Dolph Lundgren

1.1. Birth and Family

Hans Lundgren was born on November 3, 1957, in Spånga, Stockholm County, Sweden. His mother, Sigrid Birgitta, was a language teacher, and his father, Karl Hugo Johan Lundgren, was an engineer with a Master of Science degree and an economist with an MBA for the Swedish government. Lundgren resided in Spånga until the age of 13, when he moved to his grandparents' home in Nyland, Ångermanland. He has two sisters, Katarina and Annika, and an elder brother, Johan.

Lundgren has spoken about his difficult relationship with his father, who he claims was physically abusive and would take out personal frustrations on his wife and eldest son, often calling him a "loser." This harsh treatment, while painful, ultimately motivated Lundgren to become more ambitious and driven to prove himself. Despite the abuse, he has stated that he still loved and admired his father, believing that his own stubbornness, which he shared with his father, might have contributed to their strained dynamic. This troubled relationship is cited by Lundgren as a reason for his development of a desire to participate in heavy contact sports like boxing and karate. His father passed away in 2000.

1.2. Education and Academic Background

As a child, Lundgren described himself as insecure and a "runt," also suffering from allergies. He initially showed a strong interest in drumming and aspired to become a rock star. However, he began to follow his father's footsteps in engineering, attending the Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm.

After graduating from high school with straight A's, Lundgren pursued chemical engineering studies in the United States on various academic scholarships in the 1970s, attending Washington State University from 1976 to 1977 and Clemson University. In the early 1980s, he earned a degree in chemical engineering from the Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm. He later obtained a master's degree in chemical engineering from the University of Sydney in 1982.

In 1983, Lundgren was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship to the MIT. However, he decided to leave MIT after just two weeks to pursue a career in acting, finding the entertainment business more appealing and rewarding than chemical engineering. While often reported to be fluent in seven languages, Lundgren has clarified that he is fluent in Swedish and English, but only speaks "smaller amounts" of French, German, Italian, Japanese, and Spanish, not fluently. Reports of his IQ being 160 have been denied by Lundgren.

1.3. Military Service

Prior to completing his engineering degrees, Dolph Lundgren fulfilled his mandatory one-year military service in the Swedish Coastal Artillery. He served specifically within the elite Coastal Ranger School.

1.4. Early Martial Arts Training

Lundgren's journey into martial arts began early in his life. At the age of seven, he experimented with judo and Gōjū-ryū. His serious commitment to martial arts began at age 10 when he took up Kyokushin karate. As a teenager, he also began weight training, which would complement his martial arts practice.

He intensely honed his karate skills by training in a dojo for five years, achieving the rank of 2nd dan black belt in Kyokushin karate by 1978 and later a 4th dan black belt. Lundgren captained the Swedish Kyokushin karate team and, even as a green belt, was a strong challenger at the 1979 World Open Tournament, organized by the Kyokushin Karate Organization, where he won two matches by knee strike before losing to eventual champion Makoto Nakamura. He received high praise from Masutatsu Oyama, the founder of Kyokushin, who considered him a future contender for the World Tournament. Martial arts media at the time referred to him as the "Young Hawk of Sweden." He further showcased his prowess by winning the European championships in 1980 and 1981, and a full-contact karate tournament in Australia in 1982. In 1988, he visited the Kyokushin-kaikan General Headquarters in Japan, paying his respects to Masutatsu Oyama, who then awarded him the 2nd dan. Lundgren later performed demonstrations at the 5th World Open Tournament at Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium in November 1991 and at the 10th World Open Tournament hosted by ShinKyokushinkai in October 2011.

2.1. Early Career and Breakthrough

While completing his master's degree in chemical engineering at the University of Sydney, Lundgren earned a living as a bouncer in a nightclub in the notorious King's Cross area. It was there that he was discovered by Jamaican singer Grace Jones, who hired him as her bodyguard. They soon became lovers, and Lundgren moved with Jones to New York City. In New York, he briefly dabbled in modeling at the Zoli Agency, though he was considered "a bit too tall and muscular for a model's size 40." He continued working as a bouncer at the Manhattan nightclub The Limelight, housed in the former Church of the Holy Communion, where he worked alongside future actor Chazz Palminteri. During the day, he studied drama at the Warren Robertson Theatre Workshop, reflecting that his time in New York exposed him to diverse people and lifestyles in the arts, including interactions with figures like Andy Warhol, Keith Haring, Iman, and Steve Rubell, dancing at Studio 54, and studying acting with Andie MacDowell and Tom Hulce. Encouraged by friends to pursue acting, he left MIT after two weeks.

