Dolph Lundgren
Encyclopedia
Dolph Lundgren is a Swedish actor, director
, and martial artist. He belongs to a generation of film actors who epitomise the movie action hero
stereotype
including Sylvester Stallone
, Arnold Schwarzenegger
, Bruce Willis
, Chuck Norris
, Steven Seagal
and Jean-Claude Van Damme
.
A graduate in chemical engineering
from the Royal Institute of Technology
in Stockholm and the University of Sydney
in Sydney
, Australia
in 1982, Lundgren holds a rank of 3rd dan
black belt
in Kyokushin
Karate
and was European champion in 1980 and 1981. While in Sydney, he became a bodyguard for Grace Jones
and began a relationship with her. They moved together to New York City
, where after a short stint as a model and bouncer at the Manhattan
nightclub 'The Limelight
', he got a small debut role in the James Bond
film A View to a Kill
as a KGB
henchman.
Lundgren's breakthrough came when he starred in Rocky IV
in 1985 as the imposing Russian
boxer
Ivan Drago
. Since then, he has starred in more than 40 movies, almost all of them in the action film
genre. He portrayed He-Man
in the 1987 film Masters of the Universe
, and Frank Castle
in the 1989 film The Punisher
. In the early 1990s, he also appeared in films such as Showdown in Little Tokyo
(1991), alongside Brandon Lee
; Universal Soldier
(1992), opposite Jean-Claude Van Damme
; Joshua Tree
(1993), opposite Kristian Alfonso
and George Segal
; Johnny Mnemonic
(1995), opposite Keanu Reeves
and Ice-T
; and Blackjack
(1998), directed by John Woo
. In 2004, Lundgren directed his first picture, The Defender, and subsequently helmed The Mechanik
(2005), Missionary Man
(2007), Command Performance (2009), and Icarus
(2010), in which he also starred. After a long spell performing in direct-to-video
films, 2010 marked his return to theatres with The Expendables
, an on-screen reunion with Sylvester Stallone
, alongside an all-action star cast which included, among others, Jason Statham
, Jet Li
, Stone Cold Steve Austin
, and Mickey Rourke
.
Well known for his tall stature and A1 level of fitness, at peak, Lundgren stood around 198 centimetre and weighed 250 pounds (113.4 kg), and continues to be an influence in the world of fitness and bodybuilding. He is married to Anette Qviberg, a jewelry designer and fashion stylist who lives in Marbella
, Spain
with their two daughters, Ida and Greta. As of 2011, the couple have been separated and filed for divorce. Dolph has moved back to Los Angeles with new Swedish girlfriend Jenny Sandersson.
. His mother, Bridgitta, was a languages teacher, and his father, Karl Lundgren, was an engineer and economist for the Swedish government
. He has two sisters and a younger brother. Lundgren was raised in the Lutheran church. Lundgren has said that his father was physically abusive and vented his frustration on his wife and oldest son. He states that during his tirades, his father would call him a "loser", which motivated him later as he wished to prove himself and grew more ambitious. He has 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 cites his troubled relationship with his father as the reason why he developed a desire to participate in heavy contact sports such as boxing and karate.
As a child, Dolph says he was insecure and suffered from allergies, and even claimed to be a runt. As a teenager, he grew up with his grandparents in the community of Nyland, north of Kramfors
. He showed a keen interest in drumming and had aspirations to become a rock star. In his teenage years, he also tried judo
, Gōjū-ryū and took up Kyokushin
karate
and began training heavily with weights.
After graduating from high school with straight-A grades, in the late 1970s he spent some time in the United States on various academic scholarships, studying chemistry at Washington State University
and Clemson University
. Lundgren says that "my dad always told me that if I wanted to make something special with my life, I had to go to America." After serving his mandatory two years in the Swedish Marine Corps at the Amphibious Ranger School, he enrolled at the Royal Institute of Technology
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, eventually attaining the rank of 3rd dan
black belt
in Kyokushin
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 master's degree
in chemical engineering
from the University of Sydney
, finishing with the highest results in his class. During his time in Sydney, he earned a living as a bouncer
in a nightclub. He was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
in 1983. However, while preparing for the move to Boston
, he was spotted in the nightclub he worked at in Sydney and was hired by Grace Jones
as a bodyguard. He fell in love with Jones and their relationship developed dramatically, moving with her to New York City
.
but was described as "a bit too tall and muscular for a model's size 40". He earned a living as a bouncer at the Manhattan nightclub The Limelight
; housed in a former Episcopal Church of the Holy Communion
, working with Chazz Palminteri
. In the daytime, Lundgren commenced studying 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
, Keith Haring
, Iman
and Steve Rubell
, danced at Studio 54
, and studied acting with Andie MacDowell
and Tom Hulce
." Because of his 6'5" muscular frame and distinctive Aryan looks, he stood out, and was encouraged by friends that he could make it in the movies. He would later quit studying at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology after two weeks to pursue acting.
film A View to a Kill
, Jones suggested that he try out for a part in film which led to his feature film
debut playing the very minor role of a suited KGB
henchman named Venz. In the film, Dolph is seen briefly in the scene in which the KGB's General Gogol
(Walter Gotell
) confronts Max Zorin
(Christopher Walken
) 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
, 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 Sylvester Stallone
was on the lookout for an imposing fighter to play Ivan Drago
in Rocky IV
(1985), Lundgren sent off videos and pictures of himself to a distant contact of Stallone, which eventually got through to him. Lundgren tried out for the role, but as he stated himself, he was initially turned down for the role because he was too tall. However, he eventually beat 5,000 other hopefuls to land his breakout role opposite Stallone, Carl Weathers
and Brigitte Nielsen
. In order to improve his physique and athletic abilities for the role of Drago, he trained intensely in bodybuilding
and boxing
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 235 pounds (106.6 kg) - 245 pounds (111.1 kg) during the filming, but in the film he was billed at 261 pounds (118.4 kg); one publisher said of Drago, "He's a hulking 261 pounds of merciless fighting machine, the best that Soviet science & medicine can create". His lines "If he dies he dies" and "I must break you" are amongst the best known of the Rocky series and have been cited in popular culture.
Sylvester Stallone said in an interview: "During [the filming of] Rocky IV, Dolph had hit me so hard I had swelling around the heart and had to stay in intensive care at St. John's Hospital for four days."
Lundgren later fought in a real boxing match against former UFC fighter Oleg Taktarov
, and lost via decision. Lundgren reportedly once said "Sly was a much better boxer than I had expected, but I could have beaten Mike Tyson
. I would have to train for such a match, but I would have beat him." 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."
Lundgren received his first lead role as the mighty He-Man
in Masters of the Universe
(1987), based on the popular children's cartoon
. He starred alongside Frank Langella
, Meg Foster
, Chelsea Field, Billy Barty
and Courteney Cox
. Lundgren weighed his all time heaviest during the filming at 250 pounds (113.4 kg). Although he was said to closely resemble "cartoons of huge blond musclemen in Viking outfits featured in pamphlets distributed by White Aryan Resistance
(WAR)", 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
magazine, and has a 13% "rotten" rating at Rotten Tomatoes
. Lundgren was criticized for being too wooden as a leading man, and it was dismissed as "a glossy fantasy starring monosyllabic Dolph Lundgren."
Citing the reason Lundgren would never successfully make it as a top leading actor in Hollywood, one author said, "Lundgren is limited by his size and dead pan delivery: though often compared to Arnold, he has less range." Lundgren released a workout video on VHS in 1987 called "Maximum Potential".
Lundgren next starred in Joseph Zito
's Red Scorpion
in 1989, opposite M. Emmet Walsh
, Al White
, T. P. McKenna
and Carmen Argenziano
. The plot centers on Lundgren's character Nikolai, a Soviet
Spetsnaz
-trained KGB
agent who is sent to an Africa
n country where Soviet, Czechoslovakia
n and Cuban forces
are helping the government fight an anti-communist
rebel movement. Nikolai is ordered to assassinate
the movement's leader, but eventually turns against his government by switching sides. The film was partly shot in Namibia
and it was claimed that Grace Jones joined him during production in Swakopmund
, insisting on staying in a $3000 a month villa, even though his new girlfriend at the time was reported to be Paula Barbieri
. The film was poorly received and has a 11% "rotten" rating at Rotten Tomatoes. Stephen Holden
of The New York Times
said as follows: "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
character Frank Castle
(a.k.a. The Punisher
) in the 1989 film The Punisher
. The film was directed by Mark Goldblatt
, 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
, Kim Miyori
, Nancy Everhard and Barry Otto
. The film received mainly negative reviews, currently holds a 24% "rotten" rating at Rotten Tomatoes. Christopher Null
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".
In 1990, Lundgren starred in Craig R. Baxley
's sci-fi thriller I Come in Peace
(also known as Dark Angel) opposite Brian Benben, Betsy Brantley
, Matthias Hues
and Jay Bilas
. Lundgren plays Jack Caine, a tough Houston cop with an inner sensitivity, who does not let the rules of police procedure prevent him pursuing his mission to wipe out the White Boys, a gang of white collar
drug dealers who killed his partner while he was waylaid stopping a convenience store
robbery. 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 [Lundgren's] hairdresser have suited him perfectly to Nazi genetically engineered baddie roles.
In 1991, Lundgren starred in Manny Coto
's action film Cover Up
opposite Louis Gossett Jr.. Lundgren portrays Mike Anderson, a tough American reporter and ex-US marine who finds his own life in jeopardy after stumbling across a political cover-up over a Middle Eastern terrorist plan to release toxic gas and kill thousands of people. The primary terrorist group in the film is the fictional group Black October, in reference to Black September
. The film was shot in Israel
and Lundgren stays at the famous King David Hotel
. Although the film was not a major success, Robert Cettl in his 2009 book Terrorism in American cinema: an analytical filmography, 1960-2008 argues that the film reveals an alarmingly realist insight into US-Middle Eastern politics and terrorism since the 2000s, dealing with an al-Qaeda
-esque terrorist organization and the conspiracy theories that some believe the US government is using the Middle East as a cover-up.
Later in 1991, Lundgren appeared in martial arts action film Showdown in Little Tokyo
opposite Brandon Lee
, Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa
and Tia Carrere
. Lundgren plays a police sergeant named Kenner working in Little Tokyo, Los Angeles
who is partnered with Johnny Murata (Lee), a Japanese American who are sent to infiltrate the operations of new Japanese drug
gang
named the Iron Claw manufacturing a lethal methamphetamine while using a local brewery and nightclub as a front for the operation. Along the way, Kenner discovers that Yoshida (Tagawa), the head of the drug gang, is a member of the Yakuza
who killed his parents in front of him as a young boy in Japan and the case becomes violent and personal. The film received a mainly negative reception from critics and was criticized for its violence; Vincent Canby
of the New York Times described it as "violent, but spiritless." Variety
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
however described the film as a "class act".
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
. Lundgren (as Sergeant Andrew Scott) and Jean-Claude Van Damme
(as Luc Devereaux) play U.S. soldiers during the Vietnam War
who are sent to secure a village against North Vietnam
ese forces. However they end up shooting each other dead after Devereaux discovers that Scott has gone insane and has resorted to mutilating the villagers and barbarically cutting off their ears, taking an innocent girl and boy hostage. They are later reanimated
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
, 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 July 10, 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
clone, or as a typical, mindless action film. Esteemed film critic Roger Ebert
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
in Joshua Tree
, directed by Academy Award and BAFTA
-winning stunt coordinator
Vic Armstrong
. Lundgren plays Wellman Anthony Santee, a former racecar driver who has turned to hauling exotic stolen cars with his friend Eddie Turner (Ken Foree
). 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
of the Sierra Nevada and the desert of the Joshua Tree National Park
of southeast California.
In 1994, Lundgren starred in Bruce Malmuth
's Pentathlon
as an East German Olympic
gold medalist pentathlete on the run from an abusive coach (David Soul
). 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
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 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 Men of War
(scripted by John Sayles
) alongside Charlotte Lewis
and B. D. Wong as Nick Gunar, a former Special Ops soldier who leads a group of mercenaries to a treasure island in the South China Sea
. The film was mainly shot in Thailand
, with Krabi
and Phong Nga making up most of the island scenery. The film was quite 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."
's Johnny Mnemonic, co-starring Keanu Reeves
. The film portrays screenwriter William Gibson
's dystopian cyberpunk
view of the future with the world dominated by megacorporations and with strong East Asia
n influences. Reeves plays the title character, a man with a cybernetic brain implant designed to store information. Lundgren plays Karl Honig, a Jesus
-obsessed hit man and street preacher who wears a robe and carries a shepherd's staff. The film was shot on location in Toronto
and Montreal
in 12 weeks, filling in for the film's Newark, New Jersey
and Beijing
settings. The film was premiered in Japan first on April 15th 1995 and features a previously composed score by Michael Danna, different editing, and more scenes with Lundgren and Japanese star Takeshi Kitano
. Critical response was negative overall; Roger Ebert said, "Johnny Mnemonic is one of the great goofy 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
. Later in 1995, Lundgren appeared in Ted Kotcheff
's The Shooter
, also known as Hidden Assassin, an action drama in which he plays Michael Dane, a CIA
agent who gets caught up in politics when he is hired to solve the assassination of a Cuba
n ambassador. He featured alongside Maruschka Detmers
, Assumpta Serna
, Gavan O'Herlihy
and John Ashton
.
The Motion Picture Guide to the films of 1996 said, "in peak condition, Dolph Lundgren leaps trains, kicks the crap out of assailants, and handles a rifle like a pro. He's still a terrific athlete, but shows signs of histrionic mobility here."
In 1996, Lundgren starred in Russel Mulcahy's Silent Trigger
, about a sniper
(Lundgren) and his female spotter
(played by Gina Bellman
). Lundgren plays a former Special Forces
agent who joins a secretive government agency (called "The Agency") as an assassin. The movie takes place in and around an unfinished city skyscraper
, 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, Dolph 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 imposing nuclear holocaust
. 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
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 Dolph'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 for 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). Dolph 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, Dolph appeared alongside Bruce Payne
and Claire Stansfield
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
. In the event his son is killed and he discovers that mines are being planted during the war to kill people in the area. The film was a joint American and South Africa
n production. 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 Blackjack
(directed by John Woo
) 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's 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 appeared in Isaac Florentine
's Bridge of Dragons
as a "human killing machine" mercenary named Warchikj alongside Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa
, who Lundgren had previously worked with in the 1991 film Showdown in Little Tokyo, Valerie Chow
, Gary Hudson
, John Bennett
and Scott L. Schwartz
. He then starred in Storm Catcher
alongside Mystro Clark
and Robert Miano
under director Anthony Hickox
, portraying a military pilot who is falsely accused of treason in a plot to overthrow the US Government. He is blackmailed into plotting an attack in which he would bomb Washington
with a new jet called the "Storm Catcher" by a renegade general (Miano). Film review dismissed the film and Lundgren's performance as "more Lundgren lunacy". Finally he starred in Hickox's next picture, Jill Rips
, based on a 1987 novel
by Scottish writer Frederic Lindsay
. He portrays Matt Sorenson, a former boxer and San Francisco cop who avenges the brutal death of his younger brother, Michael. Intent on finding his brother's killer, Sorenson infiltrates the powerful inner world of politics, business intrigue and casual sex and sadomasochism. His obsession to discover the killer's identity mounts as a series of other men are found murdered in a similar fashion, and he loses all objectivity and becomes a vigilante. The DVD and Video Guide to 2005 said, "not very believable but, as usual, it's fun to watch Dolph Lundgren in action." Film Review "shuddered" at the concept of the film and remarked that Lundgren "should be a long-forgotten action-star."
. This post apocalyptic movie is set in 2006 in the context of a 9.5-magnitude earthquake which kills millions of people, with Preston leading a motley military patrol on the island to help survivors in the pole shift-affected world. The film was partly shot in Eilat, Israel
. Later in 2000, Dolph appeared in Damian Lee
's Agent Red
(also known as Captured), alongside Meilani Paul, Alexander Kuznetsov, Natalie Radford
and Randolph Mantooth
. The film is set during the Cold War
, 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
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
in May 2008, Gladiator
director Ridley Scott
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
, opposite Alex Karzis
, Kata Dobó
, Joseph Scoren and Mif
. He portrays a soon to be retired high school history teacher and ex-Special Forces soldier Sam Decker who has one last detention to proctor; he must band together the trouble makers and misfits in detention to defeat a drug ring intent on taking over the school.
In 2004 he starred in an unusually high number of films. He first appeared opposite Polly Shannon
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 he appeared in Ed Bye
's Fat Slags, a film adaption of a comic strip
The Fat Slags
which appeared in the "alternative
" British
comic Viz. His role was little more than a cameo role alongside Geri Halliwell
, Naomi Campbell
and Angus Deayton
. Reviews of the film were so poor that it remains on the IMDb
's Bottom 100 as one of the worst movies ever made. He next appeared in Christopher Kulikowski's science fiction picture Retrograde
alongside Joe Montana (actor)
, Gary Daniels
and Joe Sagal
. It tells the story of "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
. Finally 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
, who played the President of the United States
. Lundgren plays Lance Rockford, the bodyguard of the head of the National Security Agency
, Roberta Jones (Caroline Lee-Johnson
), in a war on terror.
In 2005, Lundgren starred and directed his second picture The Mechanik
(The Russian Specialist), playing a retired Russian Special Forces hit man Nikolai "Nick" Cherenko caught in the crossfire with Russian mobsters. Sky Movies
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), also known as The Final Inquiry, alongside Daniele Liotti, Monica Cruz
, Max von Sydow
, F. Murray Abraham
and Ornella Muti
. It is the remake of the 1986 Italian film directed by Damiano Damiani and starring Keith Carradine
and Harvey Keitel
. Set in AD 35 in the Roman Empire
, the story follows a fictional Roman general named Titus Valerius Taurus, a veteran of campaigns in Germania
, who is sent to Judea by the emperor Tiberius
to investigate the possibility of the divinity of the recently crucified Jesus
. The film, shot on location in Tunisia
and Bulgaria
, featured a score from Andrea Morricone
, the son of the acclaimed film score composer Ennio Morricone
. It premiered at the Capri-Hollywood and the Los Angeles-Italia Film Festivals. One reviewer on a website catering for historical movies said of the film, "The Final Inquiry is one of those movies you are glad you ran into.... I had such low expectations for this movie, but was glad to have been proven wrong. I know about the negative reviews this movie has gotten and some of the criticism is well deserved while some of it is a bit unfair."
