www.jackson.suntimes.com'', published 1 July 2015. Retrieved 4 September 2015. This was followed by a further six weeks of filming in the "Reno-Tahoe area".Haiden, Jayme
"Action movie starring Dolph Lundgren filming in Reno-Tahoe this fall"
, ''www.mynews4.com'', published 25 August 2014. Retrieved 9 April 2015. In the film, he portrays Clint Gray, a black-market dealer of exotic species responsible for releasing a dangerous shark into

Lake Tahoe Lake Tahoe (; was, Dáʔaw, meaning "the lake") is a freshwater lake in the Sierra Nevada of the United States. Lying at , it straddles the state line between California and Nevada, west of Carson City. Lake Tahoe is the largest alpine lake i ...

.Golden, Lee
"Dolph Lundgren Thriller SHARK LAKE Gets Its Grub On With A New Trailer"
filmcombatsyndicate.blogspot.co.uk, published 31 May 2015; retrieved 12 August 2016. Directed by Jerry Dugan, the film's budget was $2 million. On 23 May, straight-to-video film '' War Pigs'' premiered at the

GI Film Festival The GI Film Festival (GIFF), a 501c3 non-profit organization founded by Army veteran Laura Law-Millett and her husband Brandon Millett, is "dedicated to preserving the stories of American veterans past and present through film, television and li ...

. In the film, Lundgren co-starred (alongside Luke Goss) as Captain Hans Picault, a French Legionnaire who trains a U.S. Army Infantry group to go behind enemy lines and exterminate the

Nazis Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in N ...

. In August 2015, he started filming '' Kindergarten Cop 2'' in

Ontario, Canada Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

, a straight-to-video sequel to the 1990 comedy film that starred Arnold Schwarzenegger.Williams, Owen
"Dolph Lundgren Starring In Kindergarten Cop 2"
''www.empireonline.com'', published 14 August 2015. Retrieved 14 August 2015.Orange, B. Alan
"First Look at Dolph Lundgren in 'Kindergarten Cop 2'"
''www.movieweb.com'', published 13 August 2015. Retrieved 14 August 2015. He portrays Agent Reed, a law enforcement officer who must go undercover as a kindergarten teacher, in order to recover a missing flash drive from the Federal Witness Protection Program.Mink, Casey
"'Kindergarten Cop 2': Arnold Schwarzenegger Film Gets Sequel — First Pic"
, hollywoodlife.com, published 14 August 2015; retrieved 12 August 2016. Throughout that year, he starred in a number of other straight-to-video films, including the crime thriller '' The Good, the Bad and the Dead''The Night Rider
"Lundgren, Trejo In The Good, The Bad & The Dead"
''www.manlymovie.net'', published 16 June 2015. Retrieved 14 September 2015. and the prison film ''Riot''.Saathoff, Evan
"Dolph Lundgren Is Going To Make You Riot In This New RIOT Trailer"
, birthmoviesdeath.com, published 11 May 2015; retrieved 12 August 2016. He starred in the music video of

Imagine Dragons Imagine Dragons is an American pop rock band from Las Vegas, Nevada, consisting of lead singer Dan Reynolds, guitarist Wayne Sermon, bassist Ben McKee and drummer Daniel Platzman. The band first gained exposure with the release of their si ...

's Believer, which was released on 7 March 2017. In August 2017, he portrayed the future version of Gil Shepard in the

Syfy Syfy (formerly Sci-Fi Channel, later shortened to Sci Fi; stylized as SYFY) is an American basic cable channel owned by the NBCUniversal Television and Streaming division of Comcast's NBCUniversal through NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment. La ...

film '' Sharknado 5: Global Swarming''. In 2018, '' Black Water,'' an

action thriller Action film is a film genre in which the protagonist is thrust into a series of events that typically involve violence and physical feats. The genre tends to feature a mostly resourceful hero struggling against incredible odds, which include lif ...