Lundgren made his film debut in a minor role as Venz, a KGB assassin, in the 1985 James Bond film A View to a Kill, which was Roger Moore's final film as 007. His then-lover Grace Jones, who played the villain May Day, personally recommended him for the part. Roger Moore reportedly remarked that "Dolph is larger than Denmark."

Lundgren's true breakthrough came in 1985 with his role as the lead villain, the imposing Soviet boxer Ivan Drago, in Sylvester Stallone's Rocky IV. Initially, Lundgren was turned down for the role, deemed too tall and not muscular enough for a heavyweight boxer. However, his persistent self-promotion, coupled with his karate-trained, unconventional punching style, caught Stallone's eye. Lundgren intensely trained in bodybuilding and boxing for five months before filming, gaining approximately 25 lb ^{(11.3 kg)} of muscle. He weighed around 240 lb ^{(240 lb)} during production, though he was billed in the film at 260 lb ^{(260 lb)} as "an exceptional 250 pounds of merciless fighting machine." Drago's lines, "If he dies, he dies" and "I must break you," became iconic and are frequently quoted in popular culture. During a fight scene, Lundgren hit Stallone so hard that Stallone required nine days in intensive care at St. John's Hospital due to his blood pressure reaching 290 mmHg and swelling of the pericardial sac around his heart. The premiere of Rocky IV at the Mann Village Theatre in Westwood, Los Angeles, marked a life-altering moment for Lundgren, who described himself as "shell-shocked for years" by the sudden transition from student-athlete to international action star.

2.2. 1980s and 1990s Action Star

In 1987, Lundgren released a workout video titled Maximum Potential. That same year, he landed his first lead role as He-Man in Masters of the Universe, based on the popular children's toyline and cartoon. During filming, Lundgren reached his heaviest weight at around 280 lb ^{(280 lb)}. The film received widespread criticism, being deemed too violent for a family picture, and was criticized for Lundgren's "wooden" and "monosyllabic" performance. Variety called it a "flop," and it holds a low rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

He followed this with Red Scorpion (1988), directed by Joseph Zito. In this film, Lundgren plays Nikolai, a Soviet KGB agent sent to an African country to assassinate the leader of an anti-communist rebel movement, only to eventually switch sides. The film was partially shot in Namibia, and it was reported that Grace Jones joined him during production, insisting on a costly villa rental. Critics largely panned the film, with Stephen Holden of The New York Times sarcastically noting that Lundgren's "pectorals are the real stars" and communicated more emotion than his "mumbling lips."

In 1989, Lundgren starred as the Marvel Comics character Frank Castle in The Punisher. Directed by Mark Goldblatt, the film deviated from the comic by changing some origin details and omitting the character's signature skull logo, which initially disappointed fans. While released theatrically internationally, it went direct-to-video in the US. Over time, however, the film gained a cult following, with some considering it the best adaptation of the comic and praising Lundgren's performance as a "ghostly and soul depraved vigilante."

In 1990, Lundgren starred in Craig R. Baxley's sci-fi thriller I Come in Peace (also known as Dark Angel). He played Detective Jack Caine, a tough Houston cop who, despite police procedure, relentlessly pursues a drug gang responsible for his partner's death. Lundgren expressed satisfaction with the role, noting it allowed him to explore more than just action, including romance, comedy, and "clever dialogue."

The year 1991 saw Lundgren in Manny Coto's action film Cover Up, where he played Mike Anderson, a US Marine veteran turned reporter embroiled in a political cover-up. He also co-starred with Brandon Lee in Mark L. Lester's martial arts action film Showdown in Little Tokyo, portraying Sergeant Chris Kenner, a police officer investigating the yakuza. While criticized for its violence and dismissed as "spiritless" by The New York Times, and Variety suggesting he focus on "quality control" as much as "pectoral development," some retrospective critics found it entertaining within its genre.