In 2007, Lundgren directed and starred in the Mongolia
-based action adventure, Diamond Dogs
. Lundgren portrays the character of Xander Ronson, a mercenary hired by a group of American fortune hunters to act as their guide and bodyguard, while they search for a priceless Buddhist artifact deep within the Chinese wilderness. They get more than they bargained for, however, as they come face to face with Russian mercenaries also after the artifact. The film, a Canadian-Chinese production, was shot on location in Inner Mongolia
. Later in 2007, Lundgren wrote, directed and starred in Missionary Man
alongside Charles Solomon Jr.. Described as a "modern western" by Lundgren, Dolph plays a lone, bible-preaching stranger named Ryder who comes into a small Texas town on his 1970's Harley-Davidson
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
and John Wayne
, 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
, a southern suburb of Dallas 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
in the direct to video action flick Direct Contact
. He plays the role of Mike Riggins, an imprisoned ex-US Special forces
operative in Eastern Europe, who is offered his freedom and money to rescue an American woman, Ana Gale, who has been kidnapped by a ruthless warlord. 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 in Moscow. 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
put on for Russian President Vladimir Putin
, although Dolph has also likened the pop singer to Britney Spears
.
Filming took place over 5 weeks between August and September 2008 in Sofia, Bulgaria and Moscow, Russia. The film premiered at the Ischia Global Film & Music Festival on July 18, 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
, the school where he himself studied. Lundgren then reunited with Jean-Claude Van Damme
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 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 of Cinema em Cena 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 Icarus
(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 September 10, 2010, for an exclusive one-week engagement at Laemmele's Sunset 5 Theater in West Hollywood.
in the fourth season premiere episode, "Chuck Versus the Anniversary
", as Russian spy Marco, with references to Rocky IV
s Ivan Drago
.
He then played a drug-addled assassin alongside Sylvester Stallone, Jason Statham
, Jet Li
, Randy Couture
, Steve Austin
, Terry Crews
, Mickey Rourke
, Bruce Willis
, and Arnold Schwarzenegger
in the action film The Expendables
, which opened in theatres on August 13, 2010. The film is about a group of elite mercenaries, tasked with a mission to overthrow a Latin American dictator; the film was described by Lundgren as "an old-school, kick-ass action movie where people are fighting with knives and shooting at each other." This was his first major U.S. theatrical release in fifteen years - since Johnny Mnemonic in 1995, (although The Inquiry
(The Final Inquiry) and Missionary Man
both played theatrically for one week in Dallas and San Diego in December 2007). Film production began on March 3, 2009, with a budget of $82 million. Filming commenced 25 days later in Rio de Janeiro
and other locations in Brazil
, and later in Louisiana
. 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
.
's In the Name of the King 2
(completed, awaiting for release) and supporting roles in Jonas Åkerlund
's Small Apartments
(wrapped at the end of April 2011, now in post-production) and a thriller produced by Joel Silver
called Stash House co-starring Briana Evigan
and Sean Faris
. Another Universal Soldier
film began filming in Louisiana
on May 9, 2011 and filming has wrapped on One In The Chamber (directed by William Kaufman) co-starring Cuba Gooding Jr.. The Expendables 2
has started principal photography with Simon West
at the helm in late September / early October 2011 and is expected to film until December 2011 / January2012), with a release date set by Lionsgate for August 17, 2012. Another film produced by Brad Krevoy
's MPCA (Motion Picture Corporation of America) is The Package (to be directed by Ernie Barbarash
) co-starring alongside Steve Austin
. Lundgren's next project as director and star, Skin Trade, is expected to be filmed in the fall or winter of 2011.
In a January 2011 interview with GQ magazine he announced he is working on releasing his own range of vitamins and supplements.
He has also written an autobiographical fitness book entitled "Fit Forever" being published in Sweden (by Bonnier Fakta) on August 9, 2011, offering tips he learned over the years to work out in various situations (with a busy schedule and a lot of traveling). When in Los Angeles he trains at the Equinox Gym in Westwood and when at home in Marbella
, Spain
he trains at the Qi Sport Gym in Puerto Banus
. Dolph does, however, also like to spar and practice his karate in the gym to keep in top shape 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
and cocktails, citing his knowledge in chemical engineering as "making really good drinks".
During the 1980s, Lundgren had relationships with singer Grace Jones
and model Paula Barbieri
. In 1994 he married Anette Qviberg, a jewelry designer and fashion stylist in Marbella. The couple decided they liked the place so much that over the years they rented out accommodation there before eventually buying a family home. They have two daughters: Ida Sigrid Lundgren (born April 29, 1996) and Greta Eveline Lundgren (born November 2001), both born in Stockholm. The girls attend a British School; Lundgren and Qviberg have cited the reason for living away from Hollywood is that they want to give their children as normal a childhood as possible. In early May 2009, Lundgren's Marbella home was reportedly broken into by three masked burglars who tied up and threatened Qviberg, but fled when they spotted a family photo and realized that the house was owned by Lundgren. Dolph later stated that he believed the intruders to be from Eastern Europe and had contacts in Bulgaria investigating them, but to no avail; the intruders are still at large. As of 2011, the Lundgrens have been separated and filed for divorce. Dolph has moved back to Los Angeles with new Swedish girlfriend Jenny Sandersson.
Lundgren was one of three hosts for the 2010 Melodifestivalen
, where the Swedish contribution to the Eurovision Song Contest
is selected. In the first installation on February 6, Lundgren co-hosted the competition together with comedienne Christine Meltzer and performer Måns Zelmerlöw
. Lundgren's appearance was hailed by critics and audience, particularly his rendition of Elvis Presley
's "A Little Less Conversation
".
Film director
A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
, and martial artist. He belongs to a generation of film actors who epitomise the movie action hero
Action hero
An action hero is a character, usually a protagonist, in an action-adventure novel, film, television show, or game.-Further reading:*Osgerby, Bill, Anna Gough-Yates, and Marianne Wells. Action TV : Tough-Guys, Smooth Operators and Foxy Chicks. London: Routledge, 2001.*Tasker, Yvonne. Action and...
stereotype
Stereotype
A stereotype is a popular belief about specific social groups or types of individuals. The concepts of "stereotype" and "prejudice" are often confused with many other different meanings...
including Sylvester Stallone
Sylvester Stallone
Michael Sylvester Gardenzio Stallone , commonly known as Sylvester Stallone, and nicknamed Sly Stallone, is an American actor, filmmaker, screenwriter, film director and occasional painter. Stallone is known for his machismo and Hollywood action roles. Two of the notable characters he has portrayed...
, Arnold Schwarzenegger
Arnold Schwarzenegger
Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger is an Austrian-American former professional bodybuilder, actor, businessman, investor, and politician. Schwarzenegger served as the 38th Governor of California from 2003 until 2011....
, Bruce Willis
Bruce Willis
Walter Bruce Willis , better known as Bruce Willis, is an American actor, producer, and musician. His career began in television in the 1980s and has continued both in television and film since, including comedic, dramatic, and action roles...
, Chuck Norris
Chuck Norris
Carlos Ray "Chuck" Norris is an American martial artist and actor. After serving in the United States Air Force, he began his rise to fame as a martial artist and has since founded his own school, Chun Kuk Do...
, Steven Seagal
Steven Seagal
Steven Frederic Seagal is an American action film star, producer, writer, martial artist, guitarist and reserve deputy sheriff. A 7th-dan black belt in Aikido, Seagal began his adult life as an Aikido instructor in Japan...
and Jean-Claude Van Damme
Jean-Claude Van Damme
Jean-Claude Camille François Van Varenberg , professionally known as Jean-Claude Van Damme, is a Belgian martial artist and actor, best known for his martial arts action films, the most successful of which include Bloodsport , Kickboxer , Double Impact , Universal Soldier , Hard Target , Timecop ,...
.
A graduate in chemical engineering
Chemical engineering
Chemical engineering is the branch of engineering that deals with physical science , and life sciences with mathematics and economics, to the process of converting raw materials or chemicals into more useful or valuable forms...
from the Royal Institute of Technology
Royal Institute of Technology
The Royal Institute of Technology is a university in Stockholm, Sweden. KTH was founded in 1827 as Sweden's first polytechnic and is one of Scandinavia's largest institutions of higher education in technology. KTH accounts for one-third of Sweden’s technical research and engineering education...
in Stockholm and the University of Sydney
University of Sydney
The University of Sydney is a public university located in Sydney, New South Wales. The main campus spreads across the suburbs of Camperdown and Darlington on the southwestern outskirts of the Sydney CBD. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and Oceania...
in Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
in 1982, Lundgren holds a rank of 3rd dan
Dan (rank)
The ranking system is a Japanese mark of level, which is used in modern fine arts and martial arts. Originally invented in a Go school in the Edo period, this system was applied to martial arts by Kanō Jigorō, the founder of judo and later introduced to other East Asia countries.In the modern...
black belt
Black belt (martial arts)
In martial arts, the black belt is a way to describe a graduate of a field where a practitioner's level is often marked by the color of the belt. The black belt is commonly the highest belt color used and denotes a degree of competence. It is often associated with a teaching grade though...
in Kyokushin
Kyokushin
is a style of stand-up, full contact karate, founded in 1964 by Korean-Japanese karate master, who was born under the name Choi Young-Eui . Kyokushinkai is Japanese for "the society of the ultimate truth". Kyokushin is rooted in a philosophy of self-improvement, discipline and hard training...
Karate
Karate
is a martial art developed in the Ryukyu Islands in what is now Okinawa, Japan. It was developed from indigenous fighting methods called and Chinese kenpō. Karate is a striking art using punching, kicking, knee and elbow strikes, and open-handed techniques such as knife-hands. Grappling, locks,...
and was European champion in 1980 and 1981. While in Sydney, he became a bodyguard for Grace Jones
Grace Jones
Grace Jones is a Jamaican-American singer, model and actress.Jones secured a record deal with Island Records in 1977, which resulted in a string of dance-club hits. In the late 1970s, she adapted the emerging electronic music style and adopted a severe, androgynous look with square-cut hair and...
and began a relationship with her. They moved together to New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, where after a short stint as a model and bouncer at the Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
nightclub 'The Limelight
The Limelight
The Limelight is the name of a chain of nightclubs that were owned and operated by Peter Gatien, located in Atlanta, Hollywood, Florida, and London, and formerly in New York City and Chicago.-History:...
', he got a small debut role in the James Bond
James Bond
James Bond, code name 007, is a fictional character created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short story collections. There have been a six other authors who wrote authorised Bond novels or novelizations after Fleming's death in 1964: Kingsley Amis,...
film A View to a Kill
A View to a Kill
A View to a Kill is the fourteenth spy film of the James Bond series, and the seventh and last to star Roger Moore as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond. Although the title is adapted from Ian Fleming's short story "From a View to a Kill", the film is the fourth Bond film after The Spy Who Loved...
as a KGB
KGB
The KGB was the commonly used acronym for the . It was the national security agency of the Soviet Union from 1954 until 1991, and was the premier internal security, intelligence, and secret police organization during that time.The State Security Agency of the Republic of Belarus currently uses the...
henchman.
Lundgren's breakthrough came when he starred in Rocky IV
Rocky IV
Rocky IV is a 1985 American film written by, directed by, and starring Sylvester Stallone. It is the fourth and most financially successful entry in the Rocky franchise...
in 1985 as the imposing Russian
Russians
The Russian people are an East Slavic ethnic group native to Russia, speaking the Russian language and primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries....
boxer
Boxing
Boxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...
Ivan Drago
Ivan Drago
Ivan Drago is a fictional character that appeared as Rocky Balboa's rival in the 1985 film Rocky IV. He is portrayed by Dolph Lundgren. The character and his catchphrases have gone on to inspire multiple mentions in popular culture like Clubber Lang , including in the Family Guy episode "Brian...
. Since then, he has starred in more than 40 movies, almost all of them in the action film
Action film
Action film is a film genre where one or more heroes is thrust into a series of challenges that require physical feats, extended fights and frenetic chases...
genre. He portrayed He-Man
He-Man
He-Man is a fictional heroic character featured in the Masters of the Universe media franchise. In most variations, he is the alter ego of Prince Adam...
in the 1987 film Masters of the Universe
Masters of the Universe (film)
Masters of the Universe is a 1987 science-fiction fantasy film based on the toy line by the same name. The movie stars Dolph Lundgren as He-Man and Frank Langella as Skeletor...
, and Frank Castle
Punisher
The Punisher is a fictional character, an anti-hero appearing in comic books based in the . Created by writer Gerry Conway and artists John Romita, Sr., and Ross Andru, the character made its first appearance in The Amazing Spider-Man #129 .The Punisher is a vigilante who employs murder,...
in the 1989 film The Punisher
The Punisher (1989 film)
The Punisher is a 1989 film starring Dolph Lundgren as Frank Castle, directed by Mark Goldblatt from a screenplay by Boaz Yakin. It is loosely based on the Marvel Comics' character The Punisher. The film changes many details of the comic book origin and the main character does not wear the...
. In the early 1990s, he also appeared in films such as Showdown in Little Tokyo
Showdown in Little Tokyo
Showdown in Little Tokyo is a 1991 action film. It features Brandon Lee in his first American film role, starring alongside Dolph Lundgren. Set in Los Angeles, California, two police officers attempt to take down a new and deadly Japanese drug gang...
(1991), alongside Brandon Lee
Brandon Lee
Brandon Bruce Lee was an American actor and martial artist. He was the son of martial arts film star Bruce Lee...
; Universal Soldier
Universal Soldier (1992 film)
Universal Soldier is a 1992 American science fiction action film directed by Roland Emmerich and starring Jean-Claude Van Damme and Dolph Lundgren as soldiers who kill each other in Vietnam but are reanimated in a secret Army project along with a large group of other previously dead...
(1992), opposite Jean-Claude Van Damme
Jean-Claude Van Damme
Jean-Claude Camille François Van Varenberg , professionally known as Jean-Claude Van Damme, is a Belgian martial artist and actor, best known for his martial arts action films, the most successful of which include Bloodsport , Kickboxer , Double Impact , Universal Soldier , Hard Target , Timecop ,...
; Joshua Tree
Joshua Tree (1993 film)
Joshua Tree, also known as Army of One, is a 1993 action film directed by Academy Award and BAFTA-winning stunt coordinator Vic Armstrong, written by Steven Pressfield and starring Dolph Lundgren, Kristian Alfonso, and George Segal...
(1993), opposite Kristian Alfonso
Kristian Alfonso
Kristian-Joy Alfonso is a long-time American dramatic actress, former figure skater and fashion model. She is best known for playing Hope Williams Brady, which she has played since 1983 on the long-running NBC dramatic serial Days of our Lives.- Early career :She began her career as a figure...
and George Segal
George Segal
George Segal is an American film, stage and television actor.-Early life:George Segal, Jr. was born in 1934 Great Neck, Long Island, New York, the son of Fannie Blanche and George Segal, Sr. He was educated at George School, a private Quaker preparatory boarding school near Newtown, Bucks County,...
; Johnny Mnemonic
Johnny Mnemonic (film)
Johnny Mnemonic is a 1995 cyberpunk film, loosely based on the short story "Johnny Mnemonic" by William Gibson. The title character, a man with a cybernetic brain implant designed to store information, is played by Keanu Reeves. The film portrays Gibson's dystopian view of the future with the world...
(1995), opposite Keanu Reeves
Keanu Reeves
Keanu Charles Reeves is a Canadian actor. Reeves is perhaps best known for his roles in Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure, Speed, Point Break and the science fiction-action trilogy The Matrix...
and Ice-T
ICE-T
* Ice-T, an American rapper and actor* ICE T , a tilting model of the German InterCityExpress series of high-speed trains...
; and Blackjack
Blackjack (film)
Blackjack, also known as John Woo’s Blackjack is a 1998 TV action film or more specifically a backdoor pilot directed by John Woo...
(1998), directed by John Woo
John Woo
John Woo Yu-Sen SBS is a Hong Kong-based film director and producer. Recognized for his stylised films of highly choreographed action sequences, Mexican standoffs, and use of slow-motion, Woo has directed several notable Hong Kong action films, among them, A Better Tomorrow, The Killer, Hard...
. In 2004, Lundgren directed his first picture, The Defender, and subsequently helmed The Mechanik
The Mechanik
The Mechanik is a 2005 action film starring and directed by Dolph Lundgren, written by Bryan Edward Hill and co-starring Ben Cross.- Plot :...
(2005), Missionary Man
Missionary Man (film)
Missionary Man is a 2007 American action film co-written, directed by and starring Dolph Lundgren.- Plot :A lone stranger named Ryder comes into a small Texas town on his 1970s Harley-Davidson motorcycle. He's there for the funeral of his good friend J.J., a local Native American carpenter...
(2007), Command Performance (2009), and Icarus
Icarus (film)
Icarus, also titled The Killing Machine in the UK and the U.S., is a 2010 American action-thriller film directed by and starring Dolph Lundgren.- Plot :...
(2010), in which he also starred. After a long spell performing in direct-to-video
Direct-to-video
Direct-to-video is a term used to describe a film that has been released to the public on home video formats without being released in film theaters or broadcast on television...
films, 2010 marked his return to theatres with The Expendables
The Expendables (2010 film)
The Expendables is a 2010 American ensemble action film written by David Callaham and Sylvester Stallone, and directed by Stallone. Filming began on March 28, 2009, in Rio de Janeiro, New Orleans, and Los Angeles, and the film was released in theaters on August 13, 2010 in North America.The film is...
, an on-screen reunion with Sylvester Stallone
Sylvester Stallone
Michael Sylvester Gardenzio Stallone , commonly known as Sylvester Stallone, and nicknamed Sly Stallone, is an American actor, filmmaker, screenwriter, film director and occasional painter. Stallone is known for his machismo and Hollywood action roles. Two of the notable characters he has portrayed...
, alongside an all-action star cast which included, among others, Jason Statham
Jason Statham
Jason Statham born 12 September1967) is an English actor and former diver, known for his roles in the Guy Ritchie crime films Revolver, Snatch and Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels...
, Jet Li
Jet Li
The fame gained by his sports winnings led to a career as a martial arts film star, beginning in mainland China and then continuing into Hong Kong. Li acquired his screen name in 1982 in the Philippines when a publicity company thought his real name was too hard to pronounce...
, Stone Cold Steve Austin
Stone Cold Steve Austin
Steve Austin , better known by his ring name "Stone Cold" Steve Austin, is an American film and television actor and retired professional wrestler...
, and Mickey Rourke
Mickey Rourke
Philip Andre "Mickey" Rourke, Jr. is an American actor, screenwriter and retired boxer, who has appeared primarily as a leading man in action, drama, and thriller films....
.