, directed by Pasha Patriki was released. It co-stars and

in the fifth collaboration between both actors as well as the first time they appear together as on-screen allies.Baldwin, Daniel
"JCVD & Lundgren Are Deep In 'Black Water'"
, ''www.cinemarunner.com'', published 2 May 2017. Retrieved 15 May 2017.Kit, Borys
"Jean-Claude Van Damme, Dolph Lundgren Team for Action Thriller 'Black Water'"
''

The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Hollywood film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade paper, and in 2010 switched to a weekly large ...

'', published 4 January 2017. Retrieved 23 April 2017. Lundgren reprised his role of Ivan Drago from ''Rocky IV'' in ''

'', the 2018 sequel to ''

Creed A creed, also known as a confession of faith, a symbol, or a statement of faith, is a statement of the shared beliefs of a community (often a religious community) in a form which is structured by subjects which summarize its core tenets. The ea ...

''. He played an older, impoverished Drago in the film, which also introduces the character's son, Viktor. This marked the beginning of what

New York Magazine ''New York'' is an American biweekly magazine concerned with life, culture, politics, and style generally, and with a particular emphasis on New York City. Founded by Milton Glaser and Clay Felker in 1968 as a competitor to ''The New Yorker' ...

has described as Lundgren's "comeback." Also that year, Lundgren appeared in the

DC Extended Universe The DC Extended Universe (DCEU) is an American media franchise and shared universe centered on a series of superhero films and television series produced by DC Studios and distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures. It is based on characters that ...

film ''

'', from director

James Wan James Wan (born 26 February 1977) is an Australian director, producer, screenwriter and comic book writer. He has primarily worked in the horror genre as the co-creator of the '' Saw'' and ''Insidious'' franchises and the creator of The Conjur ...

, as the underwater king

Nereus In Greek mythology, Nereus ( ; ) was the eldest son of Pontus (the Sea) and Gaia ( the Earth), with Pontus himself being a son of Gaia. Nereus and Doris became the parents of 50 daughters (the Nereids) and a son ( Nerites), with whom Nereus ...

. Later in 2021, Lundgren starred and directed in the 2021 action film '' Castle Falls'' as Richard Ericson, in his first feature film as directed in nearly 12 years.

Training and diet

Although Lundgren has never competed as a professional bodybuilder, he has been closely associated with bodybuilding and fitness since his role as Drago in the mid-1980s. Bodybuilding.com said, "Looking like a man in his 30s rather than his 50s, Lundgren is the poster boy of precise nutrition, supplementation and exercise application that he has practiced for over 35 years." In an interview with them, he claimed to often train up to six days a week, usually one-hour sessions completed in the morning, saying that "it's just one hour a day, and then you can enjoy the other 23 hours". Although he had begun lifting weights as a teenager, he cites co-star

as the man who got him into serious bodybuilding for a period in the 1980s after he arrived in the U.S. Stallone had a lasting influence on his fitness regimen and diet, ensuring that he ate a much higher percentage of protein and split his food intake between five or six smaller meals a day. Lundgren has professed never to have been "super strong", saying that, "I'm too tall and my arms are long. I think back then 'Rocky IV''I was working with around 300 pounds on the bench and squat." In a January 2011 interview with '' GQ'' he announced he was working on releasing his own range of vitamins and supplements. He wrote an autobiographical fitness book, ''Train Like an Action Hero: Be Fit Forever'', published in Sweden (by Bonnier Fakta) on 9 August 2011, offering tips he learned over the years to work out in various situations (with a busy schedule and a lot of traveling). It also discusses a detailed account of his earlier life and troubles. He cites a better quality of life as having inspired him to maintain his physical fitness. When in Los Angeles he trains at the

Equinox Gym Equinox Group is an American luxury fitness company which operates several lifestyle brands: Equinox, Equinox Hotels, Precision Run, Project by Equinox, Equinox Explore, Equinox Media, Furthermore, PURE Yoga, Blink Fitness, and SoulCycle. Withi ...

in Westwood and when at home in

Marbella Marbella ( , , ) is a city and municipality in southern Spain, belonging to the province of Málaga in the autonomous community of Andalusia. It is part of the Costa del Sol and is the headquarters of the Association of Municipalities of the reg ...