In 1992, Lundgren starred in Roland Emmerich's sci-fi action film Universal Soldier, alongside Jean-Claude Van Damme. Lundgren played Sergeant Andrew Scott, a deceased US soldier from the Vietnam War reanimated as a GR operative. Despite a public altercation between Lundgren and Van Damme at the 1992 Cannes Film Festival (believed to be a publicity stunt), the film was a significant commercial success, grossing over 102.00 M USD worldwide against a 23.00 M USD budget. However, mainstream critics largely dismissed it as a Terminator 2 rip-off, and Roger Ebert included it in his book I Hated, Hated, Hated This Movie, criticizing its "monosyllabic idiocies."

Lundgren's 1993 film was Joshua Tree, in which he played Wellman Anthony Santee, a former racecar driver framed for murder. Much of the film was shot in the Alabama Hills of the Sierra Nevada and the Joshua Tree National Park in California.

In 1994, he starred in Pentathlon as Eric Brogar, an East German Olympic gold medalist pentathlete on the run from an abusive coach. For this role, Lundgren trained with the U.S. pentathlon team and later served as the non-competing Team Leader for the 1996 U.S. Olympic Modern Pentathlon team at the Atlanta Games. The film was largely met with negative reviews, described as "appallingly acted and monotonous." Later that year, Lundgren appeared as Nick Gunar in Perry Lang's Men of War, a film with a script by John Sayles. He played a former Special Ops soldier leading mercenaries to a treasure island in the South China Sea. Some critics received this film positively, noting its association of the "muscle image with the Vietnam experience."

In 1995, Lundgren had a supporting role as Karl Honig, a Jesus-obsessed hitman and street preacher, in Robert Longo's Johnny Mnemonic, starring Keanu Reeves. The film depicted a dystopian cyberpunk future. It received generally negative critical reviews and was a financial disappointment, grossing 19.07 M USD against its 26.00 M USD budget. This was Lundgren's last theatrical release until 2010. Later that year, he starred as Michael Dane in Ted Kotcheff's The Shooter, an action drama about a U.S. Marshall caught in political intrigue.

His 1996 film was Silent Trigger, directed by Russell Mulcahy, where he played Waxman "Shooter," a former Special Forces agent turned government assassin, which was described as a "stylish but empty thriller." In 1997, Lundgren starred as Major Frank Cross in The Peacekeeper, a film praised for its exciting action sequences, though critics observed that Lundgren had not achieved the same popularity as contemporaries like Jean-Claude Van Damme and Steven Seagal.

The late 1990s continued his prolific output. In 1998, he appeared in The Minion, described as "possibly one of the worst films ever," and Sweepers, where his career was noted for "hitting rock bottom." He also featured in the TV pilot Blackjack, directed by John Woo, which was called "laughably stupid" and "dull." His 1999 films included Bridge of Dragons, Storm Catcher, and Jill Rips.

2.3. Direct-to-Video Era and Directorial Debut

From the late 1990s through the 2000s, Lundgren primarily appeared in direct-to-video films. In 2000, he starred in The Last Warrior and Agent Red, the latter of which was poorly received due to its "shoestring budget" and "tidal wave of cliche." During this period, Gladiator director Ridley Scott considered Lundgren for a role but rejected him, stating he "just didn't fit in with what we were trying to achieve."

Lundgren's direct-to-video releases continued with Hidden Agenda (2001) and Detention (2003). In 2004, he starred in Direct Action and made a cameo in the comedy Fat Slags. He also appeared in the science fiction picture Retrograde.

A significant shift in his career came in 2004 when Lundgren made his directorial debut with The Defender, taking over from a sick Sidney J. Furie. He also starred in the film as the bodyguard of the head of the National Security Agency. In 2005, he both starred in and directed his second film, The Mechanik (also known as The Russian Specialist), playing a retired Russian Special Forces hitman. The film was praised by Sky Movies for its "hardcore death-dealing."

In 2006, Lundgren appeared in the Italian historical drama The Inquiry, set in AD 35, where he played the gladiator Brixos. This remake, filmed in Tunisia and Bulgaria, investigated the divinity of Jesus. He continued to direct and star in his projects, including the 2007 Canadian-Chinese action-adventure film Diamond Dogs, filmed in Inner Mongolia, where he played a mercenary guide. Later in 2007, he wrote, directed, and starred in the modern Western film Missionary Man. A fan of classic Westerns, Lundgren set his film in modern times with a motorcycle-riding, Bible-preaching stranger, Ryder. The film was screened at the 2008 AFI Dallas Film Festival.