Well known for his tall stature and A1 level of fitness, at peak, Lundgren stood around 198 centimetre and weighed 250 pounds (113.4 kg), and continues to be an influence in the world of fitness and bodybuilding. He is married to Anette Qviberg, a jewelry designer and fashion stylist who lives in Marbella
Marbella
Marbella is a town in Andalusia, Spain. It is situated on the Mediterranean Sea, in the province of Málaga, beneath the La Concha mountain. In 2000 the city had 98,823 inhabitants, in 2004, 116,234, in 2010 approximately 135,000....
, Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
with their two daughters, Ida and Greta. As of 2011, the couple have been separated and filed for divorce. Dolph has moved back to Los Angeles with new Swedish girlfriend Jenny Sandersson.
Childhood and adolescence
Lundgren was born in Stockholm, Sweden in 1957 into an academic, middle-class family living in the suburb of SpångaSpånga
Spånga is a community and parish 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 portions of the area merging with Solna, Sundbyberg, and Sollentuna municipalities.Spånga was...
. His mother, Bridgitta, was a languages teacher, and his father, Karl Lundgren, was an engineer and economist for the Swedish government
Government of Sweden
The Government of the Kingdom of Sweden is the supreme executive authority of Sweden. It consists of the Prime Minister and cabinet ministers appointed by the Prime Minister. The Government is responsible for their actions to the Riksdag, which is the legislative assembly...
. He has two sisters and a younger brother. Lundgren was raised in the Lutheran church. Lundgren has said that his father was physically abusive and vented his frustration on his wife and oldest son. He states that during his tirades, his father would call him a "loser", which motivated him later as he wished to prove himself and grew more ambitious. He has 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 cites his troubled relationship with his father as the reason why he developed a desire to participate in heavy contact sports such as boxing and karate.
As a child, Dolph says he was insecure and suffered from allergies, and even claimed to be a runt. As a teenager, he grew up with his grandparents in the community of Nyland, north of Kramfors
Kramfors
Kramfors is a locality and the seat of Kramfors Municipality in Västernorrland County, Sweden with 6,235 inhabitants in 2005.Geographically the town is situated on the western shore of the Ångerman River. This river was the reason that Kramfors was founded, because in the 19th century it was a...
. He showed a keen interest in drumming and had aspirations to become a rock star. In his teenage years, he also tried judo
Judo
is a modern martial art and combat sport created in Japan in 1882 by Jigoro Kano. Its most prominent feature is its competitive element, where the object is to either throw or takedown one's opponent to the ground, immobilize or otherwise subdue one's opponent with a grappling maneuver, or force an...
, Gōjū-ryū and took up Kyokushin
Kyokushin
is a style of stand-up, full contact karate, founded in 1964 by Korean-Japanese karate master, who was born under the name Choi Young-Eui . Kyokushinkai is Japanese for "the society of the ultimate truth". Kyokushin is rooted in a philosophy of self-improvement, discipline and hard training...
karate
Karate
is a martial art developed in the Ryukyu Islands in what is now Okinawa, Japan. It was developed from indigenous fighting methods called and Chinese kenpō. Karate is a striking art using punching, kicking, knee and elbow strikes, and open-handed techniques such as knife-hands. Grappling, locks,...
and began training heavily with weights.
Education
Washington State University
Washington State University is a public research university based in Pullman, Washington, in the Palouse region of the Pacific Northwest. Founded in 1890, WSU is the state's original and largest land-grant university...
and Clemson University
Clemson University
Clemson University is an American public, coeducational, land-grant, sea-grant, research university located in Clemson, South Carolina, United States....
. Lundgren says that "my dad always told me that if I wanted to make something special with my life, I had to go to America." After serving his mandatory two years in the Swedish Marine Corps at the Amphibious Ranger School, he enrolled at the Royal Institute of Technology
Royal Institute of Technology
The Royal Institute of Technology is a university in Stockholm, Sweden. KTH was founded in 1827 as Sweden's first polytechnic and is one of Scandinavia's largest institutions of higher education in technology. KTH accounts for one-third of Sweden’s technical research and engineering education...
in Stockholm and graduated with a degree in chemical engineering
Chemical engineering
Chemical engineering is the branch of engineering that deals with physical science , and life sciences with mathematics and economics, to the process of converting raw materials or chemicals into more useful or valuable forms...
.
Amidst his years of studying, Lundgren honed his karate skills by training hard in the dojo for five years, eventually attaining the rank of 3rd dan
Dan (rank)
The ranking system is a Japanese mark of level, which is used in modern fine arts and martial arts. Originally invented in a Go school in the Edo period, this system was applied to martial arts by Kanō Jigorō, the founder of judo and later introduced to other East Asia countries.In the modern...
black belt
Black belt (martial arts)
In martial arts, the black belt is a way to describe a graduate of a field where a practitioner's level is often marked by the color of the belt. The black belt is commonly the highest belt color used and denotes a degree of competence. It is often associated with a teaching grade though...
in Kyokushin
Kyokushin
is a style of stand-up, full contact karate, founded in 1964 by Korean-Japanese karate master, who was born under the name Choi Young-Eui . Kyokushinkai is Japanese for "the society of the ultimate truth". Kyokushin is rooted in a philosophy of self-improvement, discipline and hard training...
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 master's degree
Master's degree
A master's is an academic degree granted to individuals who have undergone study demonstrating a mastery or high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice...
in chemical engineering
Chemical engineering
Chemical engineering is the branch of engineering that deals with physical science , and life sciences with mathematics and economics, to the process of converting raw materials or chemicals into more useful or valuable forms...
from the University of Sydney
University of Sydney
The University of Sydney is a public university located in Sydney, New South Wales. The main campus spreads across the suburbs of Camperdown and Darlington on the southwestern outskirts of the Sydney CBD. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and Oceania...
, finishing with the highest results in his class. During his time in Sydney, he earned a living as a bouncer
Bouncer (doorman)
A bouncer is an informal term for a type of security guard employed at venues such as bars, nightclubs or concerts to provide security, check legal age, and refuse entry to a venue based on criteria such as intoxication, aggressive behavior, or attractiveness...
in a nightclub. He was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology is a private research university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. MIT has five schools and one college, containing a total of 32 academic departments, with a strong emphasis on scientific and technological education and research.Founded in 1861 in...
in 1983. However, while preparing for the move to Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
, he was spotted in the nightclub he worked at in Sydney and was hired by Grace Jones
Grace Jones
Grace Jones is a Jamaican-American singer, model and actress.Jones secured a record deal with Island Records in 1977, which resulted in a string of dance-club hits. In the late 1970s, she adapted the emerging electronic music style and adopted a severe, androgynous look with square-cut hair and...
as a bodyguard. He fell in love with Jones and their relationship developed dramatically, moving with her to New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
.
New York City
Whilst living with Grace Jones in her New York City apartment, Lundgren dabbled in modeling at the Zoli AgencyZoli Agency
The Zoli Agency was a modelling agency based in New York City, particularly notable in the 1970s and 1980s. It was established by a Hungarian designer named Zoli in 1971, and was originally more geared towards male models, and was known as one of the elite male modelling agencies in the 1970s.The...
but was described as "a bit too tall and muscular for a model's size 40". He earned a living as a bouncer at the Manhattan nightclub The Limelight
The Limelight
The Limelight is the name of a chain of nightclubs that were owned and operated by Peter Gatien, located in Atlanta, Hollywood, Florida, and London, and formerly in New York City and Chicago.-History:...
; housed in a former Episcopal Church of the Holy Communion
Church of the Holy Communion and Buildings
The Church of the Holy Communion and Buildings are historic Episcopal church buildings at 656-662 Avenue of the Americas at West 20th Street in the Flatiron District of Manhattan, New York City....
, working with Chazz Palminteri
Chazz Palminteri
Calogero Lorenzo "Chazz" Palminteri is an American actor and writer, best known for his performances in The Usual Suspects, A Bronx Tale, and his Academy Award nominated role for Best Supporting Actor in Bullets Over Broadway....
. In the daytime, Lundgren commenced studying 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
Andrew Warhola , known as Andy Warhol, was an American painter, printmaker, and filmmaker who was a leading figure in the visual art movement known as pop art...
, Keith Haring
Keith Haring
Keith Haring was an artist and social activist whose work responded to the New York City street culture of the 1980s.-Early life:...
, Iman
Iman (model)
Iman Mohamed Abdulmajid , professionally known as Iman , is a Somali-American fashion model, actress and entrepreneur. A pioneer in the field of ethnic cosmetics, she is also noted for her charitable work. She is married to David Bowie.-Early life:Born in Mogadishu, Somalia, Iman is the daughter...
and Steve Rubell
Steve Rubell
Steve Rubell was an American entrepreneur and co-owner of the New York disco Studio 54.-Early life:Rubell and his brother Don spent their childhoods with their parents in Brooklyn, New York. His father worked for the U.S. Postal Service and later became a tennis pro...
, danced at Studio 54
Studio 54
Studio 54 was a highly popular discotheque from 1977 until 1991, located at 254 West 54th Street in Manhattan, New York, USA. It was originally the Gallo Opera House, opening in 1927, after which it changed names several times, eventually becoming a CBS radio and television studio. In 1977 it...
, and studied acting with Andie MacDowell
Andie MacDowell
Rosalie Anderson "Andie" MacDowell is an American model and actress. She has received the Golden Camera and an Honorary César.-Early life:...
and Tom Hulce
Tom Hulce
Thomas Edward "Tom" Hulce is an American actor and theater producer. As an actor, he is perhaps best known for his Oscar-nominated portrayal of Mozart in the movie Amadeus and his role as "Pinto" in National Lampoon's Animal House. Additional acting awards included a total of four Golden Globe...
." Because of his 6'5" muscular frame and distinctive Aryan looks, he stood out, and was encouraged by friends that he could make it in the movies. He would later quit studying at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology after two weeks to pursue acting.
1980s
On set of the James BondJames Bond
James Bond, code name 007, is a fictional character created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short story collections. There have been a six other authors who wrote authorised Bond novels or novelizations after Fleming's death in 1964: Kingsley Amis,...
film A View to a Kill
A View to a Kill
A View to a Kill is the fourteenth spy film of the James Bond series, and the seventh and last to star Roger Moore as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond. Although the title is adapted from Ian Fleming's short story "From a View to a Kill", the film is the fourth Bond film after The Spy Who Loved...
, Jones suggested that he try out for a part in film which led to his feature film
Feature film
In the film industry, a feature film is a film production made for initial distribution in theaters and being the main attraction of the screening, rather than a short film screened before it; a full length movie...
debut playing the very minor role of a suited KGB
KGB
The KGB was the commonly used acronym for the . It was the national security agency of the Soviet Union from 1954 until 1991, and was the premier internal security, intelligence, and secret police organization during that time.The State Security Agency of the Republic of Belarus currently uses the...
henchman named Venz. In the film, Dolph is seen briefly in the scene in which the KGB's General Gogol
General Gogol
General Anatol Alexis Gogol is a fictional character in the James Bond films The Spy Who Loved Me, Moonraker, For Your Eyes Only, Octopussy, A View to a Kill, and The Living Daylights. In the films, he is the head of the KGB. In his final appearance in The Living Daylights, he has transferred from...
(Walter Gotell
Walter Gotell
Walter Gotell was a German actor, known for his role as General Gogol, head of the KGB, in the James Bond film series.Gotell was born in Bonn, Germany; his family emigrated to the United Kingdom after the Nazis came to power...
) confronts Max Zorin
Max Zorin
Max Zorin is a fictional character and the main antagonist in the James Bond film A View to a Kill. He was portrayed by Academy Award winner Christopher Walken...
(Christopher Walken
Christopher Walken
Christopher Walken is an American stage and screen actor. He has appeared in more than 100 movies and television shows, including Joe Dirt, Annie Hall, The Deer Hunter, The Prophecy trilogy, The Dogs of War, Sleepy Hollow, Brainstorm, The Dead Zone, A View to a Kill, At Close Range, King of New...
) 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
Roger Moore
Sir Roger George Moore KBE , is an English actor, perhaps best known for portraying British secret agent James Bond in seven films from 1973 to 1985. He also portrayed Simon Templar in the long-running British television series The Saint.-Early life:Moore was born in Stockwell, London...
, 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 Sylvester Stallone
Sylvester Stallone
Michael Sylvester Gardenzio Stallone , commonly known as Sylvester Stallone, and nicknamed Sly Stallone, is an American actor, filmmaker, screenwriter, film director and occasional painter. Stallone is known for his machismo and Hollywood action roles. Two of the notable characters he has portrayed...
was on the lookout for an imposing fighter to play Ivan Drago
Ivan Drago
Ivan Drago is a fictional character that appeared as Rocky Balboa's rival in the 1985 film Rocky IV. He is portrayed by Dolph Lundgren. The character and his catchphrases have gone on to inspire multiple mentions in popular culture like Clubber Lang , including in the Family Guy episode "Brian...
in Rocky IV
Rocky IV
Rocky IV is a 1985 American film written by, directed by, and starring Sylvester Stallone. It is the fourth and most financially successful entry in the Rocky franchise...
(1985), Lundgren sent off videos and pictures of himself to a distant contact of Stallone, which eventually got through to him. Lundgren tried out for the role, but as he stated himself, he was initially turned down for the role because he was too tall. However, he eventually beat 5,000 other hopefuls to land his breakout role opposite Stallone, Carl Weathers
Carl Weathers
Carl Weathers is an American actor, as well as former professional football player in the United States and Canada. He is best known for playing Apollo Creed in the Rocky series of films...
and Brigitte Nielsen
Brigitte Nielsen
Brigitte Nielsen is a Danish model, actress, musician and reality television personality who began her career modelling for Greg Gorman and Helmut Newton and several years later made appearances in the 1985 films Red Sonja and Rocky IV and is also known for her marriage to Sylvester Stallone...
. In order to improve his physique and athletic abilities for the role of Drago, he trained intensely in bodybuilding
Bodybuilding
Bodybuilding is a form of body modification involving intensive muscle hypertrophy. An individual who engages in this activity is referred to as a bodybuilder. In competitive and professional bodybuilding, bodybuilders display their physiques to a panel of judges, who assign points based on their...
and boxing
Boxing
Boxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...
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 235 pounds (106.6 kg) - 245 pounds (111.1 kg) during the filming, but in the film he was billed at 261 pounds (118.4 kg); one publisher said of Drago, "He's a hulking 261 pounds of merciless fighting machine, the best that Soviet science & medicine can create". His lines "If he dies he dies" and "I must break you" are amongst the best known of the Rocky series and have been cited in popular culture.
Sylvester Stallone said in an interview: "During [the filming of] Rocky IV, Dolph had hit me so hard I had swelling around the heart and had to stay in intensive care at St. John's Hospital for four days."
Lundgren later fought in a real boxing match against former UFC fighter Oleg Taktarov
Oleg Taktarov
Oleg Nikolaevich Taktarov is a retired Russian mixed martial artist and actor. He is a practitioner of Sambo and Judo and has competed in the Ultimate Fighting Championship and Pride Fighting Championships. Taktarov was the UFC 6 tournament champion and holds notable wins over Marco Ruas and David...
, and lost via decision. Lundgren reportedly once said "Sly was a much better boxer than I had expected, but I could have beaten Mike Tyson
Mike Tyson
Michael Gerard "Mike" Tyson is a retired American boxer. Tyson is a former undisputed heavyweight champion of the world and holds the record as the youngest boxer to win the WBC, WBA and IBF world heavyweight titles, he was 20 years, 4 months and 22 days old...
. I would have to train for such a match, but I would have beat him." 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."
Lundgren received his first lead role as the mighty He-Man
He-Man
He-Man is a fictional heroic character featured in the Masters of the Universe media franchise. In most variations, he is the alter ego of Prince Adam...
in Masters of the Universe
Masters of the Universe (film)
Masters of the Universe is a 1987 science-fiction fantasy film based on the toy line by the same name. The movie stars Dolph Lundgren as He-Man and Frank Langella as Skeletor...
(1987), based on the popular children's cartoon
He-Man
He-Man is a fictional heroic character featured in the Masters of the Universe media franchise. In most variations, he is the alter ego of Prince Adam...
. He starred alongside Frank Langella
Frank Langella
-Early life:Langella, an Italian American, was born in Bayonne, New Jersey, the son of Angelina and Frank A. Langella Sr., a business executive who was the president of the Bayonne Barrel and Drum Company. Langella attended Washington Elementary School and Bayonne High School in Bayonne...
, Meg Foster
Meg Foster
Megan "Meg" Foster is an American actress best known for her roles in the TV miniseries version of The Scarlet Letter, Ticket to Heaven, The Osterman Weekend, and They Live .-Life and career:...
, Chelsea Field, Billy Barty
Billy Barty
Billy Barty was an American film actor.-Biography:Barty, an Italian American, was born William John Bertanzetti in Millsboro, Pennsylvania...
and Courteney Cox
Courteney Cox
Courteney Bass Cox is an American actress, she is best known for her roles as Monica Geller on the NBC sitcom Friends, Gale Weathers in the horror series Scream and as Jules Cobb in the ABC sitcom Cougar Town, for which she earned her first Golden Globe nomination....
. Lundgren weighed his all time heaviest during the filming at 250 pounds (113.4 kg). Although he was said to closely resemble "cartoons of huge blond musclemen in Viking outfits featured in pamphlets distributed by White Aryan Resistance
White Aryan Resistance
White Aryan Resistance is a neo-Nazi white separatist organization founded and led by former Ku Klux Klan leader Tom Metzger. Part of the American far right, it is based in Warsaw, Indiana and is incorporated as a business....
(WAR)", 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 (magazine)
Variety is an American weekly entertainment-trade magazine founded in New York City, New York, in 1905 by Sime Silverman. With the rise of the importance of the motion-picture industry, Daily Variety, a daily edition based in Los Angeles, California, was founded by Silverman in 1933. In 1998, the...
magazine, and has a 13% "rotten" rating at Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
. Lundgren was criticized for being too wooden as a leading man, and it was dismissed as "a glossy fantasy starring monosyllabic Dolph Lundgren."
Citing the reason Lundgren would never successfully make it as a top leading actor in Hollywood, one author said, "Lundgren is limited by his size and dead pan delivery: though often compared to Arnold, he has less range." Lundgren released a workout video on VHS in 1987 called "Maximum Potential".
Lundgren next starred in Joseph Zito
Joseph Zito
Joseph Zito is an American film director. He is perhaps well known for directing many low budget action B-movies of the 1980s such as, Missing in Action, Invasion U.S.A., Red Scorpion, and many others. In the mid-1980s, Zito spent a year of pre-production on the Cannon version of Spider-Man...
