Dolph Lundgren
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-->Dolph Lundgren (born Hans Lundgren, November 3, 1957) is a Swedish actor. He attended the Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm, later received a master's degree in chemical engineering from the University of Sydney, and was eventually awarded a prestigious Fulbright scholarship to MIT, but then changed the course of his career towards drama.
In 1985, Lundgren made his feature-film debut in the James Bond film A View to a Kill. Then he beat out 5000 other hopefuls to land the breakthrough role of Ivan Drago, Sylvester Stallone's opponent in Rocky IV (1985). He received his first lead role as He-Man in Masters of the Universe (1987), based on the popular children's toy, but the film was not a success and was ridiculed by most audiences. Lundgren subsequently however found his calling in action films. He starred as Marvel comics character Frank Castle AKA The Punisher, in the 1989 film The Punisher. In the 1990s he starred in action films such as Showdown in Little Tokyo, Universal Soldier, Silent Trigger and Johnny Mnemonic
He is 196 cm (6 ft 5 in) tall and weighs 109 kg (240 lb). He speaks six languages: Swedish, English, German, French, Spanish and Japanese and his IQ is given on his website as 160 (see [link], [link]).
At the age of 15, he was self-described as "one of the weaklings people kick sand at on the beach", but later became a black belt in Kyokushin Karate. He won the European full-contact karate championships in 1980 and 1981 and a heavyweight tournament in Australia in 1982 (see [link]). Lundgren experimented with anabolic steroids to improve his physique for Rocky IV. He was also the captain of the Swedish Karate team for the Olympic Games.
He has been married to Anette Qviberg Lundgren, a jewelry designer and fashion stylist, since 1994. The couple divide their time between New York City and Stockholm, Sweden. They have two daughters: Ida Sigrid Lundgren (born April 29, 1996 in Stockholm) and Greta Eveline Lundgren (born January 2002). Earlier in his life, Lundgren was engaged to Grace Jones and was in a long-term relationship with Paula Barbieri.
Lundgren made his directorial debut in 2004 with the film Defender. After that he directed The Mechanik (known in the United States as The Russian Specialist) . Currently he is filming the historical adventure The Inquiry.
On February 25, 2005, he visited Fort Hood, Texas and was introduced by Captain James Van Thach. He thanked U.S. soldiers for their support on the War on Terrorism and also to promote The Russian Specialist.
Famous quotes
From Rocky IV:
- "I must break you"
- "If he dies, he dies."
- "I win for me...FOR ME!" (translated from russian)
- "I cannot be defeated. I defeat all man. Now I defeat real champion!"
- "You will lose."
- "He's not human.... He's like a piece of iron!"
- "To the end."
- "I have the power" (He-Man's catch-phrase)
- "But I will, it's always been between us." (In response to Skeletor's line: You will no longer stand between me and my destiny)
- "Then you go in pieces, asshole. " (In response to alien's line: "I come in peace.")
- "Never trust nobody; Caine Manual, Chapter 1, Page 1."
- "Either you're Santa Claus or you're dead, pal."
- "Fuck you, spaceman!"
- "I'm all ears."
- "Is it normal to have three nipples? Come on, it's stocktake."
- "Now I'm here to teach you the chain of command, private. When I say, 'Jump!' You say, 'How high?', got it?"
- "Say goodnight, asshole."
- "It's Jesus time!"
- " THERE IS NO GOD!"
Filmography
| Year | Movie | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 2006 | The Inquiry | Brixos |
| 2005 | The Mechanik | Nick Cherenko |
| 2004 | The Defender | Lance Rockford |
| 2004 | Retrograde | John Foster |
| 2004 | Fat Slags | Randy |
| 2004 | Direct Action | Frank Gannon |
| 2003 | Detention | Sam Decker |
| 2001 | Hidden Agenda | Jason Price |
| 2000 | Agent Red | Matt Hendricks |
| 2000 | The Last Patrol | Nick Preston |
| 2000 | Jill Rips | Matt Sorenson |
| 1999 | Storm Catcher | Major Jack Holloway |
| 1999 | Bridge of Dragons | Warchild |
| 1998 | Sweepers | Christian Erickson |
| 1998 | The Minion | Lukas |
| 1998 | Blackjack | Jack Devlin |
| 1997 | The Peacekeeper | Major Frank Cross |
| 1996 | Silent Trigger | Waxman (Shooter) |
| 1995 | The Shooter | Michael Dane |
| 1995 | Johnny Mnemonic | Street Preacher |
| 1994 | Men of War | Nick Gunar |
| 1994 | Pentathlon | Eric Brogar |
| 1993 | Joshua Tree | Wellman Anthony Santee |
| 1992 | Universal Soldier | Andrew Scott/GR13 |
| 1991 | Showdown in Little Tokyo | Police Sgt. Kenner |
| 1991 | Cover Up | Mike Anderson |
| 1990 | Dark Angel | Jack Caine |
| 1989 | The Punisher | Frank Castle/The Punisher |
| 1989 | Red Scorpion | Nikolai |
| 1987 | Masters of the Universe | He-Man |
| 1985 | Rocky IV | Ivan Drago |
| 1985 | A View to a Kill | Venz |
Cultural references
- Dolph Lundgren was satirized in an article by The Onion in 2004, titled "[Dolph Lundgren Wins Long, Courageous Battle Against Fame]"
- Metalcore band Will Haven released a song named Dolph Lundgren on their album Carpe Diem.
External links
- [Dolph Lundgren] at the Internet Movie Database
- [}}}}}] at NNDB
- [Dolph Lundgren homepage]
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