Born:
November 03, 1957
in
Stockholm, Sweden
Best Known For:
Playing Ivan Drago in Rocky IV.
Early-life:
Born Hans Lundgren in Stockholm on November 3, 1957, Dolph was the son of an engineer and a languages teacher. He was one of four children. In the 1970s, he studied chemistry at Washington State University and Clemson University in South Carolina, served his two-year national service in the Swedish Marine Corps and graduated with a degree in chemical engineering from the Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm. In 1982, he graduated with a master's degree in chemical engineering from the University of Sydney. In 1983, he was preparing to move to Boston to study at Massachusetts Institute of Technology when singer Grace Jones hired him as a bodyguard.
Career:
Lundgren made the move into acting and had a bit part in the 007 adventure A View to a Kill in 1985, but it was Rocky IV the same year that made him a household name. Lundgren also played He-Man in the movie Masters of the Universe (1987) and was the first actor to play Marvel comics hero The Punisher on the big screen in 1989. Other notable projects include 1992 blockbuster Universal Soldier and Keanu Reeves' sci-fi flop Johnny Mnemonic (1995). He's spent the past few years making a string of low-budget action adventures, including The Peacekeeper (1997), Hidden Agenda (2001) and The Defender (2004), appeared in Sylvester Stallone's action flick The Expendables (2010) and its two sequels and returned to the Universal Soldier franchise for two sequels. In 2013, he began starring in American TV action drama SAF3.
Quote:
"I was a movie star before having the chance to become an actor, so now I'm trying to backtrack."
Trivia:
During his years of studying, Lundgren attained the rank of 2nd dan black belt in Kyokushin karate.