's Red Scorpion
Red Scorpion
Red Scorpion is a 1989 film directed by Joseph Zito starring Dolph Lundgren.-Plot:The plot centers on Lundgren's character Nikolai, a Soviet Spetsnaz-trained KGB agent who is sent to an African country where Soviet, Czechoslovakian and Cuban forces are helping the government fight an anti-communist...
in 1989, opposite M. Emmet Walsh
M. Emmet Walsh
Michael Emmet Walsh is an American actor who has appeared in over 100 film and television productions.-Life and career:Walsh was born in Ogdensburg, New York, the son of Agnes Kathrine and Harry Maurice Walsh, Sr., a customs agent...
, Al White
Al White
Allen "Al" White is an American character actor. He has appeared in various movies, such as Airplane! and Airplane II: The Sequel, and Back To The Future II...
, T. P. McKenna
T. P. McKenna
Thomas Patrick McKenna , known professionally as T. P. McKenna, was an Irish actor who worked on stage, in film and television in Ireland and the UK from the 1950s.- Film and television :...
and Carmen Argenziano
Carmen Argenziano
Carmen Antimo Argenziano is an American actor who has appeared in over 50 movies and around 100 television movies or episodes....
. The plot centers on Lundgren's character Nikolai, a Soviet
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
Spetsnaz
Spetsnaz
Spetsnaz, Specnaz tr: Voyska specialnogo naznacheniya; ) is an umbrella term for any special forces in Russian, literally "force of special purpose"...
-trained KGB
KGB
The KGB was the commonly used acronym for the . It was the national security agency of the Soviet Union from 1954 until 1991, and was the premier internal security, intelligence, and secret police organization during that time.The State Security Agency of the Republic of Belarus currently uses the...
agent who is sent to an Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
n country where Soviet, Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia or Czecho-Slovakia was a sovereign state in Central Europe which existed from October 1918, when it declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, until 1992...
n and Cuban forces
Military of Cuba
The Cuban Revolutionary Armed Forces consist of ground forces, naval forces, air and air defence forces, and other paramilitary bodies including the Territorial Troops Militia , Revolutionary Armed Forces , and Youth Labor Army .The armed forces has long been the...
are helping the government fight an anti-communist
Anti-communism
Anti-communism is opposition to communism. Organized anti-communism developed in reaction to the rise of communism, especially after the 1917 October Revolution in Russia and the beginning of the Cold War in 1947.-Objections to communist theory:...
rebel movement. Nikolai is ordered to assassinate
Assassination
To carry out an assassination is "to murder by a sudden and/or secret attack, often for political reasons." Alternatively, assassination may be defined as "the act of deliberately killing someone, especially a public figure, usually for hire or for political reasons."An assassination may be...
the movement's leader, but eventually turns against his government by switching sides. The film was partly shot in Namibia
Namibia
Namibia, officially the Republic of Namibia , is a country in southern Africa whose western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Angola and Zambia to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and east. It gained independence from South Africa on 21 March...
and it was claimed that Grace Jones joined him during production in Swakopmund
Swakopmund
Swakopmund is a city on the coast of northwestern Namibia, west of Windhoek, Namibia's capital. It is the capital of the Erongo administrative district. As a seaside resort, the weather is cooler here in December to January so the territorial administration moves to Swakopmund for these months...
, insisting on staying in a $3000 a month villa, even though his new girlfriend at the time was reported to be Paula Barbieri
Paula Barbieri
Paula Barbieri is a former American model and actress. She was reportedly the last girlfriend of O. J...
. The film was poorly received and has a 11% "rotten" rating at Rotten Tomatoes. Stephen Holden
Stephen Holden
Stephen Holden is an American writer, music critic, film critic, and poet.Holden earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from Yale University in 1963...
of The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
said as follows: "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
Marvel Worldwide, Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American company that publishes comic books and related media...
character Frank Castle
Frank Castle
Frank Castle is a former professional rugby league footballer of the 1950s who at representative level has played for Great Britain, and England, and at club level for Barrow, playing at , i.e...
(a.k.a. The Punisher
Punisher
The Punisher is a fictional character, an anti-hero appearing in comic books based in the . Created by writer Gerry Conway and artists John Romita, Sr., and Ross Andru, the character made its first appearance in The Amazing Spider-Man #129 .The Punisher is a vigilante who employs murder,...
) in the 1989 film The Punisher
The Punisher (1989 film)
The Punisher is a 1989 film starring Dolph Lundgren as Frank Castle, directed by Mark Goldblatt from a screenplay by Boaz Yakin. It is loosely based on the Marvel Comics' character The Punisher. The film changes many details of the comic book origin and the main character does not wear the...
. The film was directed by Mark Goldblatt
Mark Goldblatt
Mark Goldblatt is an Academy Award nominated, American film editor, and director. A graduate of the London Film School, he is a member, and a former president, of the American Cinema Editors, or ACE society, as well as, a member of the Board of Governors of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and...
, with a screenplay by Boaz Yakin
Boaz Yakin
Boaz Yakin is an American screenwriter and film director based in New York City. Yakin studied filmmaking at New York City College and New York University.-Life and career:...
. 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.
Louis Gossett, Jr.
Louis Cameron Gossett, Jr. is an American actor best known for his role as Gunnery Sergeant Emil Foley in the 1982 film An Officer and a Gentleman and Fiddler in the 1970s television miniseries Roots...
, Jeroen Krabbé
Jeroen Krabbé
Jeroen Aart Krabbé is a Dutch actor and film director who has appeared in many Dutch and international films.-Biography:...
, Kim Miyori
Kim Miyori
Kim Miyori is an American actress, best known for the role of Dr. Wendy Armstrong on the first two seasons of the 1980s medical drama St...
, Nancy Everhard and Barry Otto
Barry Otto
Barry Otto is an Australian actor with a long list of memorable roles on stage and in film. Otto received an AFI Award for Best Supporting Actor in Strictly Ballroom as well as being nominated for Bliss, Cosi and The More Things Change......
. The film received mainly negative reviews, currently holds a 24% "rotten" rating at Rotten Tomatoes. Christopher Null
Christopher Null
Christopher Null is a film critic, columnist and former blogger for Yahoo! Tech, editor of Drinkhacker.com, and is the founder and editor in chief of Filmcritic.com.-Publications:...
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".
1990–1994
Craig R. Baxley
Craig Redding Baxley is an American actor, director and stunt performer. He is best known for his work in the action and thriller genres....
's sci-fi thriller I Come in Peace
I Come in Peace
I Come in Peace is a 1990 science fiction action thriller feature film about a rule-breaking vice cop who becomes involved in the investigation of a number of mysterious drug-related murders on the streets of Houston, Texas. The film was directed by Craig R...
(also known as Dark Angel) opposite Brian Benben, Betsy Brantley
Betsy Brantley
Betsy Brantley is an American actress.Brantley was born Rutherfordton, North Carolina. She is the older sister of producer/screenwriter Duncan Brantley, and formerly married to Simon Dutton and Steven Soderbergh....
, Matthias Hues
Matthias Hues
-Biography:Hues was born in Waltrop, Germany, and was raised on a ranch by his doctor-father Josef...who, according to the younger Hues, did not even own a television set. Matthias 's first Hollywood acting role was as Yuri in the film No Retreat, No Surrender 2...
and Jay Bilas
Jay Bilas
Jay Scot Bilas is an American lawyer and basketball analyst for ESPN and CBS Sports. He is also a former college basketball player.-Playing career:...
. Lundgren plays Jack Caine, a tough Houston cop with an inner sensitivity, who does not let the rules of police procedure prevent him pursuing his mission to wipe out the White Boys, a gang of white collar
White-collar worker
The term white-collar worker refers to a person who performs professional, managerial, or administrative work, in contrast with a blue-collar worker, whose job requires manual labor...
drug dealers who killed his partner while he was waylaid stopping a convenience store
Convenience store
A convenience store, corner store, corner shop, commonly called a bodega in Spanish-speaking areas of the United States, is a small store or shop in a built up area that stocks a range of everyday items such as groceries, toiletries, alcoholic and soft drinks, and may also offer money order and...
robbery. 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 [Lundgren's] hairdresser have suited him perfectly to Nazi genetically engineered baddie roles.
In 1991, Lundgren starred in Manny Coto
Manny Coto
Manny Coto 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 producer of four seasons of 24...
's action film Cover Up
Cover Up (1991 film)
Cover Up is a 1991 film directed by Manny Coto starring Dolph Lundgren and Louis Gossett Jr.. Coto was hired at the latest stage of pre-production right before filming, after writer / director William Tannen left the project....
opposite Louis Gossett Jr.. Lundgren portrays Mike Anderson, a tough American reporter and ex-US marine who finds his own life in jeopardy after stumbling across a political cover-up over a Middle Eastern terrorist plan to release toxic gas and kill thousands of people. The primary terrorist group in the film is the fictional group Black October, in reference to Black September
Black September (group)
The Black September Organization was a Palestinian paramilitary group, founded in 1970. It was responsible for the kidnapping and murder of eleven Israeli athletes and officials, and fatal shooting of a West German policeman, during the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, their most publicized event...
. The film was shot in Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
and Lundgren stays at the famous King David Hotel
King David Hotel
The King David Hotel is a 5-star hotel in Jerusalem, Israel. Opened in 1931, the hotel was built with locally quarried pink limestone and was founded by Ezra Mosseri, a wealthy Egyptian Jewish Banker. To this day the hotel remains one of the most prominent and prestigious hotels in Israel, and...
. Although the film was not a major success, Robert Cettl in his 2009 book Terrorism in American cinema: an analytical filmography, 1960-2008 argues that the film reveals an alarmingly realist insight into US-Middle Eastern politics and terrorism since the 2000s, dealing with an al-Qaeda
Al-Qaeda
Al-Qaeda is a global broad-based militant Islamist terrorist organization founded by Osama bin Laden sometime between August 1988 and late 1989. It operates as a network comprising both a multinational, stateless army and a radical Sunni Muslim movement calling for global Jihad...
-esque terrorist organization and the conspiracy theories that some believe the US government is using the Middle East as a cover-up.
Later in 1991, Lundgren appeared in martial arts action film Showdown in Little Tokyo
Showdown in Little Tokyo
Showdown in Little Tokyo is a 1991 action film. It features Brandon Lee in his first American film role, starring alongside Dolph Lundgren. Set in Los Angeles, California, two police officers attempt to take down a new and deadly Japanese drug gang...
opposite Brandon Lee
Brandon Lee
Brandon Bruce Lee was an American actor and martial artist. He was the son of martial arts film star Bruce Lee...
, Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa
Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa
is a Japanese-American actor.In addition to his extensive film work, he has appeared on television in Star Trek: The Next Generation - "Encounter at Farpoint" , Thunder in Paradise , Nash Bridges , Baywatch: Hawaiian Wedding , and Heroes . He also provided the voice of Sin Tzu for the video game...
and Tia Carrere
Tia Carrere
Tia Carrere is an American actress, model, voice artist, and singer, perhaps most widely known for her role as Cassandra Wong in the feature films Wayne's World and Wayne's World 2, Queen Tyr'ahnee in Duck Dodgers, and as Sydney Fox in the TV series Relic Hunter.-Early life:Carrere was born in...
. Lundgren plays a police sergeant named Kenner working in Little Tokyo, Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
who is partnered with Johnny Murata (Lee), a Japanese American who are sent to infiltrate the operations of new Japanese drug
Recreational drug use
Recreational drug use is the use of a drug, usually psychoactive, with the intention of creating or enhancing recreational experience. Such use is controversial, however, often being considered to be also drug abuse, and it is often illegal...
gang
Gang
A gang is a group of people who, through the organization, formation, and establishment of an assemblage, share a common identity. In current usage it typically denotes a criminal organization or else a criminal affiliation. In early usage, the word gang referred to a group of workmen...
named the Iron Claw manufacturing a lethal methamphetamine while using a local brewery and nightclub as a front for the operation. Along the way, Kenner discovers that Yoshida (Tagawa), the head of the drug gang, is a member of the Yakuza
Yakuza
, also known as , are members of traditional organized crime syndicates in Japan. The Japanese police, and media by request of the police, call them bōryokudan , literally "violence group", while the yakuza call themselves "ninkyō dantai" , "chivalrous organizations". The yakuza are notoriously...
who killed his parents in front of him as a young boy in Japan and the case becomes violent and personal. The film received a mainly negative reception from critics and was criticized for its violence; Vincent Canby
Vincent Canby
Vincent Canby was an American film critic who became the chief film critic for The New York Times in 1969 and reviewed more than 1000 films during his tenure there.-Life and career:...
of the New York Times described it as "violent, but spiritless." Variety
Variety (magazine)
Variety is an American weekly entertainment-trade magazine founded in New York City, New York, in 1905 by Sime Silverman. With the rise of the importance of the motion-picture industry, Daily Variety, a daily edition based in Los Angeles, California, was founded by Silverman in 1933. In 1998, the...
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
Los Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
however described the film as a "class act".
In 1992, Lundgren starred in one of the biggest blockbusters of the year in the sci-fi action picture Universal Soldier
Universal Soldier (1992 film)
Universal Soldier is a 1992 American science fiction action film directed by Roland Emmerich and starring Jean-Claude Van Damme and Dolph Lundgren as soldiers who kill each other in Vietnam but are reanimated in a secret Army project along with a large group of other previously dead...
, directed by Roland Emmerich
Roland Emmerich
Roland Emmerich is a German film director, screenwriter, and producer.His films, most of which are Hollywood productions filmed in English, have grossed more than $3 billion worldwide, more than those of any other European director...
. Lundgren (as Sergeant Andrew Scott) and Jean-Claude Van Damme
Jean-Claude Van Damme
Jean-Claude Camille François Van Varenberg , professionally known as Jean-Claude Van Damme, is a Belgian martial artist and actor, best known for his martial arts action films, the most successful of which include Bloodsport , Kickboxer , Double Impact , Universal Soldier , Hard Target , Timecop ,...
(as Luc Devereaux) play U.S. soldiers during the Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
who are sent to secure a village against North Vietnam
North Vietnam
The Democratic Republic of Vietnam , was a communist state that ruled the northern half of Vietnam from 1954 until 1976 following the Geneva Conference and laid claim to all of Vietnam from 1945 to 1954 during the First Indochina War, during which they controlled pockets of territory throughout...
ese forces. However they end up shooting each other dead after Devereaux discovers that Scott has gone insane and has resorted to mutilating the villagers and barbarically cutting off their ears, taking an innocent girl and boy hostage. They are later reanimated
Undead
Undead is a collective name for fictional, mythological, or legendary beings that are deceased and yet behave as if alive. Undead may be incorporeal, such as ghosts, or corporeal, such as vampires and zombies...
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
1992 Cannes Film Festival
- Jury :*Gérard Depardieu *John Boorman *Carlo Di Palma *Jamie Lee Curtis *Joële Van Effenterre *Lester James Peries *Nana Djordjadze *Pedro Almodóvar *René Cleitman...
, 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 July 10, 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
Terminator 2: Judgment Day is a 1991 science fiction action film directed by James Cameron and written by Cameron and William Wisher Jr.. It stars Arnold Schwarzenegger, Linda Hamilton, Robert Patrick, and Edward Furlong...
clone, or as a typical, mindless action film. Esteemed film critic Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Roger Joseph Ebert is an American film critic and screenwriter. He is the first film critic to win a Pulitzer Prize for Criticism.Ebert is known for his film review column and for the television programs Sneak Previews, At the Movies with Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert, and Siskel and Ebert and The...
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
Kristian Alfonso
Kristian-Joy Alfonso is a long-time American dramatic actress, former figure skater and fashion model. She is best known for playing Hope Williams Brady, which she has played since 1983 on the long-running NBC dramatic serial Days of our Lives.- Early career :She began her career as a figure...
and George Segal
George Segal
George Segal is an American film, stage and television actor.-Early life:George Segal, Jr. was born in 1934 Great Neck, Long Island, New York, the son of Fannie Blanche and George Segal, Sr. He was educated at George School, a private Quaker preparatory boarding school near Newtown, Bucks County,...
in Joshua Tree
Joshua Tree (1993 film)
Joshua Tree, also known as Army of One, is a 1993 action film directed by Academy Award and BAFTA-winning stunt coordinator Vic Armstrong, written by Steven Pressfield and starring Dolph Lundgren, Kristian Alfonso, and George Segal...
, directed by Academy Award and BAFTA
British Academy of Film and Television Arts
The British Academy of Film and Television Arts is a charity in the United Kingdom that hosts annual awards shows for excellence in film, television, television craft, video games and forms of animation.-Introduction:...
-winning stunt coordinator
Stunt coordinator
A stunt coordinator, usually an experienced stunt performer, is hired by a TV, film or theatre director or production company to arrange the casting and performance of stunts for a film, television programme or a live audience...
Vic Armstrong
Vic Armstrong
Victor Monroe Armstrong is a BAFTA winning British film director and stunt double -- the world's most prolific according to the Guinness Book of Records...
. 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 Foree
Kentotis Alvin "Ken" Foree is an American actor probably most famous as the hero Peter in Dawn of the Dead and Kenan & Kel as Roger, Kenan's dad.- Early life and career :Foree was born in Indianapolis, Indiana...
). 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
Alabama Hills
Alabama Hills are a "range of hills" and rock formations near the eastern slope of the Sierra Nevada Mountains in the Owens Valley, west of Lone Pine in Inyo County, California....
of the Sierra Nevada and the desert of the Joshua Tree National Park
Joshua Tree National Park
Joshua Tree National Park is located in southeastern California. Declared a U.S. National Park in 1994 when the U.S. Congress passed the California Desert Protection Act , it had previously been a U.S. National Monument since 1936. It is named for the Joshua tree forests native to the park...
of southeast California.
In 1994, Lundgren starred in Bruce Malmuth
Bruce Malmuth
Bruce Malmuth was an American actor and film director.-Early life:Malmuth began making documentaries while serving in the Army, where he met baseball announcer Walter Red Barber...
's Pentathlon
Pentathlon (film)
Pentathlon is a 1993 American action thriller directed by Bruce Malmuth and starring Dolph Lundgren as an East German Olympic gold medalist pentathlete on the run from a lethal coach .-Plot:...
as an East German Olympic
Olympic Games
The Olympic Games is a major international event featuring summer and winter sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The Olympic Games have come to be regarded as the world’s foremost sports competition where more than 200 nations participate...
gold medalist pentathlete on the run from an abusive coach (David Soul
David Soul
David Soul is an American-British actor and singer, best known for his role as Detective Kenneth "Hutch" Hutchinson in the television programme Starsky and Hutch . He gained British citizenship in 2004.-Early life:...