In 2008, he starred in the direct-to-video action film Direct Contact. This was followed by Command Performance (2009), a hostage action drama that Lundgren also directed and wrote. Drawing on his real-life musical proficiency, he starred as a rock drummer facing terrorists at a concert. The story was inspired by a Madonna concert for Russian President Vladimir Putin, and the film co-starred Canadian pop singer Melissa Smith and Lundgren's daughter, Ida, in her screen debut. The film premiered at the Ischia Global Film & Music Festival. In 2009, the Dolph Lundgren Scholarship was established in his name, awarded to the top student at Ådalsskolan, his former high school.

He reunited with Jean-Claude Van Damme in Universal Soldier: Regeneration (2009), reprising his role as Andrew Scott's clone. The film, released theatrically in some regions and direct-to-video elsewhere, received better-than-average reviews for a direct-to-DVD franchise sequel, though some critics found Lundgren's performance dull. Also in 2009, Lundgren directed and starred in Icarus (also known as The Killing Machine), a thriller about a businessman whose KGB past is revealed.

2.4. Return to Prominence

Lundgren returned to mainstream prominence in 2010 with his role as Gunner Jensen in Sylvester Stallone's ensemble action film The Expendables. Described by Lundgren as "an old-school, kick-ass action movie," it featured an all-star cast of action heroes. Despite mixed critical reviews, the film was a commercial success, opening at number one at the box office in the United States, the United Kingdom, China, and India. He reprised his role in the sequels The Expendables 2 (2012) and The Expendables 3 (2014), and is expected to return for The Expendables 4.

In 2011, Lundgren starred in In the Name of the King 2: Two Worlds, and had supporting roles in Small Apartments and Stash House. He also starred with Cuba Gooding Jr. in One in the Chamber. In 2013, he co-starred with Stone Cold Steve Austin in The Package, which was not a financial success. He also appeared in Legendary, Battle of the Damned, Ambushed, and Blood of Redemption that year.

In 2014, Lundgren co-starred with Cung Le in Puncture Wounds. He then wrote, produced, and starred in Skin Trade, an action thriller about human trafficking, alongside Tony Jaa and Ron Perlman. Filming took place in Thailand and Vancouver. He also filmed a cameo as a Soviet submarine captain in the Coen brothers' 2016 comedy film Hail, Caesar!.

The year 2015 saw Lundgren in several direct-to-video films, including Shark Lake, where he played Clint Gray, a black-market dealer responsible for releasing a dangerous shark into Lake Tahoe, a film with a budget of 2.00 M USD. He also starred in War Pigs, which premiered at the GI Film Festival, playing Captain Hans Picault, a French Legionnaire training a US Army group to fight Nazis. In August 2015, he began filming Kindergarten Cop 2, a sequel to the 1990 comedy starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, portraying Agent Reed, an officer undercover as a kindergarten teacher. Other films that year included The Good, the Bad and the Dead and Riot.

In 2017, he starred in the music video for Imagine Dragons' "Believer" as a boxer. He also appeared in the Syfy film Sharknado 5: Global Swarming as the future version of Gil Shepard. Other film appearances included Larceny, Altitude, and Dead Trigger.

The year 2018 marked a significant "comeback" for Lundgren. He starred in Black Water with Jean-Claude Van Damme, their fifth collaboration and the first time they appeared as on-screen allies. He reprised his iconic role as Ivan Drago in Creed II, the sequel to Creed. In this film, he portrayed an older, impoverished Drago, and introduced Drago's son, Viktor. Additionally, Lundgren joined the DC Extended Universe film Aquaman, directed by James Wan, as the underwater king Nereus.

In 2021, Lundgren returned to directing a feature film after nearly 12 years with Castle Falls, in which he also starred as Richard Ericson. He also had a voice role in Seal Team as Dolph the dolphin. In 2022, he voiced Svengeance in Minions: The Rise of Gru and appeared in a series of de-aged Old Spice advertisements, as well as a FanDuel campaign. His recent films include Operation Seawolf and Section Eight (2022), and The Best Man and Showdown at the Grand (2023). He reprised his role as King Nereus in Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom (2023). In 2024, he directed, wrote, produced, and starred in Wanted Man. He is also involved in an uncompleted film called A Man Will Rise and a documentary about himself titled Dolph.

