Dolph Lundgren is a Swedish-American actor, filmmaker, and martial artist. Lundgren's breakthrough came in 1985, when he starred in Rocky IV as the imposing Soviet boxer Ivan Drago. Since then, he has starred in more than 69 films, almost all of them in the action genre.
Lundgren received a degree in chemical engineering from the Royal Institute of Technology in the early 1980s and a master's degree in chemical engineering from the University of Sydney in 1982. He holds the rank of 4th dan black belt in Kyokushin karate and was European champion in 1980–81. While in Sydney, he became a bodyguard for Jamaican singer Grace Jones and began a relationship with her. He received a Fulbright scholarship to MIT and moved to Boston. Jones convinced him to leave the university and move to New York City to be with her and begin acting, where, after a short stint as a model and bouncer at the Manhattan nightclub The Limelight, Lundgren got a small debut role as a KGB henchman in the James Bond film A View to a Kill.
After appearing in Rocky IV, Lundgren portrayed He-Man in the 1987 science fantasy film Masters of the Universe, Lt. Rachenko in Red Scorpion (1988) and Frank Castle in the 1989 film The Punisher. Throughout the 1990s he appeared in films such as I Come in Peace (1990), Cover Up (1991), Showdown in Little Tokyo (1991), Universal Soldier film series (1992, 2009, 2012), Joshua Tree (1993), Pentathlon (1994), Men of War (1994), Johnny Mnemonic (1995), The Shooter (1995), Silent Trigger (1996), The Peacekeeper (1997), and Blackjack (1998). In 2004 he directed his first film, The Defender, and subsequently directed The Mechanik (2005), Missionary Man (2007), Command Performance (2009), Icarus (2010), Castle Falls (2021) and Wanted Man (2024), also starring in all of them.
After a long spell performing in direct-to-video films since 1995, Lundgren returned to Hollywood in 2010 with the role of Gunnar Jensen in The Expendables, alongside Sylvester Stallone and an all-action star cast. He reprised his role in The Expendables 2 (2012) and The Expendables 3 (2014). Also in 2014, he co-starred in Skin Trade, an action thriller about human trafficking he co-wrote and produced. He reprised his role of Ivan Drago in Creed II (2018), and is due to reprise his role as Gunner Jensen in Expend4bles.[1][2] He appears in Sharknado 5: Global Swarming (2017), playing the protagonist's son Gil as an adult, and in Aquaman (2018), playing the father of Mera. He also had a recurring role in the fifth season of Arrow.
Film
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| Year | Title | Role | Notes | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1985 | A View to a Kill | Venz | Cameo | |
| 1985 | Rocky IV | Captain Ivan Drago | ||
| 1987 | Masters of the Universe | He-Man | ||
| 1987 | Maximum Potential | Himself | Direct-to-video; also writer | |
| 1988 | Red Scorpion | Lieutenant Nikolai Petrovitch Rachenko | ||
| 1988 | R.P.G. II | Lifeguard | Short film; cameo | |
| 1989 | The Punisher | Francis "Frank" Castle / The Punisher | Direct-to-video | [3] |
| 1990 | I Come in Peace | Detective Jack Caine | ||
| 1991 | Cover Up | Mike Anderson | Direct-to-video | |
| 1991 | Showdown in Little Tokyo | Sergeant Chris Kenner | ||
| 1992 | Universal Soldier | Sergeant Andrew Scott / GR13 | [4] | |
| 1993 | Joshua Tree | Wellman Anthony Santee | Direct-to-video | |
| 1994 | Sunny Side Up | Himself | Cameo | |
| 1994 | Pentathlon | Eric Brogar | Also executive producer | |
| 1994 | Men of War | Nick Gunar | Direct-to-video | |
| 1995 | Johnny Mnemonic | Karl Honig | ||
| 1995 | The Shooter | U.S. Marshal Michael Dane | Direct-to-video | [5] |
| 1996 | Silent Trigger | Waxman "Shooter" | ||
| 1997 | The Peacekeeper | Major Frank Cross | ||
| 1998 | The Minion | Lukas Sadorov | ||
| 1998 | Sweepers | Christian Erickson | ||
| 1999 | Bridge of Dragons | Warchild | ||
| 1999 | Storm Catcher | Major Jack Holloway | ||