). 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.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Olympic
Olympic Games
The Olympic Games is a major international event featuring summer and winter sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The Olympic Games have come to be regarded as the world’s foremost sports competition where more than 200 nations participate...
Modern Pentathlon
Modern pentathlon
The modern pentathlon is a sports contest that includes five events: pistol shooting, épée fencing, 200 m freestyle swimming, show jumping, and a 3 km cross-country run...
team during the Atlanta Games, to promote the image of the sport
Sport
A Sport is all forms of physical activity which, through casual or organised participation, aim to use, maintain or improve physical fitness and provide entertainment to participants. Sport may be competitive, where a winner or winners can be identified by objective means, and may require a degree...
and to coordinate planning and other details between the team and the United States Olympic Committee
United States Olympic Committee
The United States Olympic Committee is a non-profit organization that serves as the National Olympic Committee and National Paralympic Committee for the United States and coordinates the relationship between the United States Anti-Doping Agency and the World Anti-Doping Agency and various...
. 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
Perry Lang
Perry Lang is an American director, writer and actor.He has directed episodes of television series such as Arli$$, ER, Millennium, Dawson's Creek, NYPD Blue, Nash Bridges, Fantasy Island, Weeds, Gilmore Girls, Army Wives, The Twilight Zone, Alias, Las Vegas, Jack & Bobby and...
's Men of War
Men of War (film)
Men of War is a 1994 American action drama directed by Perry Lang and starring Dolph Lundgren as a former Special Ops soldier who leads a group of mercenaries to a treasure island in the South China Sea.-Plot:...
(scripted by John Sayles
John Sayles
John Thomas Sayles is an American independent film director, screenwriter and author.-Early life:Sayles was born in Schenectady, New York, the son of Mary , a teacher, and Donald John Sayles, a school administrator. He was raised Catholic and took to labeling himself "a Catholic atheist"...
) alongside Charlotte Lewis
Charlotte Lewis
Charlotte Lewis is an English actress.-Career:Charlotte Lewis made her film debut as a teenager in the 1986 Roman Polanski film Pirates. She followed it that same year with the female lead in The Golden Child alongside Eddie Murphy. Later appearances include the film Tripwire and Storyville...
and B. D. Wong as Nick Gunar, a former Special Ops soldier who leads a group of mercenaries to a treasure island in the South China Sea
South China Sea
The South China Sea is a marginal sea that is part of the Pacific Ocean, encompassing an area from the Singapore and Malacca Straits to the Strait of Taiwan of around...
. The film was mainly shot in Thailand
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
, with Krabi
Krabi
Krabi is a town on the west coast of southern Thailand at the mouth of the Krabi River where it empties in Phangnga Bay. As of 2005 the town has a population of 24,986. The town is the capital of Krabi Province and Krabi district...
and Phong Nga making up most of the island scenery. The film was quite 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, Dolph appeared in Robert LongoRobert Longo
Robert Longo is an American painter and sculptor. Longo became famous in the 1980s for his "Men in the Cities" series, which depicted sharply dressed businessmen writhing in contorted emotion.-Early life and education:...
's Johnny Mnemonic, co-starring Keanu Reeves
Keanu Reeves
Keanu Charles Reeves is a Canadian actor. Reeves is perhaps best known for his roles in Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure, Speed, Point Break and the science fiction-action trilogy The Matrix...
. The film portrays screenwriter William Gibson
William Gibson
William Gibson is an American-Canadian science fiction author.William Gibson may also refer to:-Association football:*Will Gibson , Scottish footballer...
's dystopian cyberpunk
Cyberpunk
Cyberpunk is a postmodern and science fiction genre noted for its focus on "high tech and low life." The name is a portmanteau of cybernetics and punk, and was originally coined by Bruce Bethke as the title of his short story "Cyberpunk," published in 1983...
view of the future with the world dominated by megacorporations and with strong East Asia
East Asia
East Asia or Eastern Asia is a subregion of Asia that can be defined in either geographical or cultural terms...
n influences. Reeves plays the title character, a man with a cybernetic brain implant designed to store information. Lundgren plays Karl Honig, a Jesus
Jesus
Jesus of Nazareth , commonly referred to as Jesus Christ or simply as Jesus or Christ, is the central figure of Christianity...
-obsessed hit man and street preacher who wears a robe and carries a shepherd's staff. The film was shot on location in Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
and Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
in 12 weeks, filling in for the film's Newark, New Jersey
Newark, New Jersey
Newark is the largest city in the American state of New Jersey, and the seat of Essex County. As of the 2010 United States Census, Newark had a population of 277,140, maintaining its status as the largest municipality in New Jersey. It is the 68th largest city in the U.S...
and Beijing
Beijing
Beijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's...
settings. The film was premiered in Japan first on April 15th 1995 and features a previously composed score by Michael Danna, different editing, and more scenes with Lundgren and Japanese star Takeshi Kitano
Takeshi Kitano
is a Japanese filmmaker, comedian, singer, actor, film editor, presenter, screenwriter, author, poet, painter, and one-time video game designer who has received critical acclaim, both in his native Japan and abroad, for his highly idiosyncratic cinematic work. The famed Japanese film critic...
. Critical response was negative overall; Roger Ebert said, "Johnny Mnemonic is one of the great goofy 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, Ontario
Mississauga is a city in Southern Ontario located in the Regional Municipality of Peel, and in the western part of the Greater Toronto Area. With an estimated population of 734,000, it is Canada's sixth-most populous municipality, and has almost doubled in population in each of the last two decades...
. Later in 1995, Lundgren appeared in Ted Kotcheff
Ted Kotcheff
Ted Kotcheff , sometimes credited as William Kotcheff or William T. Kotcheff, is a Canadian film and television director, who is well known for his work on several high-profile British television productions and as a director of films such as First Blood.-Early life:Kotcheff was born William...
's The Shooter
The Shooter (1995 film)
The Shooter also known as Hidden Assassin is a 1995 American action drama directed by Ted Kotcheff and starring Dolph Lundgren as a CIA agent who gets caught up in politics when he is hired to solve the assassination of a Cuban ambassador....
, also known as Hidden Assassin, an action drama in which he plays Michael Dane, a CIA
Central Intelligence Agency
The Central Intelligence Agency is a civilian intelligence agency of the United States government. It is an executive agency and reports directly to the Director of National Intelligence, responsible for providing national security intelligence assessment to senior United States policymakers...
agent who gets caught up in politics when he is hired to solve the assassination of a Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
n ambassador. He featured alongside Maruschka Detmers
Maruschka Detmers
Maruschka Detmers is a Dutch actress. She moved to France as a teenager, where she captured the attention of director Jean-Luc Godard. In 1983, she made her dramatic debut under Godard's direction in Prénom Carmen...
, Assumpta Serna
Assumpta Serna
Assumpta Serna is a Spanish actress. She is known for her roles in I, The Worst of All portraying famous Mexican religious scholar Sor Juana, Nostradamus, The Craft, and Wild Orchid, although she may be most remembered for her role as Peninsular War guerrilla commander Teresa Moreno in the first...
, Gavan O'Herlihy
Gavan O'Herlihy
Gavan O'Herlihy is an Irish actor.O'Herlihy was born in Dublin, the son of Elsa Bennett and Irish actor Dan O'Herlihy. In his youth, he was an avid tennis player, and even became Irish National Tennis Champion...
and John Ashton
John Ashton (actor)
John David Ashton is an American actor born in Springfield, Massachusetts, and graduate of the University of Southern California School of Theatre.John Ashton attended Enfield High School in Enfield, Connecticut....
.
The Motion Picture Guide to the films of 1996 said, "in peak condition, Dolph Lundgren leaps trains, kicks the crap out of assailants, and handles a rifle like a pro. He's still a terrific athlete, but shows signs of histrionic mobility here."
Silent Trigger
Silent Trigger is a 1996 film directed by Russell Mulcahy starring Dolph Lundgren and Gina Bellman about a sniper and his female spotter. Lundgren plays a former hitman sent on a mission by a secretive "Agency", to assassinate a target from an abandoned skyscraper in construction...
, about a sniper
Sniper
A sniper is a marksman who shoots targets from concealed positions or distances exceeding the capabilities of regular personnel. Snipers typically have specialized training and distinct high-precision rifles....
(Lundgren) and his female spotter
Sniper team
A sniper team typically consists of a sniper and a spotter as described in military doctrines of the United States, Canada and United Kingdom. Both members can perform either role and often rotate between the two...
(played by Gina Bellman
Gina Bellman
Gina Bellman is a New Zealand-born British actress currently starring in the series Leverage as Sophie Devereaux for which she was nominated for a Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actress in Television.-Personal life:...
). Lundgren plays a former Special Forces
Special forces
Special forces, or special operations forces are terms used to describe elite military tactical teams trained to perform high-risk dangerous missions that conventional units cannot perform...
agent who joins a secretive government agency (called "The Agency") as an assassin. The movie takes place in and around an unfinished city skyscraper
Skyscraper
A skyscraper is a tall, continuously habitable building of many stories, often designed for office and commercial use. There is no official definition or height above which a building may be classified as a skyscraper...
, 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, Dolph starred in Frédéric Forestier
Frédéric Forestier
- Director :* 1993 : Paranoïa * 1997 : État d'urgence* 2002 : Le Boulet - More than 3 million ticket sales in France.* 2005 : Les Parrains - More than 600,000 ticket sales in France....
's The Peacekeeper
The Peacekeeper
The Peacekeeper also known as Hellbent is a 1997 Canadian and American action film directed by Frédéric Forestier. It stars Dolph Lundgren as a Major in the US Air Force and the only man who can prevent the president being assassinated and with the ability to thwart an imposing nuclear holocaust...
, 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 imposing nuclear holocaust
Nuclear holocaust
Nuclear holocaust refers to the possibility of the near complete annihilation of human civilization by nuclear warfare. Under such a scenario, all or most of the Earth is made uninhabitable by nuclear weapons in future world wars....
. 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
Michael Sarrazin
Michael Sarrazin was a Canadian film and television actor who found fame opposite Jane Fonda in the drama film They Shoot Horses, Don't They? .- Early life :...
, Montel Williams
Montel Williams
Montel Brian Anthony Williams is an American television personality, radio talk show host and actor. He is best known as host of the long-running The Montel Williams Show, and more recently as a spokesperson for the Partnership for Prescription Assistance...
, Roy Scheider
Roy Scheider
Roy Richard Scheider was an American actor. He was best known for his leading role as police chief Martin C...
and Christopher Heyerdahl
Christopher Heyerdahl
Christopher Heyerdahl is a Canadian actor who has had roles in many prominent television shows and movies. He is tall.-Biography:Heyerdahl was born in the mountains of British Columbia and is of Norwegian and Scottish descent...
, 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 Dolph'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
The Minion
The Minion , is a 1998 American and Canadian action supernatural horror film directed by Jean-Marc Piché. Lukas Sadorov is a middle eastern templar who is a member of an order of templars who are charged with guarding the gateway to Hell that, if opened, will unleash all evil...
alongside Françoise Robertson
Françoise Robertson
Françoise Robertson is a Canadian actress, known to US audiences for her portrayal of D'orothea Wilson in the TV miniseries More Tales of the City and its follow-up Further Tales of the City...
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 for 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
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, 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). Dolph 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, Dolph appeared alongside Bruce Payne
Bruce Payne
Bruce Martyn Payne is an award winning English character actor and producer and was a member of the 1980's Brit Pack. Although he is best known for his villainous roles, Bruce Payne has played characters across the spectrum...
and Claire Stansfield
Claire Stansfield
Claire Stansfield is an actress, director, fashion designer and former model. She is best-known for her recurring role as "Alti" in several episodes of the TV series Xena: Warrior Princess.-Life and career:...
in Sweepers
Sweepers (film)
Sweepers is a 1998 American and South African action film directed by Keoni Waxman. It stars Dolph Lundgren as Christian Erickson, a leading demolition expert trained to disarm mine fields in a humanitarian minesweeping operation in Angola...
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
Angola
Angola, officially the Republic of Angola , is a country in south-central Africa bordered by Namibia on the south, the Democratic Republic of the Congo on the north, and Zambia on the east; its west coast is on the Atlantic Ocean with Luanda as its capital city...
. In the event his son is killed and he discovers that mines are being planted during the war to kill people in the area. The film was a joint American and South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
n production. 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 Blackjack
Blackjack (film)
Blackjack, also known as John Woo’s Blackjack is a 1998 TV action film or more specifically a backdoor pilot directed by John Woo...
(directed by John Woo
John Woo
John Woo Yu-Sen SBS is a Hong Kong-based film director and producer. Recognized for his stylised films of highly choreographed action sequences, Mexican standoffs, and use of slow-motion, Woo has directed several notable Hong Kong action films, among them, A Better Tomorrow, The Killer, Hard...
) 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
Kam Heskin
Kam Heskin is an American actress best known for her roles as the second Caitlin Richards Deschanel on NBC's soap opera Sunset Beach and as her role as Paige Morgan in the The Prince and Me sequels.-Private life:Heskin was born in Grand Forks, North Dakota...
) who's 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 appeared in Isaac Florentine
Isaac Florentine
Isaac Florentine is an Israeli-born movie director and martial arts expert. Florentine earned a degree in Film & Television from Tel Aviv University.-Career:...
's Bridge of Dragons
Bridge of Dragons
Bridge of Dragons is a 1999 American romantic action film directed by Isaac Florentine, and starring Dolph Lundgren as a cold and tough mercenary. It co-stars Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa, who Lundgren had previously worked with in the 1991 film Showdown in Little Tokyo. It was the first Nu Image film to...
as a "human killing machine" mercenary named Warchikj alongside Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa
Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa
is a Japanese-American actor.In addition to his extensive film work, he has appeared on television in Star Trek: The Next Generation - "Encounter at Farpoint" , Thunder in Paradise , Nash Bridges , Baywatch: Hawaiian Wedding , and Heroes . He also provided the voice of Sin Tzu for the video game...
, who Lundgren had previously worked with in the 1991 film Showdown in Little Tokyo, Valerie Chow
Valerie Chow
Valerie Chow, aka Rachel Shane in the US, is a Hong Kong actress.She has starred in numerous films and several television series, most memorably in Wong Kar-wai's internationally acclaimed 1994 feature, Chungking Express, which earned her a nomination for Best Supporting Actress at the 14th Hong...
, Gary Hudson
Gary Hudson (actor)
Gary Hudson was born on March 26, 1956, in Newport News, Virginia, and raised in historic Hilton Village where his father was also born. He left Virginia in 1977 after attending Christopher Newport College for two years to pursue his acting career in Los Angeles...
, John Bennett
John Bennett (actor)
John Bennett was an English actor. Born in Beckenham, Kent, he was educated at Bradfield College in Berkshire, then trained at the Central School of Speech and Drama, followed by a wide Rep experience including Bromley, Bristol Old Vic, Dundee, Edinburgh Festival and Watford before going to...
and Scott L. Schwartz
Scott L. Schwartz
Scott L. Schwartz is an Israeli born American film and television actor and stuntman, and former professional wrestler. His size and agility at and have allowed him many roles as thug or villain for film and television.- Background :...
. He then starred in Storm Catcher
Storm Catcher
Storm Catcher is a 1999 thriller movie. It was directed by Anthony Hickox and stars Dolph Lundgren and Mystro Clark. It tells the story of a renegade general who plans to bomb Washington with a new jet called the Storm Catcher.-Plot:...
alongside Mystro Clark
Mystro Clark
Mystro Clark was the American host of the syndicated version of the series Soul Train from 1997 until 1999. From there, he went on to become a film and television actor, and a writer for the show Cousin Skeeter....
and Robert Miano
Robert Miano
-Early life:Robert Miano was born in New York City and raised in the Southeast Bronx area.At the age of 15, he started a fledgling singing career when a talent agent heard him singing with a doo-wop group on a Bronx street corner...
under director Anthony Hickox
Anthony Hickox
Anthony Hickox is an English film director, actor, film producer and screenwriter.His works include Waxwork and its sequel, Waxwork II: Lost in Time, Sundown: The Vampire in Retreat, Hellraiser III: Hell on Earth, "Prince Valiant", "Children of the Corn", "Warlock: Armageddon", "Payback",...
, portraying a military pilot who is falsely accused of treason in a plot to overthrow the US Government. He is blackmailed into plotting an attack in which he would bomb Washington
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
with a new jet called the "Storm Catcher" by a renegade general (Miano). Film review dismissed the film and Lundgren's performance as "more Lundgren lunacy". Finally he starred in Hickox's next picture, Jill Rips
Jill Rips
Jill Rips is a film directed in 1999 by Anthony Hickox starring Dolph Lundgren, based on a 1987 novel by Scottish writer Frederic Lindsay. The film is also known as Jill the Ripper and Tied Up.-Plot:...
, based on a 1987 novel
Novel
A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
by Scottish writer Frederic Lindsay
Frederic Lindsay
Frederic Lindsay is a Scottish crime writer, born in Glasgow and living in Edinburgh. He has been a full-time writer since 1979 and previously worked as a lecturer, teacher and library assistant...
. He portrays Matt Sorenson, a former boxer and San Francisco cop who avenges the brutal death of his younger brother, Michael. Intent on finding his brother's killer, Sorenson infiltrates the powerful inner world of politics, business intrigue and casual sex and sadomasochism. His obsession to discover the killer's identity mounts as a series of other men are found murdered in a similar fashion, and he loses all objectivity and becomes a vigilante. The DVD and Video Guide to 2005 said, "not very believable but, as usual, it's fun to watch Dolph Lundgren in action." Film Review "shuddered" at the concept of the film and remarked that Lundgren "should be a long-forgotten action-star."
2000-2004
In 2000, Lundgren starred in The Last Patrol as Captain Nick Preston under director Sheldon LettichSheldon Lettich
Sheldon Lettich is a screenwriter, film director and producer.-Early life:He was born in New York City, but moved to California at a young age and grew up in the Los Angeles area. After graduation from high school he spent nearly four years in the U.S...
. This post apocalyptic movie is set in 2006 in the context of a 9.5-magnitude earthquake which kills millions of people, with Preston leading a motley military patrol on the island to help survivors in the pole shift-affected world. The film was partly shot in Eilat, Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
. Later in 2000, Dolph appeared in Damian Lee
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...
's Agent Red
Agent Red
Agent Red is a 2000 American action film directed by Damian Lee and starring Dolph Lundgren. Its plot concerns two soldiers stuck on a submarine with a group of terrorists who plan to use a chemical weapon on America....