, Spain, he trains at the Qi Sport Gym in Puerto Banús. Lundgren also spars and practices karate aside from weight lifting. He cites dead lifting and squats as the best exercises for muscle building. Lundgren is not a heavy drinker, but has professed on many occasions to being fond of

tequila Tequila (; ) is a distilled beverage made from the blue agave plant, primarily in the area surrounding the city of Tequila northwest of Guadalajara, and in the Jaliscan Highlands ('' Los Altos de Jalisco'') of the central western Mexican s ...

and cocktails, citing his knowledge in chemical engineering as "making really good drinks".

Personal life

Lundgren splits his time between

Stockholm Stockholm () is the capital and largest city of Sweden as well as the largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people live in the municipality, with 1.6 million in the urban area, and 2.4 million in the metropo ...

and

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world ...

. He speaks Swedish and English fluently, as well as smaller amounts of French, German, Italian, Japanese, and Spanish, but is not fluent in five languages as has often been reported. He is an avid

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly ...

fan. He supported

Everton F.C. Everton Football Club () is an English professional association football club based in Liverpool that competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The club was a founder member of the Football League in 1888 and has com ...

when he lived in Europe, but developed more of an interest in international football tournaments (such as the

UEFA European Championship The UEFA European Football Championship, less formally the European Championship and informally the Euro, is the primary association football tournament organised by the Union of European Football Associations ( UEFA). The competition is conte ...

and the

FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup, often simply called the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the ' ( FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The tournament has ...

) after moving to Los Angeles. During the 1980s, Lundgren had relationships with Jamaican singer

and American model Paula Barbieri. While Lundgren was completing a master's degree in chemical engineering on an exchange program with the University of Sydney in Australia, Grace Jones spotted him at a dance club and hired him as a bodyguard. Lundgren was whisked off to the United States, where he completed his final thesis. In 1994, he married Anette Qviberg (born 1966), a jewellery designer and fashion stylist, in

. The couple decided they liked Marbella so much that they rented accommodations there for years, before eventually buying a family home there. They have two daughters: Ida Sigrid Lundgren (born 1996) and Greta Eveline Lundgren (born 2001), both born in

. Lundgren and Qviberg cited the reason for living outside Hollywood was to give their children as normal a childhood as possible. Lundgren's father died in 2000. In early May 2009, three masked burglars reportedly broke into Lundgren's Marbella home. The burglars tied up and threatened his wife, but fled when they found a family photo and realized that the house was owned by Lundgren. Lundgren later stated he believed the intruders to be Eastern European and had asked contacts in Bulgaria to investigate them, but to no avail. After the incident, Lundgren's elder daughter, Ida, suffered from

PTSD Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a mental and behavioral disorder that can develop because of exposure to a traumatic event, such as sexual assault, warfare, traffic collisions, child abuse, domestic violence, or other threats on ...

. His wife was the "most traumatized",Rader Dotson
"30 Years After 'Rocky IV', Dolph Lundgren Turns New Page in 'Skin Trade'"
parade.com, published 15 May 2015; retrieved 4 September 2015. and they divorced. Lundgren was in a relationship with Jenny Sandersson from 2011 to 2017. Lundgren became engaged to Norwegian personal trainer Emma Krokdal in June 2020.

Filmography

Awards and honors

Special awards

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Lundgren, Dolph 1957 births Clemson University alumni Kyokushin kaikan practitioners Living people Male actors from Stockholm KTH Royal Institute of Technology alumni Swedish chemical engineers Swedish expatriate male actors in the United States Swedish Lutherans Swedish male boxers Swedish male film actors Swedish film directors Swedish male karateka Swedish male judoka University of Sydney alumni Washington State University alumni 20th-century Swedish engineers 20th-century Swedish male actors 21st-century Swedish engineers 21st-century Swedish male actors 21st-century Swedish male writers Engineers from Stockholm People from Kramfors Municipality Scientists from Stockholm Swedish expatriates in Australia Swedish expatriates in Spain Swedish film producers Swedish male television actors Writers from Stockholm Fulbright alumni