| 2000 | Jill Rips | Matt Sorenson | ||
| 2000 | The Last Warrior | Captain Nick Preston | ||
| 2000 | Agent Red | Captain Matt Hendricks | ||
| 2001 | Hidden Agenda | Agent Jason Price | ||
| 2003 | Detention | Sam Decker | ||
| 2004 | Direct Action | Sergeant Frank Gannon | ||
| 2004 | Fat Slags | Randy | Cameo | |
| 2004 | Retrograde | Captain John Foster | Direct-to-video | |
| 2004 | The Defender | Lance Rockford | Direct-to-video; also director | |
| 2005 | The Mechanik | Nikolai "Nick" Cherenko | Direct-to-video; also story and director | |
| 2006 | The Inquiry | Brixos | ||
| 2007 | Diamond Dogs | Xander Ronson | Direct-to-video; also uncredited director and executive producer | |
| 2007 | Missionary Man | Ryder | Limited release; also writer and director | |
| 2009 | Direct Contact | Mike Riggins | Direct-to-video | |
| 2009 | Command Performance | Joe Reynolds | Direct-to-video; also writer and director | |
| 2009 | Universal Soldier: Regeneration | Sergeant Andrew Scott | Limited release | |
| 2010 | Icarus | Edward "Eddie" Genn / Icarus | Limited release; also director | |
| 2010 | The Expendables | Gunner Jensen | ||
| 2011 | In the Name of the King 2: Two Worlds | Granger | Direct-to-video | |
| 2012 | Small Apartments | Dr. Sage Mennox | Limited release | |
| 2012 | Stash House | Andy Spector | Limited release; also executive producer | |
| 2012 | One in the Chamber | Aleksey "The Wolf" Andreev | Direct-to-video | |
| 2012 | The Expendables 2 | Gunner Jensen | ||
| 2012 | Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning | Sergeant Andrew Scott | Limited release | |
| 2012 | The Package | "The German" | ||
| 2013 | Legendary | Harker | Direct-to-video | |
| 2013 | Battle of the Damned | Major Max Gatling | Limited release; also executive producer | |
| 2013 | Ambushed | Agent Evan Maxwell | Direct-to-video; also producer | |
| 2013 | Blood of Redemption | Axel "The Swede" | Direct-to-video | |
| 2014 | Puncture Wounds | Hollis | Direct-to-video; also producer | |
| 2014 | The Expendables 3 | Gunner Jensen | ||
| 2014 | Skin Trade | Detective Nick Cassidy | Limited release; also story writer and producer | |
| 2015 | War Pigs | Captain Hans Picault | Limited release | |
| 2015 | The Good, the Bad, and the Dead | Agent Bob Rooker | Direct-to-video | |
| 2015 | Shark Lake | Clint Gray | Limited release; also producer | |
| 2015 | Riot | Agent William | Direct-to-video | |
| 2015 | Malchishnik | Natasha's Husband | Cameo | |
| 2016 | Hail, Caesar! | Submarine Commander | Uncredited еxtra | [6] |
| 2016 | Kindergarten Cop 2 | Agent Zack Reed | Direct-to-video; also executive producer | |
| 2016 | Don't Kill It | Jebediah Woodley | Limited release; also executive producer | |
| 2016 | Female Fight Club | Sam Holt | Limited release | |
| 2016 | Welcome to Willits | Officer Derek Hutchinson | ||
| 2017 | Larceny | Jack | Direct-to-video | |
| 2017 | Altitude | Matthew Sharpe | Limited release | |
| 2017 | Dead Trigger | Captain Kyle Walker | ||
| 2018 | Black Water | Marco | ||
| 2018 | Creed II | Captain Ivan Drago | ||
| 2018 | Aquaman | King Nereus | ||
| 2019 | The Tracker | Aiden Hakansson | Limited release | |
| 2019 | Acceleration | Vladik Zorich | ||
| 2019 | Hard Night Falling | Michael Anderson | Direct-to-video; also producer | |
| 2021 | Pups Alone | Victor | Limited release | |
| 2021 | Seal Team | Dolph | Voice role | |
| 2021 | Castle Falls | Richard Ericson | Limited release; also director and producer | |
| 2022 | Minions: The Rise of Gru | Svengeance | Voice role | |
| 2022 | Section Eight | Captain Tom Mason | Limited release; also executive producer | |
| 2022 | Operation Seawolf | Captain Hans Kessler | Limited release | |
| 2022 | Come Out Fighting | Major Chase Anderson | Direct-to-video | |
| 2023 | The Best Man | Anders | Limited release | |
| 2023 | Expend4bles | Gunner Jensen | ||
| 2023 | Showdown at the Grand | Claude Luc Hallyday | Limited release | |