(also known as Captured), alongside Meilani Paul, Alexander Kuznetsov, Natalie Radford
Natalie Radford
Natalie Radford is a Canadian actress. She has acted in various television shows and movies, including Darcy's Wild Life and Jewel.- Television :* Murdoch Mysteries - Daisy Hanson...
and Randolph Mantooth
Randolph Mantooth
Randolph Donald Mantooth is an American character actor of stage, film and television. Mantooth is best known for his work in the 1970s medical drama, Emergency!, as Johnny Gage, a Los Angeles County Fire Department paramedic...
. The film is set during the Cold War
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
, 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
Andrew Stevens
Andrew Stevens is an American executive, film producer, director and former actor.-Early life:Andrew Stevens was born Herman Andrew Stephens in Memphis, Tennessee...
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
Jay Leno
James Douglas Muir "Jay" Leno is an American stand-up comedian and television host.From 1992 to 2009, Leno was the host of NBC's The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. Beginning in September 2009, Leno started a primetime talk show, titled The Jay Leno Show, which aired weeknights at 10:00 p.m. ,...
in May 2008, Gladiator
Gladiator (2000 film)
Gladiator is a 2000 historical epic film directed by Ridley Scott, starring Russell Crowe, Joaquin Phoenix, Connie Nielsen, Ralf Möller, Oliver Reed, Djimon Hounsou, Derek Jacobi, John Shrapnel and Richard Harris. Crowe portrays the loyal Roman General Maximus Decimus Meridius, who is betrayed...
director Ridley Scott
Ridley Scott
Sir Ridley Scott is an English film director and producer. His most famous films include The Duellists , Alien , Blade Runner , Legend , Thelma & Louise , G. I...
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
Hidden Agenda (2001 film)
Hidden Agenda is a 2001 Canadian action film directed by Marc S. Grenier and starring Dolph Lundgren.-Cast:*Dolph Lundgren ... Jason Price*Maxim Roy ... Renee Brooks*Brigitte Paquette ... Connie Glenn*Ted Whittall ... Sonny Mathis...
, 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
Sidney J. Furie
Sidney J. Furie is a Canadian film director. Furie is perhaps best known for directing American Soldiers, The IPCRESS File, The Entity, Superman IV: The Quest for Peace, Lady Sings the Blues, The Boys, Gable and Lombard, Sheila Levine Is Dead and Living in New York and the Iron Eagle films.Also...
's Detention
Detention (2003 film)
Detention is a 2003 action film directed by Sidney J. Furie. It stars Dolph Lundgren as a soon to be retired high school teacher Sam Decker who has one last detention to proctor and Alex Karzis as Chester Lamb. Unfortunately, drug runners have chosen to attack the school...
, opposite Alex Karzis
Alex Karzis
Constantine Alexander Karzis is a Canadian film and television actor, voiceover artist, singer, and musician. He was born and raised in Toronto, Ontario....
, Kata Dobó
Kata Dobo
Kata Dobó or Kata Dobo is a Hungarian actress.She was born in Győr, Hungary and emigrated to Los Angeles in the summer of 1999...
, Joseph Scoren and Mif
Anthony J. Mifsud
Anthony J. Mifsud is a Maltese-born Canadian actor, singer and songwriter. He performs professionally under the moniker Mif.Mif began his entertainment career as the front man and vocalist for the award-winning Canadian hard rock/heavy metal musical group Slash Puppet , originally under the stage...
. He portrays a soon to be retired high school history teacher and ex-Special Forces soldier Sam Decker who has one last detention to proctor; he must band together the trouble makers and misfits in detention to defeat a drug ring intent on taking over the school.
In 2004 he starred in an unusually high number of films. He first appeared opposite Polly Shannon
Polly Shannon
Polly Shannon 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.Brioux, Bill . , Canadian Online ExplorerShannon was born in Kingston, Ontario, and raised in Aylmer, Quebec...
in Direct Action
Direct Action (film)
Direct Action is a 2004 action film directed by Sidney J. Furie and starring Dolph Lundgren.-Plot:With fifteen years on the force, Sergeant Frank Gannon has spent the last three years on the Direct Action Unit task force, fighting gang crime and corruption.The DAU, led by Captain Stone , is a...
under Sidney J. Furie
Sidney J. Furie
Sidney J. Furie is a Canadian film director. Furie is perhaps best known for directing American Soldiers, The IPCRESS File, The Entity, Superman IV: The Quest for Peace, Lady Sings the Blues, The Boys, Gable and Lombard, Sheila Levine Is Dead and Living in New York and the Iron Eagle films.Also...
, 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 he appeared in Ed Bye
Ed Bye
Edward Richard Morrison Bye is a British film and TV producer and director. He is best known for his work with Grant Naylor, Harry Enfield and Jasper Carrott, and has worked with many of British TV's best known comedians and comedy actors...
's Fat Slags, a film adaption of a comic strip
Comic strip
A comic strip is a sequence of drawings arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often serialized, with text in balloons and captions....
The Fat Slags
The Fat Slags
The Fat Slags is a comic strip appearing in the "alternative" British comic Viz. The characters made their debut in 1989. The eponymous slags are Sandra Burke and Tracey Tunstall, known to other characters as San and Tray. They are depicted as overweight, eating large amounts of food, mainly chips,...
which appeared in the "alternative
Alternative comics
Alternative comics defines a range of American comics that have appeared since the 1980s, following the underground comix movement of the late 1960s and early 1970s. Alternative comics present an alternative to "mainstream" superhero comics which in the past have dominated the US comic book industry...
" British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
comic Viz. His role was little more than a cameo role alongside Geri Halliwell
Geri Halliwell
Geraldine Estelle "Geri" Halliwell is an English pop singer-songwriter, author and actress. After coming to international prominence in the late 1990s as Ginger Spice, a member of the girl group the Spice Girls, Halliwell launched her solo career in 1998 and released her album Schizophonic...
, Naomi Campbell
Naomi Campbell
Naomi Campbell is a British model. Scouted at the age of 15, she established herself among the top three most recognisable and in-demand models of the late 1980s and early 1990s, and she was one of six models of her generation declared "supermodels" by the fashion world...
and Angus Deayton
Angus Deayton
Gordon Angus Deayton is an English actor, writer, musician, comedian and broadcaster. He is best known for his role as Victor Meldrew's long-suffering neighbour Patrick Trench in the comedy series One Foot in the Grave...
. Reviews of the film were so poor that it remains on the IMDb
Internet Movie Database
Internet Movie Database is an online database of information related to movies, television shows, actors, production crew personnel, video games and fictional characters featured in visual entertainment media. It is one of the most popular online entertainment destinations, with over 100 million...
's Bottom 100 as one of the worst movies ever made. He next appeared in Christopher Kulikowski's science fiction picture Retrograde
Retrograde (film)
Retrograde is a 2004 sci-fi action film directed by Christopher Kulikowski and starring Dolph Lundgren. It was shot in Italy.-Cast:*Dolph Lundgren ... John Foster*Silvia De Santis ... Renee Diaz*Joe Montana ... Dalton*Gary Daniels ... Markus...
alongside Joe Montana (actor)
Joe Montana (actor)
Joe Montana is an actor, probably best known for his role as Marine in The Bourne Identity .-Filmography:-References:...
, Gary Daniels
Gary Daniels
Gary Edward Daniels is a British kickboxer and martial arts actor. Daniels appears mostly in action-oriented B-movies. Daniels has been in over 50 films since his start as an extra in an episode of the 1980s television series Miami Vice. He is best known for playing Kenshiro in the live-action...
and Joe Sagal
Joe Sagal
Joseph B. "Joe" Sagal is an American actor. He has sometimes been billed as Joey Sagal.Sagal was born in Los Angeles, California, the son of Sara Zwilling, a writer, singer, and director, and Boris Sagal, a noted producer and director...
. It tells the story of "a group of genetically unique people who travel back in time to prevent the discovery of meteors containing deadly bacteria." Shot in Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, the film received the support of the Film Fund of Luxembourg
Luxembourg
Luxembourg , officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg , is a landlocked country in western Europe, bordered by Belgium, France, and Germany. It has two principal regions: the Oesling in the North as part of the Ardennes massif, and the Gutland in the south...
. Finally he made his directorial debut, replacing Sidney J. Furie
Sidney J. Furie
Sidney J. Furie is a Canadian film director. Furie is perhaps best known for directing American Soldiers, The IPCRESS File, The Entity, Superman IV: The Quest for Peace, Lady Sings the Blues, The Boys, Gable and Lombard, Sheila Levine Is Dead and Living in New York and the Iron Eagle films.Also...
who got ill during pre-production, with The Defender, in which he also starred alongside Shakara Ledard
Shakara Ledard
Shakara Ledard is a model and actress, originally from The Bahamas, and now residing in New York.She has posed for Sports Illustrated's Swimsuit Issue as well as for Maxim Magazine. Ledard has been featured in music videos for Justin Timberlake, Usher and Babyface...
and
Jerry Springer
Jerry Springer
Gerald Norman "Jerry" Springer is a British-born American television presenter, best known as host of the tabloid talk show The Jerry Springer Show since its debut in 1991...
, who played the President of the United States
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
. Lundgren plays Lance Rockford, the bodyguard of the head of the National Security Agency
National Security Agency
The National Security Agency/Central Security Service is a cryptologic intelligence agency of the United States Department of Defense responsible for the collection and analysis of foreign communications and foreign signals intelligence, as well as protecting U.S...
, Roberta Jones (Caroline Lee-Johnson
Caroline Lee-Johnson
Caroline Lee-Johnson is a British actress. She is most famous for her starring roles in Chef! as Janice Blackstock and The Knock as Diane Ralston. Her work has been primarily in television, but she has also had roles in films including The Defender....
), in a war on terror.
2005-2009
The Mechanik
The Mechanik is a 2005 action film starring and directed by Dolph Lundgren, written by Bryan Edward Hill and co-starring Ben Cross.- Plot :...
(The Russian Specialist), playing a retired Russian Special Forces hit man Nikolai "Nick" Cherenko caught in the crossfire with Russian mobsters. Sky Movies
Sky Movies
Sky Movies is the collective name for the premium subscription television movie channels operated by Sky Television, and later British Sky Broadcasting. It has around 5 million subscribers, via satellite, cable and IPTV in the UK and Ireland...
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
The Inquiry (film)
L'inchiesta is a 2006 historical drama film set in AD 35 in the Roman Empire. The story follows a fictional Roman general named Titus Valerius Taurus, a veteran of campaigns in Germania, who is sent to Judaea by the emperor Tiberius to investigate the possibility of the divinity of the recently...
(L'inchiesta), also known as The Final Inquiry, alongside Daniele Liotti, Monica Cruz
Mónica Cruz
Mónica Cruz Sánchez is a Spanish actress and dancer. She is the youngest sister of fellow actress Penélope Cruz and Spanish singer Eduardo Cruz.-Early life:...
, Max von Sydow
Max von Sydow
Max von Sydow is a Swedish actor. He has also held French citizenship since 2002. He has starred in many films and had supporting roles in dozens more...
, F. Murray Abraham
F. Murray Abraham
Fahrid Murray Abraham is an American actor. He became known during the 1980s after winning the Academy Award for Best Actor for his role as Antonio Salieri in Amadeus. He has appeared in many roles, both leading and supporting, in films such as All the President's Men and Scarface...
and Ornella Muti
Ornella Muti
Ornella Muti is an Italian actress. She was born in Rome as Francesca Romana Rivelli, to a Neapolitan father and Russian mother. Her maternal grandparents immigrated from Leningrad , Russia, to Estonia...
. It is the remake of the 1986 Italian film directed by Damiano Damiani and starring Keith Carradine
Keith Carradine
Keith Ian Carradine is an American actor who has had success on stage, film and television. In addition, he is a Golden Globe and Oscar winning songwriter. As a member of the Carradine family, he is part of an acting "dynasty" that began with his father, John Carradine.-Early life:Keith...
and Harvey Keitel
Harvey Keitel
Harvey Keitel is an American actor. Some of his most notable starring roles were in Martin Scorsese's Mean Streets and Taxi Driver, Ridley Scott's The Duellists and Thelma and Louise, Ettore Scola's That Night in Varennes, Quentin Tarantino's Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction, Jane Campion's The...
. Set in AD 35 in the Roman Empire
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
, the story follows a fictional Roman general named Titus Valerius Taurus, a veteran of campaigns in Germania
Germania
Germania was the Greek and Roman geographical term for the geographical regions inhabited by mainly by peoples considered to be Germani. It was most often used to refer especially to the east of the Rhine and north of the Danube...
, who is sent to Judea by the emperor Tiberius
Tiberius
Tiberius , was Roman Emperor from 14 AD to 37 AD. Tiberius was by birth a Claudian, son of Tiberius Claudius Nero and Livia Drusilla. His mother divorced Nero and married Augustus in 39 BC, making him a step-son of Octavian...
to investigate the possibility of the divinity of the recently crucified Jesus
Jesus
Jesus of Nazareth , commonly referred to as Jesus Christ or simply as Jesus or Christ, is the central figure of Christianity...
. The film, shot on location in Tunisia
Tunisia
Tunisia , officially the Tunisian RepublicThe long name of Tunisia in other languages used in the country is: , is the northernmost country in Africa. It is a Maghreb country and is bordered by Algeria to the west, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Its area...
and Bulgaria
Bulgaria
Bulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...
, featured a score from Andrea Morricone
Andrea Morricone
Andrea Morricone is an Italian composer and conductor, known for his film scores. He is the son of composer Ennio Morricone. He composed the film scores for the American films Capturing the Friedmans and Liberty Heights. He collaborated with his father on the famous score for Cinema Paradiso,...
, the son of the acclaimed film score composer Ennio Morricone
Ennio Morricone
Ennio Morricone, Grand Officer OMRI, , is an Italian composer and conductor, who wrote music to more than 500 motion pictures and television series, in a career lasting over 50 years. His scores have been included in over 20 award-winning films as well as several symphonic and choral pieces...
. It premiered at the Capri-Hollywood and the Los Angeles-Italia Film Festivals. One reviewer on a website catering for historical movies said of the film, "The Final Inquiry is one of those movies you are glad you ran into.... I had such low expectations for this movie, but was glad to have been proven wrong. I know about the negative reviews this movie has gotten and some of the criticism is well deserved while some of it is a bit unfair."
In 2007, Lundgren directed and starred in the Mongolia
Mongolia
Mongolia is a landlocked country in East and Central Asia. It is bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south, east and west. Although Mongolia does not share a border with Kazakhstan, its western-most point is only from Kazakhstan's eastern tip. Ulan Bator, the capital and largest...
-based action adventure, Diamond Dogs
Diamond Dogs (film)
Diamond Dogs is a 2007 Action/Thriller film starring Dolph Lundgren and directed by Shimon Dotan and Dolph Lundgren as 'Samuel Dolhasca'.-Plot:...
. Lundgren portrays the character of Xander Ronson, a mercenary hired by a group of American fortune hunters to act as their guide and bodyguard, while they search for a priceless Buddhist artifact deep within the Chinese wilderness. They get more than they bargained for, however, as they come face to face with Russian mercenaries also after the artifact. The film, a Canadian-Chinese production, was shot on location in Inner Mongolia
Inner Mongolia
Inner Mongolia is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China, located in the northern region of the country. Inner Mongolia shares an international border with the countries of Mongolia and the Russian Federation...
. Later in 2007, Lundgren wrote, directed and starred in Missionary Man
Missionary Man (film)
Missionary Man is a 2007 American action film co-written, directed by and starring Dolph Lundgren.- Plot :A lone stranger named Ryder comes into a small Texas town on his 1970s Harley-Davidson motorcycle. He's there for the funeral of his good friend J.J., a local Native American carpenter...
alongside Charles Solomon Jr.. Described as a "modern western" by Lundgren, Dolph plays a lone, bible-preaching stranger named Ryder who comes into a small Texas town on his 1970's Harley-Davidson
Harley-Davidson
Harley-Davidson , often abbreviated H-D or Harley, is an American motorcycle manufacturer. Founded in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, during the first decade of the 20th century, it was one of two major American motorcycle manufacturers to survive the Great Depression...
motorcycle to attend the funeral of his good friend J.J., a local Native American
Native Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
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
Clint Eastwood
Clinton "Clint" Eastwood, Jr. is an American film actor, director, producer, composer and politician. Eastwood first came to prominence as a supporting cast member in the TV series Rawhide...
and John Wayne
John Wayne
Marion Mitchell Morrison , better known by his stage name John Wayne, was an American film actor, director and producer. He epitomized rugged masculinity and became an enduring American icon. He is famous for his distinctive calm voice, walk, and height...
, 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
Waxahachie, Texas
Waxahachie is a city in Ellis County, Texas, United States, and a southern suburb of Dallas. The population was 21,426 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Ellis County....
, a southern suburb of Dallas 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 Paré
- Early life :Paré was born in Brooklyn, New York, the son of Joan, a homemaker, and Francis Paré, who owned print shops. He had six sisters and three brothers. Paré's father was of French-Canadian ancestry and his mother of Irish ancestry....
in the direct to video action flick Direct Contact
Direct Contact
Direct Contact is a direct-to-DVD film starring Dolph Lundgren. The production company is Nu Image. The movie was filmed in Bulgaria, and stars Swedish actor Dolph Lundgren and Michael Paré...
. He plays the role of Mike Riggins, an imprisoned ex-US Special forces
Special forces
Special forces, or special operations forces are terms used to describe elite military tactical teams trained to perform high-risk dangerous missions that conventional units cannot perform...
operative in Eastern Europe, who is offered his freedom and money to rescue an American woman, Ana Gale, who has been kidnapped by a ruthless warlord. 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 in Moscow. 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 (entertainer)
Madonna is an American singer-songwriter, actress and entrepreneur. Born in Bay City, Michigan, she moved to New York City in 1977 to pursue a career in modern dance. After performing in the music groups Breakfast Club and Emmy, she released her debut album in 1983...
put on for Russian President Vladimir Putin
Vladimir Putin
Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin served as the second President of the Russian Federation and is the current Prime Minister of Russia, as well as chairman of United Russia and Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Union of Russia and Belarus. He became acting President on 31 December 1999, when...
, although Dolph has also likened the pop singer to Britney Spears
Britney Spears
Britney Jean Spears is an American recording artist and entertainer. Born in McComb, Mississippi, and raised in Kentwood, Louisiana, Spears began performing as a child, landing acting roles in stage productions and television shows. She signed with Jive Records in 1997 and released her debut album...
.