2.5. Television and Other Ventures

Lundgren has made several forays into television. In 2010, he made a guest appearance on the TV series Chuck in the fourth-season premiere, playing Russian spy Marco, with references to his Rocky IV character, Ivan Drago.

Beyond acting, Lundgren was one of three hosts for the 2010 Melodifestivalen, the competition that selects Sweden's entry for the Eurovision Song Contest. His performance, particularly his rendition of Elvis Presley's "A Little Less Conversation", was widely praised by critics and audiences alike.

His television series appearances include a starring role as Captain John Eriksson in SAF3 (2013-2014) and a recurring role as Konstantin Kovar in the fifth season of Arrow (2016-2017). He also appeared as himself in an episode of Workaholics (2015) and voiced himself in an episode of Sanjay and Craig (2015). He made cameo appearances in the TV films Tour de Pharmacy (2017) and Sharknado 5: Global Swarming (2017), and in the pilot episode of Broken Sidewalk (2018). In 2019, he appeared as John Thundergun in an episode of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia.

Lundgren's ventures extend to music videos and soundtracks. He appeared uncredited as a bodyguard in Body Count's "Body Count's in the House" (1992) and starred as a submarine captain in Irson Kudikova's "Kosmosa" (2006). In 2017, he took a starring role as a boxer in Imagine Dragons' music video for "Believer". He also contributed to the soundtracks of Red Scorpion (1988) with "State Anthem of the Soviet Union" and Command Performance (2009) with "Breakdown" and "Girl". His singing was featured in Melodifestivalen 2010 and the show Gylne tider.

He has lent his voice to video games, including the role of Gunner Jensen in The Expendables 2 Videogame (2012). Lundgren has also performed in theater productions, including "Another Octopus" and "Watching Fire" in 1994, and "Force Majeure" in 1995, where he played a Death-Row Prisoner.

4.1. Relationships and Family

During the 1980s, Lundgren was in a relationship with Jamaican singer Grace Jones. They met in Sydney, Australia, while he was a bouncer and completing his master's degree. Jones hired him as her bodyguard, and their relationship developed, leading him to move to the United States with her. He also had a relationship with American model Paula Barbieri in the 1980s.

In 1994, Lundgren married Anette Qviberg, a jewelry designer and fashion stylist, in Marbella, Spain. They found Marbella appealing and eventually purchased a family home there. The couple has two daughters: Ida Sigrid Lundgren, born in 1996, and Greta Eveline Lundgren, born in 2001; both were born in Stockholm. Lundgren and Qviberg chose to live outside Hollywood to provide their children with as normal a childhood as possible. Their elder daughter, Ida, who is 71 in ^{(180 cm)} tall, has followed in her father's footsteps and become an actress. Lundgren and Qviberg divorced in 2011.

From 2011 to 2017, Lundgren was in a relationship with Jenny Sandersson. In June 2020, he became engaged to Norwegian personal trainer Emma Krokdal, who is nearly 40 years his junior. They were married at their villa in Mykonos on July 13, 2023.

4.2. Personal Experiences and Health

In May 2009, Lundgren's Marbella home was targeted by three masked burglars. The intruders reportedly tied up and threatened his wife but fled after discovering a family photo and realizing the house belonged to Lundgren. He later stated his belief that the intruders were Eastern European and had sought contacts in Bulgaria to investigate, though without success. The incident had a lasting impact on his family, with his elder daughter, Ida, suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, and his wife being "most traumatized."

In May 2023, Lundgren publicly revealed that he had been battling kidney cancer since 2015. He sought medical attention in 2020 in Sweden due to severe reflux disease. An MRI scan subsequently revealed cancerous tumors in his lungs and liver. It later emerged that the cancer had spread to his kidneys and spinal cord, leading doctors to initially give him only two to three years to live. Lundgren has expressed concerns that his use of anabolic steroids on and off from the mid-1980s to the mid-1990s might be linked to his cancer.

4.3. Citizenship and Residence

Dolph Lundgren is a Swedish national. In February 2024, he and his wife, Emma Krokdal, officially became US citizens. He divides his time between his homes in Stockholm and Los Angeles.

Lundgren is also an avid football fan. While living in Europe, he supported Everton F.C., but after moving to Los Angeles, his interest shifted more towards international football tournaments such as the UEFA European Championship and the FIFA World Cup.