| 2023 | Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom | King Nereus | ||
| 2024 | Wanted Man | Detective Travis Johansen | Limited release; also writer, director and producer; | |
| 2025 | Hellfire | Wiley | Post-production | |
| 2025 | Exit Protocol | Charles Managold | Post-production | |
| 2025 | Mutant Year Zero | TBA | Voice role; in production | |
| 2025 | Dolph: Fights Worth Fighting | Himself | Documentary film; also executive producer; post-production |
Television
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1989 | Les Nuls | Himself - Pleurnisher | Episode: Pleurnisher; cameo | [7][8] |
| 1998 | Blackjack | U.S. Marshal Jack Devlin | Television pilot for an unproduced TV series | |
| 2010 | Chuck | Marco | Episode: "Chuck Versus the Anniversary" | |
| 2013–2014 | SAF3 | Captain John Eriksson | 12 episodes | |
| 2015 | Workaholics | Himself | Episode: "Blood Drive" | |
| 2015 | Sanjay and Craig | Himself | Episode: "Huggle Day"; voice role | |
| 2016–2017 | Arrow | Konstantin Kovar | 6 episodes | |
| 2017 | Tour de Pharmacy | Gustav Ditters | Television film; cameo | |
| 2017 | Sharknado 5: Global Swarming | Mature Gil Shepard | Television film; cameo | |
| 2018 | Broken Sidewalk | Herb | Television pilot short for an unproduced TV series | |
| 2019 | It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia | John Thundergun | Episode: "Thunder Gun 4: Maximum Cool"; cameo | |
| TBA | The Witcher Rats | Brehen | Post-production |
Commercial
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Supercell's Squad Busters: Squad Up! | Barbarian #2 |
Theatre
edit| Year | Title | Role | Venue | Notes | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | Another Octopus | Unknown | Unknown | [9] | |
| 1994 | Watching Fire | Unknown | Unknown | [9] | |
| 1995 | Force Majeure | Death-Row Prisoner | Unknown | [10] |
Music videos
edit| Year | Title | Role | Performer | Notes | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1992 | "Body Count's in the House" | Himself | Body Count | Uncredited cameo | [11] |
| 2006 | "Kosmosa" | Submarine Captain | Irson Kudikova | ||
| 2017 | "Believer" | Boxer | Imagine Dragons |
Soundtrack appearances
edit| Year | Title | Song | Notes | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1988 | Red Scorpion | "State Anthem of the Soviet Union" | ||
| 2009 | Command Performance | "Breakdown", "Girl" | ||
| 2010 | Melodifestivalen 2010 | "A Little Less Conversation", "Eye of the Tiger" | 2 episodes | |
| 2010 | Gylne tider | "Let It Be" | Episode: "Episode #4.3" |
Video game
edit| Year | Title | Voice role | Notes | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | The Expendables 2 Videogame | Gunner Jensen |
References
edit- ^ Wales, George. "Confirmed: The Expendables 4 will arrive in 2017", www.gamesradar.com, published 10 December 2015. Retrieved 15 October 2015.
- ^ Guerra, Victoria. "The Expendables 2015: 4th Installment Shooting Next Year, Which Mercenaries Return For Sequel?", www.foodworldnews.com, published 10 December 2015. Retrieved 15 October 2015.
- ^ "The Punisher: Dolph Lundgren Returns as Frank Castle in Photoshoot". CBR. November 16, 2019. Retrieved January 26, 2022.
- ^ "Universal Soldier". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved January 26, 2022.
- ^ "The Shooter (1994)". Radio Times. Retrieved January 26, 2022.
- ^ Foutch, Haleigh (May 6, 2015). "HAIL CAESAR! Character Details Revealed: Channing Tatum Is a Wannabe Communist". Collider.
- ^ "Les nuls, l'émission – Saison 1 – Zabou (Guesch Patti)". Vodkaster (in French). Retrieved 2020-08-19.
- ^ "Les Nuls - Pleurnisher". YouTube. 16 February 2011. Retrieved 29 April 2021.
- ^ a b "Dolph: the ultimate guide filmography". Dolph-ultimate.com. Retrieved 18 August 2011.
- ^ "DOLPH :: Force Majeure". Doplh Ultimate Guide.
- ^ Foywonder (1 December 2012). "B-Sides: Universal Soldiers Leave Behind a Body Count". Dread Central.