Filming took place over 5 weeks between August and September 2008 in Sofia, Bulgaria and Moscow, Russia. The film premiered at the Ischia Global Film & Music Festival on July 18, 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
Kramfors is a locality and the seat of Kramfors Municipality in Västernorrland County, Sweden with 6,235 inhabitants in 2005.Geographically the town is situated on the western shore of the Ångerman River. This river was the reason that Kramfors was founded, because in the 19th century it was a...
, the school where he himself studied. Lundgren then reunited with Jean-Claude Van Damme
Jean-Claude Van Damme
Jean-Claude Camille François Van Varenberg , professionally known as Jean-Claude Van Damme, is a Belgian martial artist and actor, best known for his martial arts action films, the most successful of which include Bloodsport , Kickboxer , Double Impact , Universal Soldier , Hard Target , Timecop ,...
in Universal Soldier: Regeneration, where he plays Andrew Scott's clone. The film was released theatrically in the Middle East
Middle East
The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...
and Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia, South-East Asia, South East Asia or Southeastern Asia is a subregion of Asia, consisting of the countries that are geographically south of China, east of India, west of New Guinea and north of Australia. The region lies on the intersection of geological plates, with heavy seismic...
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 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 of Cinema em Cena 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 Icarus
Icarus (film)
Icarus, also titled The Killing Machine in the UK and the U.S., is a 2010 American action-thriller film directed by and starring Dolph Lundgren.- Plot :...
(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
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
on September 10, 2010, for an exclusive one-week engagement at Laemmele's Sunset 5 Theater in West Hollywood.
2010s: Return to the big screen
In 2010, Lundgren made a guest star appearance in the popular TV series ChuckChuck (TV series)
Chuck is an action-comedy/spy-drama television program from the United States created by Josh Schwartz and Chris Fedak. The series is about an "average computer-whiz-next-door" named Chuck, played by Zachary Levi, who receives an encoded e-mail from an old college friend now working for the Central...
in the fourth season premiere episode, "Chuck Versus the Anniversary
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 . Sarah and Casey follow a trail to Russia as they investigate the mysterious Volkoff...
", as Russian spy Marco, with references to Rocky IV
Rocky IV
Rocky IV is a 1985 American film written by, directed by, and starring Sylvester Stallone. It is the fourth and most financially successful entry in the Rocky franchise...
s Ivan Drago
Ivan Drago
Ivan Drago is a fictional character that appeared as Rocky Balboa's rival in the 1985 film Rocky IV. He is portrayed by Dolph Lundgren. The character and his catchphrases have gone on to inspire multiple mentions in popular culture like Clubber Lang , including in the Family Guy episode "Brian...
.
He then played a drug-addled assassin alongside Sylvester Stallone, Jason Statham
Jason Statham
Jason Statham born 12 September1967) is an English actor and former diver, known for his roles in the Guy Ritchie crime films Revolver, Snatch and Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels...
, Jet Li
Jet Li
The fame gained by his sports winnings led to a career as a martial arts film star, beginning in mainland China and then continuing into Hong Kong. Li acquired his screen name in 1982 in the Philippines when a publicity company thought his real name was too hard to pronounce...
, Randy Couture
Randy Couture
Randy Duane Couture is a retired American mixed martial artist, Greco-Roman wrestler, actor, a three-time former heavyweight champion, two-time former light-heavyweight champion, former interim light heavyweight champion and UFC 13 tournament winner of the Ultimate Fighting Championship...
, Steve Austin
Stone Cold Steve Austin
Steve Austin , better known by his ring name "Stone Cold" Steve Austin, is an American film and television actor and retired professional wrestler...
, Terry Crews
Terry Crews
Terrence Alan "Terry" Crews is an American actor, comedian, voice artist and a former player in the National Football League....
, Mickey Rourke
Mickey Rourke
Philip Andre "Mickey" Rourke, Jr. is an American actor, screenwriter and retired boxer, who has appeared primarily as a leading man in action, drama, and thriller films....
, Bruce Willis
Bruce Willis
Walter Bruce Willis , better known as Bruce Willis, is an American actor, producer, and musician. His career began in television in the 1980s and has continued both in television and film since, including comedic, dramatic, and action roles...
, and Arnold Schwarzenegger
Arnold Schwarzenegger
Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger is an Austrian-American former professional bodybuilder, actor, businessman, investor, and politician. Schwarzenegger served as the 38th Governor of California from 2003 until 2011....
in the action film The Expendables
The Expendables (2010 film)
The Expendables is a 2010 American ensemble action film written by David Callaham and Sylvester Stallone, and directed by Stallone. Filming began on March 28, 2009, in Rio de Janeiro, New Orleans, and Los Angeles, and the film was released in theaters on August 13, 2010 in North America.The film is...
, which opened in theatres on August 13, 2010. The film is about a group of elite mercenaries, tasked with a mission to overthrow a Latin American dictator; the film was described by Lundgren as "an old-school, kick-ass action movie where people are fighting with knives and shooting at each other." This was his first major U.S. theatrical release in fifteen years - since Johnny Mnemonic in 1995, (although The Inquiry
The Inquiry
The Inquiry was a study group established in September 1917 by Woodrow Wilson to prepare materials for the peace negotiations following World War I. The group, composed of around 150 academics, was directed by presidential adviser Edward House and supervised directly by philosopher Sidney Mezes...
(The Final Inquiry) and Missionary Man
Missionary Man (film)
Missionary Man is a 2007 American action film co-written, directed by and starring Dolph Lundgren.- Plot :A lone stranger named Ryder comes into a small Texas town on his 1970s Harley-Davidson motorcycle. He's there for the funeral of his good friend J.J., a local Native American carpenter...
both played theatrically for one week in Dallas and San Diego in December 2007). Film production began on March 3, 2009, with a budget of $82 million. Filming commenced 25 days later in Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro , commonly referred to simply as Rio, is the capital city of the State of Rio de Janeiro, the second largest city of Brazil, and the third largest metropolitan area and agglomeration in South America, boasting approximately 6.3 million people within the city proper, making it the 6th...
and other locations in Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
, and later in Louisiana
Louisiana
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
. The film received mixed reviews from critics but was very successful commercially, opening at number one at the box office in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, China
People's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
and India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
.
Upcoming projects
Lundgren has been the lead in Uwe BollUwe Boll
Uwe Boll is a German director, producer and screenwriter, whose work includes several films adapted from video games. He finances his own films through his Boll KG production company. He is often cited as the worst director of all time.-Early life:...
's In the Name of the King 2
In the Name of the King 2
In the Name of the King 2 also known as In the Name of the King: Two Worlds , is an upcoming fantasy-action film sequel to In the Name of the King: A Dungeon Siege Tale...
(completed, awaiting for release) and supporting roles in Jonas Åkerlund
Jonas Åkerlund
Jonas Åkerlund is a Swedish film and music video director, and drummer. He is best known for directing music videos, which are often mock forms of movie trailers and short films...
's Small Apartments
Small Apartments
Small Apartments is an upcoming American film directed by Jonas Åkerlund. It tells the story of Franklin Franklin, played by Matt Lucas, who by mistake kills his landlord, played by Peter Stormare. The cast co-stars Dolph Lundgren, Johnny Knoxville, James Caan, Billy Crystal, Juno Temple, Saffron...
(wrapped at the end of April 2011, now in post-production) and a thriller produced by Joel Silver
Joel Silver
Joel Silver is an American Hollywood film producer, co-creator of the sport of Ultimate, co-founder of Dark Castle Entertainment and owner of Silver Pictures.-Life and career:...
called Stash House co-starring Briana Evigan
Briana Evigan
Briana Barbara-Jane Evigan is an American actress and dancer. She is perhaps best known for her roles as Andie West in Step Up 2: The Streets and Cassidy Tappan in Sorority Row. She started dancing at the age of 9 and is still dancing as part of her career today.-Early life:Evigan was born in Los...
and Sean Faris
Sean Faris
Sean Hardy Faris is an American model and actor. He is well known for his roles as Jake Tyler in Never Back Down, Kyo Kusanagi in The King of Fighters, and Rick Penning in Forever Strong.-Life and career:...
. Another Universal Soldier
Universal Soldier (series)
Universal Soldier is an American action science fiction film series started from the 1992 original same title film written by Richard Rothstein, Christopher Leitch, and Dean Devlin; directed by Roland Emmerich; and distributed by Sony Tri-Star....
film began filming in Louisiana
Louisiana
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
on May 9, 2011 and filming has wrapped on One In The Chamber (directed by William Kaufman) co-starring Cuba Gooding Jr.. The Expendables 2
The Expendables 2
The Expendables 2 is an upcoming ensemble action film directed by Simon West and written by David Agosto and Ken Kaufman based on a story by Sylvester Stallone...
has started principal photography with Simon West
Simon West
Simon West is an English-born film director. West started as a film editor with the BBC, then directed documentaries and commercials including many for Budweiser...
at the helm in late September / early October 2011 and is expected to film until December 2011 / January2012), with a release date set by Lionsgate for August 17, 2012. Another film produced by Brad Krevoy
Brad Krevoy
Brad Krevoy is an American film producer, who has been directly involved in the development, finance, production, acquisition, and distribution of more than 100 motion picture and television projects...
's MPCA (Motion Picture Corporation of America) is The Package (to be directed by Ernie Barbarash
Ernie Barbarash
Ernie Barbarash is a movie producer, perhaps best known as co-producer of the films American Psycho, Cube 2: Hypercube, Prisoner of Love, The First 9½ Weeks and The Cat's Meow. Barbarash also wrote and directed Cube Zero and Stir of Echoes: The Dead Speak...
) co-starring alongside Steve Austin
Stone Cold Steve Austin
Steve Austin , better known by his ring name "Stone Cold" Steve Austin, is an American film and television actor and retired professional wrestler...
. Lundgren's next project as director and star, Skin Trade, is expected to be filmed in the fall or winter of 2011.
Training and diet
Although Lundgren 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 30's rather than his 50's, 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 claims to often train up to six days a week in the gym, 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 Sylvester Stallone as the man who got him into serious bodybuilding for a period in 1980s after arriving in the United States. Stallone had a lasting influence on his fitness regime and his diet, ensuring that he ate a much higher percentage of protein in his diet and eating 5 or 6 smaller meals a day. Lundgren has professed to never have been "superstrong", 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 magazine he announced he is working on releasing his own range of vitamins and supplements.
He has also written an autobiographical fitness book entitled "Fit Forever" being published in Sweden (by Bonnier Fakta) on August 9, 2011, offering tips he learned over the years to work out in various situations (with a busy schedule and a lot of traveling). When in Los Angeles he trains at the Equinox Gym in Westwood and when at home in Marbella
Marbella
Marbella is a town in Andalusia, Spain. It is situated on the Mediterranean Sea, in the province of Málaga, beneath the La Concha mountain. In 2000 the city had 98,823 inhabitants, in 2004, 116,234, in 2010 approximately 135,000....
, Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
he trains at the Qi Sport Gym in Puerto Banus
Puerto Banús
Puerto José Banús, more commonly known as Puerto Banús is a marina located in the area of Nueva Andalucía, to the southwest of Marbella, Spain on the Costa del Sol. It was built in May 1970 by José Banús, a local property developer, as a luxury marina and shopping complex for the rich and famous...
. Dolph does, however, also like to spar and practice his karate in the gym to keep in top shape 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
Tequila is a spirit made from the blue agave plant, primarily in the area surrounding the city of Tequila, northwest of Guadalajara, and in the highlands of the western Mexican state of Jalisco....
and cocktails, citing his knowledge in chemical engineering as "making really good drinks".
Personal life
Lundgren has often been the victim of over-billing, with his IQ frequently cited as being around 160 and his height at 6 ft 6 inches (198 cm); both of which he has professed to be exaggerated; Bodybuilding.com and Celebheights.com give his height today as 6 ft 3 inches (191 cm) or 6 ft 3.5 inches (192 cm), and a peak barefoot height of 6 ft 4.5 inches (194 cm). Dolph himself has claimed to be 6 ft 5 inches (195 cm), given that he was rejected initially for being too tall for Rocky IV because he was several inches over the required limit of 6'3". At his heaviest he weighed 250 pounds (113.4 kg) during the filming of Masters of the Universe. Lundgren speaks Swedish, English, Spanish, some German, some French, some Japanese, and some Italian, but is not fluent in five languages as has often been reported.During the 1980s, Lundgren had relationships with singer Grace Jones
Grace Jones
Grace Jones is a Jamaican-American singer, model and actress.Jones secured a record deal with Island Records in 1977, which resulted in a string of dance-club hits. In the late 1970s, she adapted the emerging electronic music style and adopted a severe, androgynous look with square-cut hair and...
and model Paula Barbieri
Paula Barbieri
Paula Barbieri is a former American model and actress. She was reportedly the last girlfriend of O. J...
. In 1994 he married Anette Qviberg, a jewelry designer and fashion stylist in Marbella. The couple decided they liked the place so much that over the years they rented out accommodation there before eventually buying a family home. They have two daughters: Ida Sigrid Lundgren (born April 29, 1996) and Greta Eveline Lundgren (born November 2001), both born in Stockholm. The girls attend a British School; Lundgren and Qviberg have cited the reason for living away from Hollywood is that they want to give their children as normal a childhood as possible. In early May 2009, Lundgren's Marbella home was reportedly broken into by three masked burglars who tied up and threatened Qviberg, but fled when they spotted a family photo and realized that the house was owned by Lundgren. Dolph later stated that he believed the intruders to be from Eastern Europe and had contacts in Bulgaria investigating them, but to no avail; the intruders are still at large. As of 2011, the Lundgrens have been separated and filed for divorce. Dolph has moved back to Los Angeles with new Swedish girlfriend Jenny Sandersson.
Lundgren was one of three hosts for the 2010 Melodifestivalen
Melodifestivalen
Melodifestivalen is an annual music competition organised by Swedish public broadcasters Sveriges Television and Sveriges Radio . It determines the country's representative for the Eurovision Song Contest, and has been staged almost every year since 1959...
, where the Swedish contribution to the Eurovision Song Contest
Eurovision Song Contest 2010
The Eurovision Song Contest 2010 was the 55th annual Eurovision Song Contest, broadcast from the Telenor Arena in Bærum, Greater Oslo, Norway. It was the third time Norway had hosted the contest, having previously done so in 1986 and 1996. The 2010 winner was Germany with Lena singing "Satellite",...
is selected. In the first installation on February 6, Lundgren co-hosted the competition together with comedienne Christine Meltzer and performer Måns Zelmerlöw
Måns Zelmerlöw
Måns Petter Albert Sahlén Zelmerlöw is a Swedish pop singer. He is probably best known for his 2007 song "Cara Mia," which was his entry in that year's Melodifestivalen...
. Lundgren's appearance was hailed by critics and audience, particularly his rendition of Elvis Presley
Elvis Presley
Elvis Aaron Presley was one of the most popular American singers of the 20th century. A cultural icon, he is widely known by the single name Elvis. He is often referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll" or simply "the King"....
's "A Little Less Conversation
A Little Less Conversation
"A Little Less Conversation" is a song written by Mac Davis and Billy Strange that was originally performed and written for American rock and roll icon Elvis Presley for the 1968 film Live a Little, Love a Little. When the song was released as a single with "Almost in Love" as the b-side, it became...
".
Actor
| Year | Title | Role | Director |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1985 | A View to a Kill A View to a Kill A View to a Kill is the fourteenth spy film of the James Bond series, and the seventh and last to star Roger Moore as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond. Although the title is adapted from Ian Fleming's short story "From a View to a Kill", the film is the fourth Bond film after The Spy Who Loved... |
Venz | John Glen |
| Rocky IV Rocky IV Rocky IV is a 1985 American film written by, directed by, and starring Sylvester Stallone. It is the fourth and most financially successful entry in the Rocky franchise... |
Ivan Drago Ivan Drago Ivan Drago is a fictional character that appeared as Rocky Balboa's rival in the 1985 film Rocky IV. He is portrayed by Dolph Lundgren. The character and his catchphrases have gone on to inspire multiple mentions in popular culture like Clubber Lang , including in the Family Guy episode "Brian... |
Sylvester Stallone Sylvester Stallone Michael Sylvester Gardenzio Stallone , commonly known as Sylvester Stallone, and nicknamed Sly Stallone, is an American actor, filmmaker, screenwriter, film director and occasional painter. Stallone is known for his machismo and Hollywood action roles. Two of the notable characters he has portrayed... |
|
| 1987 | Masters of the Universe Masters of the Universe (film) Masters of the Universe is a 1987 science-fiction fantasy film based on the toy line by the same name. The movie stars Dolph Lundgren as He-Man and Frank Langella as Skeletor... |
He-Man He-Man He-Man is a fictional heroic character featured in the Masters of the Universe media franchise. In most variations, he is the alter ego of Prince Adam... |
Gary Goddard Gary Goddard Gary Goddard is the Founder and CEO of The Goddard Group- an entertainment design firm based in North Hollywood, California.- Work in Theater :... |
| 1988 | Red Scorpion Red Scorpion Red Scorpion is a 1989 film directed by Joseph Zito starring Dolph Lundgren.-Plot:The plot centers on Lundgren's character Nikolai, a Soviet Spetsnaz-trained KGB agent who is sent to an African country where Soviet, Czechoslovakian and Cuban forces are helping the government fight an anti-communist... |
Lt. Nikolai Rachenko | Joseph Zito Joseph Zito Joseph Zito is an American film director. He is perhaps well known for directing many low budget action B-movies of the 1980s such as, Missing in Action, Invasion U.S.A., Red Scorpion, and many others. In the mid-1980s, Zito spent a year of pre-production on the Cannon version of Spider-Man... |
| 1989 | The Punisher The Punisher (1989 film) The Punisher is a 1989 film starring Dolph Lundgren as Frank Castle, directed by Mark Goldblatt from a screenplay by Boaz Yakin. It is loosely based on the Marvel Comics' character The Punisher. The film changes many details of the comic book origin and the main character does not wear the... |
Frank Castle/The Punisher Punisher The Punisher is a fictional character, an anti-hero appearing in comic books based in the . Created by writer Gerry Conway and artists John Romita, Sr., and Ross Andru, the character made its first appearance in The Amazing Spider-Man #129 .The Punisher is a vigilante who employs murder,... |
Mark Goldblatt Mark Goldblatt Mark Goldblatt is an Academy Award nominated, American film editor, and director. A graduate of the London Film School, he is a member, and a former president, of the American Cinema Editors, or ACE society, as well as, a member of the Board of Governors of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and... |
| I Come in Peace I Come in Peace I Come in Peace is a 1990 science fiction action thriller feature film about a rule-breaking vice cop who becomes involved in the investigation of a number of mysterious drug-related murders on the streets of Houston, Texas. The film was directed by Craig R... (Dark Angel) |
Jack Caine | Craig R. Baxley Craig R. Baxley Craig Redding Baxley is an American actor, director and stunt performer. He is best known for his work in the action and thriller genres.... |
|
| 1990 | Cover-Up Cover Up (1991 film) Cover Up is a 1991 film directed by Manny Coto starring Dolph Lundgren and Louis Gossett Jr.. Coto was hired at the latest stage of pre-production right before filming, after writer / director William Tannen left the project.... |
Mike Anderson | Manny Coto Manny Coto Manny Coto 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 producer of four seasons of 24... |
| 1991 | Showdown in Little Tokyo Showdown in Little Tokyo Showdown in Little Tokyo is a 1991 action film. It features Brandon Lee in his first American film role, starring alongside Dolph Lundgren. Set in Los Angeles, California, two police officers attempt to take down a new and deadly Japanese drug gang... |
Chris Kenner | Mark L. Lester Mark L. Lester Mark L. Lester is an American writer, producer, and director, primarily of action films.After his debut in 1970 with the film Just Can't Reach, he went on to make his mark with such memorable drive-in fare as Truck Stop Women and Bobbie Jo and the Outlaw... |
| 1992 | Universal Soldier Universal Soldier (1992 film) Universal Soldier is a 1992 American science fiction action film directed by Roland Emmerich and starring Jean-Claude Van Damme and Dolph Lundgren as soldiers who kill each other in Vietnam but are reanimated in a secret Army project along with a large group of other previously dead... |
Sgt. Andrew Scott/GR13 | Roland Emmerich Roland Emmerich Roland Emmerich is a German film director, screenwriter, and producer.His films, most of which are Hollywood productions filmed in English, have grossed more than $3 billion worldwide, more than those of any other European director... |
| 1993 | Army of One Joshua Tree (1993 film) Joshua Tree, also known as Army of One, is a 1993 action film directed by Academy Award and BAFTA-winning stunt coordinator Vic Armstrong, written by Steven Pressfield and starring Dolph Lundgren, Kristian Alfonso, and George Segal... (Joshua Tree) |
Wellman Anthony Santee | Vic Armstrong Vic Armstrong Victor Monroe Armstrong is a BAFTA winning British film director and stunt double -- the world's most prolific according to the Guinness Book of Records... |
| 1994 | Sunny Side Up | Himself | Bettina Speer |
| Pentathlon Pentathlon (film) Pentathlon is a 1993 American action thriller directed by Bruce Malmuth and starring Dolph Lundgren as an East German Olympic gold medalist pentathlete on the run from a lethal coach .-Plot:... |
Eric Brogar | Bruce Malmuth Bruce Malmuth Bruce Malmuth was an American actor and film director.-Early life:Malmuth began making documentaries while serving in the Army, where he met baseball announcer Walter Red Barber... |
|
| Men of War Men of War (film) Men of War is a 1994 American action drama directed by Perry Lang and starring Dolph Lundgren as a former Special Ops soldier who leads a group of mercenaries to a treasure island in the South China Sea.-Plot:... |
Nick Gunar | Perry Lang Perry Lang Perry Lang is an American director, writer and actor.He has directed episodes of television series such as Arli$$, ER, Millennium, Dawson's Creek, NYPD Blue, Nash Bridges, Fantasy Island, Weeds, Gilmore Girls, Army Wives, The Twilight Zone, Alias, Las Vegas, Jack & Bobby and... |
|
| 1995 | Johnny Mnemonic Johnny Mnemonic (film) Johnny Mnemonic is a 1995 cyberpunk film, loosely based on the short story "Johnny Mnemonic" by William Gibson. The title character, a man with a cybernetic brain implant designed to store information, is played by Keanu Reeves. The film portrays Gibson's dystopian view of the future with the world... |
Karl Honig (Street Preacher) | Robert Longo Robert Longo Robert Longo is an American painter and sculptor. Longo became famous in the 1980s for his "Men in the Cities" series, which depicted sharply dressed businessmen writhing in contorted emotion.-Early life and education:... |
| The Shooter The Shooter (1995 film) The Shooter also known as Hidden Assassin is a 1995 American action drama directed by Ted Kotcheff and starring Dolph Lundgren as a CIA agent who gets caught up in politics when he is hired to solve the assassination of a Cuban ambassador.... (Hidden Assassin) |
Michael Dane | Ted Kotcheff Ted Kotcheff Ted Kotcheff , sometimes credited as William Kotcheff or William T. Kotcheff, is a Canadian film and television director, who is well known for his work on several high-profile British television productions and as a director of films such as First Blood.-Early life:Kotcheff was born William... |
|
| 1996 | Silent Trigger Silent Trigger Silent Trigger is a 1996 film directed by Russell Mulcahy starring Dolph Lundgren and Gina Bellman about a sniper and his female spotter. Lundgren plays a former hitman sent on a mission by a secretive "Agency", to assassinate a target from an abandoned skyscraper in construction... |
Waxman (Shooter) | Russell Mulcahy Russell Mulcahy Russell Mulcahy is an Australian film director. His work is easily recognized by his use of fast cuts, tracking shots and use of glowing lights.- Music videos :... |
| 1997 | The Peacekeeper The Peacekeeper The Peacekeeper also known as Hellbent is a 1997 Canadian and American action film directed by Frédéric Forestier. It stars Dolph Lundgren as a Major in the US Air Force and the only man who can prevent the president being assassinated and with the ability to thwart an imposing nuclear holocaust... |
Major Frank Cross | Frédéric Forestier Frédéric Forestier - Director :* 1993 : Paranoïa * 1997 : État d'urgence* 2002 : Le Boulet - More than 3 million ticket sales in France.* 2005 : Les Parrains - More than 600,000 ticket sales in France.... |
| 1998 | The Minion The Minion The Minion , is a 1998 American and Canadian action supernatural horror film directed by Jean-Marc Piché. Lukas Sadorov is a middle eastern templar who is a member of an order of templars who are charged with guarding the gateway to Hell that, if opened, will unleash all evil... |
Lukas Sadorov | Jean-Marc Piché |
| Sweepers Sweepers (film) Sweepers is a 1998 American and South African action film directed by Keoni Waxman. It stars Dolph Lundgren as Christian Erickson, a leading demolition expert trained to disarm mine fields in a humanitarian minesweeping operation in Angola... |
Christian Erickson | Keoni Waxman | |
| Blackjack Blackjack (film) Blackjack, also known as John Woo’s Blackjack is a 1998 TV action film or more specifically a backdoor pilot directed by John Woo... (TV) |
Jack Devlin | John Woo John Woo John Woo Yu-Sen SBS is a Hong Kong-based film director and producer. Recognized for his stylised films of highly choreographed action sequences, Mexican standoffs, and use of slow-motion, Woo has directed several notable Hong Kong action films, among them, A Better Tomorrow, The Killer, Hard... |
|
| 1999 | Bridge of Dragons Bridge of Dragons Bridge of Dragons is a 1999 American romantic action film directed by Isaac Florentine, and starring Dolph Lundgren as a cold and tough mercenary. It co-stars Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa, who Lundgren had previously worked with in the 1991 film Showdown in Little Tokyo. It was the first Nu Image film to... |
Warchild | Isaac Florentine Isaac Florentine Isaac Florentine is an Israeli-born movie director and martial arts expert. Florentine earned a degree in Film & Television from Tel Aviv University.-Career:... |
| Storm Catcher Storm Catcher Storm Catcher is a 1999 thriller movie. It was directed by Anthony Hickox and stars Dolph Lundgren and Mystro Clark. It tells the story of a renegade general who plans to bomb Washington with a new jet called the Storm Catcher.-Plot:... |
Jack Holloway | Anthony Hickox Anthony Hickox Anthony Hickox is an English film director, actor, film producer and screenwriter.His works include Waxwork and its sequel, Waxwork II: Lost in Time, Sundown: The Vampire in Retreat, Hellraiser III: Hell on Earth, "Prince Valiant", "Children of the Corn", "Warlock: Armageddon", "Payback",... |
|
| 2000 | Jill Rips Jill Rips Jill Rips is a film directed in 1999 by Anthony Hickox starring Dolph Lundgren, based on a 1987 novel by Scottish writer Frederic Lindsay. The film is also known as Jill the Ripper and Tied Up.-Plot:... (Jill The Ripper) |
Matt Sorenson | Anthony Hickox Anthony Hickox Anthony Hickox is an English film director, actor, film producer and screenwriter.His works include Waxwork and its sequel, Waxwork II: Lost in Time, Sundown: The Vampire in Retreat, Hellraiser III: Hell on Earth, "Prince Valiant", "Children of the Corn", "Warlock: Armageddon", "Payback",... |
| The Last Patrol | Captain Nick Preston | Sheldon Lettich Sheldon Lettich Sheldon Lettich is a screenwriter, film director and producer.-Early life:He was born in New York City, but moved to California at a young age and grew up in the Los Angeles area. After graduation from high school he spent nearly four years in the U.S... |
|
| 2001 | Agent Red Agent Red Agent Red is a 2000 American action film directed by Damian Lee and starring Dolph Lundgren. Its plot concerns two soldiers stuck on a submarine with a group of terrorists who plan to use a chemical weapon on America.... |
Matt Hendricks | Damian Lee 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... |
| 2002 | Hidden Agenda Hidden Agenda (2001 film) Hidden Agenda is a 2001 Canadian action film directed by Marc S. Grenier and starring Dolph Lundgren.-Cast:*Dolph Lundgren ... Jason Price*Maxim Roy ... Renee Brooks*Brigitte Paquette ... Connie Glenn*Ted Whittall ... Sonny Mathis... |
Jason Price | Marc S. Grenier |
| 2003 | Detention Detention (2003 film) Detention is a 2003 action film directed by Sidney J. Furie. It stars Dolph Lundgren as a soon to be retired high school teacher Sam Decker who has one last detention to proctor and Alex Karzis as Chester Lamb. Unfortunately, drug runners have chosen to attack the school... |
Sam Decker | Sidney J. Furie Sidney J. Furie Sidney J. Furie is a Canadian film director. Furie is perhaps best known for directing American Soldiers, The IPCRESS File, The Entity, Superman IV: The Quest for Peace, Lady Sings the Blues, The Boys, Gable and Lombard, Sheila Levine Is Dead and Living in New York and the Iron Eagle films.Also... |
| 2004 | Direct Action Direct Action (film) Direct Action is a 2004 action film directed by Sidney J. Furie and starring Dolph Lundgren.-Plot:With fifteen years on the force, Sergeant Frank Gannon has spent the last three years on the Direct Action Unit task force, fighting gang crime and corruption.The DAU, led by Captain Stone , is a... |
Frank Gannon | Sidney J. Furie Sidney J. Furie Sidney J. Furie is a Canadian film director. Furie is perhaps best known for directing American Soldiers, The IPCRESS File, The Entity, Superman IV: The Quest for Peace, Lady Sings the Blues, The Boys, Gable and Lombard, Sheila Levine Is Dead and Living in New York and the Iron Eagle films.Also... |
| Fat Slags | Randy | Ed Bye Ed Bye Edward Richard Morrison Bye is a British film and TV producer and director. He is best known for his work with Grant Naylor, Harry Enfield and Jasper Carrott, and has worked with many of British TV's best known comedians and comedy actors... |
|
| Retrograde Retrograde (film) Retrograde is a 2004 sci-fi action film directed by Christopher Kulikowski and starring Dolph Lundgren. It was shot in Italy.-Cast:*Dolph Lundgren ... John Foster*Silvia De Santis ... Renee Diaz*Joe Montana ... Dalton*Gary Daniels ... Markus... |
John Foster | Christopher Kulikowski | |
| The Defender | Lance Rockford | Dolph Lundgren | |
| 2005 | The Mechanik The Mechanik The Mechanik is a 2005 action film starring and directed by Dolph Lundgren, written by Bryan Edward Hill and co-starring Ben Cross.- Plot :... (The Russian Specialist) |
Nikolai Cherenko | Dolph Lundgren |
| 2006 | The Inquiry The Inquiry (film) L'inchiesta is a 2006 historical drama film set in AD 35 in the Roman Empire. The story follows a fictional Roman general named Titus Valerius Taurus, a veteran of campaigns in Germania, who is sent to Judaea by the emperor Tiberius to investigate the possibility of the divinity of the recently... (The Final Inquiry) |
Brixos | Giulio Base |
| 2007 | Diamond Dogs Diamond Dogs (film) Diamond Dogs is a 2007 Action/Thriller film starring Dolph Lundgren and directed by Shimon Dotan and Dolph Lundgren as 'Samuel Dolhasca'.-Plot:... |
Xander Ronson | Shimon Dotan Shimon Dotan Shimon Dotan is an award winning film director, screenwriter, and producer.-Early life:Shimon Dotan was born in Romania in 1949 and moved to Israel in 1959... / Dolph Lundgren |
| Missionary Man Missionary Man (film) Missionary Man is a 2007 American action film co-written, directed by and starring Dolph Lundgren.- Plot :A lone stranger named Ryder comes into a small Texas town on his 1970s Harley-Davidson motorcycle. He's there for the funeral of his good friend J.J., a local Native American carpenter... |
Ryder | Dolph Lundgren | |
| 2008 | Direct Contact Direct Contact Direct Contact is a direct-to-DVD film starring Dolph Lundgren. The production company is Nu Image. The movie was filmed in Bulgaria, and stars Swedish actor Dolph Lundgren and Michael Paré... |
Mike Riggins | Danny Lerner |
| 2009 | Command Performance Command Performance (2009 film) Command Performance is an action-thriller film that was directed, co-written, and stars Dolph Lundgren.The film premiered at the Ischia Global Film & Music Festival on July 18, 2009... |
Joe | Dolph Lundgren |
| Universal Soldier: Regeneration | Andrew Scott | John Hyams | |
| 2010 | The Expendables The Expendables (2010 film) The Expendables is a 2010 American ensemble action film written by David Callaham and Sylvester Stallone, and directed by Stallone. Filming began on March 28, 2009, in Rio de Janeiro, New Orleans, and Los Angeles, and the film was released in theaters on August 13, 2010 in North America.The film is... |
Gunnar Jensen | Sylvester Stallone Sylvester Stallone Michael Sylvester Gardenzio Stallone , commonly known as Sylvester Stallone, and nicknamed Sly Stallone, is an American actor, filmmaker, screenwriter, film director and occasional painter. Stallone is known for his machismo and Hollywood action roles. Two of the notable characters he has portrayed... |
| Icarus Icarus (film) Icarus, also titled The Killing Machine in the UK and the U.S., is a 2010 American action-thriller film directed by and starring Dolph Lundgren.- Plot :... (The Killing Machine) |
Edward Genn | Dolph Lundgren | |
| Chuck Chuck (TV series) Chuck is an action-comedy/spy-drama television program from the United States created by Josh Schwartz and Chris Fedak. The series is about an "average computer-whiz-next-door" named Chuck, played by Zachary Levi, who receives an encoded e-mail from an old college friend now working for the Central... (TV) |
Marco | Robert Duncan McNeill Robert Duncan McNeill Robert Duncan McNeill is an American actor, producer, movie director, and television director who is best known for his role as Lieutenant Tom Paris on the television show Star Trek: Voyager.-Acting:... |
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| 2011 | In the Name of the King 2 In the Name of the King 2 In the Name of the King 2 also known as In the Name of the King: Two Worlds , is an upcoming fantasy-action film sequel to In the Name of the King: A Dungeon Siege Tale... (In The Name Of The King: Two Worlds) |
Granger | Uwe Boll Uwe Boll Uwe Boll is a German director, producer and screenwriter, whose work includes several films adapted from video games. He finances his own films through his Boll KG production company. He is often cited as the worst director of all time.-Early life:... |
| 2012 | Small Apartments Small Apartments Small Apartments is an upcoming American film directed by Jonas Åkerlund. It tells the story of Franklin Franklin, played by Matt Lucas, who by mistake kills his landlord, played by Peter Stormare. The cast co-stars Dolph Lundgren, Johnny Knoxville, James Caan, Billy Crystal, Juno Temple, Saffron... |
Dr. Sage Mennox | Jonas Åkerlund Jonas Åkerlund Jonas Åkerlund is a Swedish film and music video director, and drummer. He is best known for directing music videos, which are often mock forms of movie trailers and short films... |
| Stash House | Andy Spector | Eduardo Rodríguez | |
| Universal Soldier: A New Dimension | Andrew Scott | John Hyams | |
| One In The Chamber | Aleksey Andreev | William Kaufman | |
| The Expendables 2 The Expendables 2 The Expendables 2 is an upcoming ensemble action film directed by Simon West and written by David Agosto and Ken Kaufman based on a story by Sylvester Stallone... |
Gunnar Jensen | Simon West Simon West Simon West is an English-born film director. West started as a film editor with the BBC, then directed documentaries and commercials including many for Budweiser... |
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| The Package | Ernie Barbarash Ernie Barbarash Ernie Barbarash is a movie producer, perhaps best known as co-producer of the films American Psycho, Cube 2: Hypercube, Prisoner of Love, The First 9½ Weeks and The Cat's Meow. Barbarash also wrote and directed Cube Zero and Stir of Echoes: The Dead Speak... |
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| Skin Trade | Dolph Lundgren |
Director
| Year | Movie |
|---|---|
| 2004 | The Defender |
| 2005 | The Mechanik The Mechanik The Mechanik is a 2005 action film starring and directed by Dolph Lundgren, written by Bryan Edward Hill and co-starring Ben Cross.- Plot :... (The Russian Specialist) |
| 2007 | Diamond Dogs Diamond Dogs (film) Diamond Dogs is a 2007 Action/Thriller film starring Dolph Lundgren and directed by Shimon Dotan and Dolph Lundgren as 'Samuel Dolhasca'.-Plot:... (uncredited co-director) |
| 2007 | Missionary Man Missionary Man (film) Missionary Man is a 2007 American action film co-written, directed by and starring Dolph Lundgren.- Plot :A lone stranger named Ryder comes into a small Texas town on his 1970s Harley-Davidson motorcycle. He's there for the funeral of his good friend J.J., a local Native American carpenter... |
| 2009 | Command Performance |
| 2010 | Icarus Icarus (film) Icarus, also titled The Killing Machine in the UK and the U.S., is a 2010 American action-thriller film directed by and starring Dolph Lundgren.- Plot :... (The Killing Machine) |
| 2012 | Skin Trade |