Bo Svenson facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Bo Svenson
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Svenson in 2023
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| Born | 13 February 1941 Gothenburg, Sweden
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| Occupation | Actor, film director, film producer, screenwriter |
| Years active | 1965–present |
| Spouse(s) |
Lise Svenson
(m. 1966) |
| Children | 3 |
Bo Svenson was born on February 13, 1941. He is an actor, director, producer, and writer from Sweden and America. He is well-known for his roles in many American movies from the 1970s and 1980s.
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Early Life and Training
Bo Svenson was born in Sweden. His father, Birger Ragnar Svensson, was an athlete and worked as a driver and bodyguard for the King of Sweden. His mother, Iris Viola "Lola" Svensson, was a musician and led a big band.
When Bo was 17, he moved to the United States. He joined the United States Marine Corps and served for six years before leaving with an honorable discharge. After his time in the military, Svenson lived in Florida. He worked at different jobs, including being a professional race car driver. His first home in the U.S. was Georgia, where he learned the Southern accent he later used in some of his acting roles. He is now a citizen of the United States.
Bo Svenson also has a high-level black belt (fourth degree) in judo. He earned his first black belt in Japan in 1961 while he was a Marine. This was at Kodokan, which is the main training center for Judo. In 1961, he was the Far East Judo Champion in the Heavyweight group.
Bo Svenson's Acting Career
In the late 1960s, Bo Svenson had a regular role in the TV show Here Come the Brides. He played a lumberjack named Olaf "Big Swede" Gustavsen. In 1973, he appeared in a TV movie called Frankenstein, where he played the "Creature."
One of his first big movie roles was with Robert Redford in The Great Waldo Pepper. In this movie, Redford and Svenson played pilots who used to fly for the U.S. Army Air Service in World War I. After the war, they became barnstorming pilots, doing dangerous but exciting stunts across the Midwest in the 1920s.
Bo Svenson then took over the role of lawman Buford Pusser in the movies that followed the popular 1973 film Walking Tall. The real Buford Pusser had planned to play the role himself but sadly died in a car crash. Svenson played Pusser again in the TV show Walking Tall in 1981.
One of his most famous movie roles was as Michael McBain in the 1976 movie Breaking Point. He also played a Soviet agent named Ivan in an episode of Magnum, P.I. in 1982. Many years later, he had a small role as an American colonel in the movie Inglourious Basterds. This was a special nod to his role in an earlier movie called The Inglorious Bastards. He is the only actor who appeared in both of these films.
Working with Fred Williamson
Bo Svenson has acted in several movies with Fred Williamson. Some of these films include The Inglorious Bastards (1978), Deadly Impact (1984), Delta Force Commando (1987), and The Kill Reflex (1989).
Beyond Acting
Bo Svenson is still very active in the entertainment world. He is the founder and CEO of MagicQuest Entertainment, a Hollywood production company that started in 1975. He also founded and is CEO of CanAm Film Corp., a company in British Columbia that began in 1992.
Selected Filmography
Movies
- 1974: The Great Waldo Pepper as Axel Olsson
- 1975: Walking Tall Part 2 as Buford Pusser
- 1976: Breaking Point as Michael McBain
- 1977: Walking Tall: Final Chapter as Buford Pusser
- 1978: The Inglorious Bastards as Lieutenant Robert Yeager
- 1986: The Delta Force as Captain Campbell
- 1986: Armour of God as Monk
- 1997: Speed 2: Cruise Control as Captain Pollard
- 2004: Kill Bill: Volume 2 as Reverend Harmony
- 2009: Inglourious Basterds as American Colonel
Television Shows
- 1968: Here Come the Brides as Big Swede (10 episodes)
- 1973: Kung Fu as Pike
- 1977: Snowbeast as Gar Seberg (TV movie)
- 1981: Walking Tall as Sheriff Buford Pusser (7 episodes)
- 1982: Magnum, P.I. as Ivan
- 1988: Murder, She Wrote as Karl Anderson (2 episodes)
- 2002: JAG as Captain Mikhail Yerastov (2 episodes)
Director
- 1996: The Road Home
- 1996–1998: Kung Fu: The Legend Continues (TV series)
- 2010: Moomins and the Comet Chase
Producer
- 1998: Yukie (Co-producer)
- 2004: Legacy (Producer)
- 2006: Raising Jeffrey Dahmer (Co-producer)
Writer
- 2001: Outlaw
- 2004: Legacy
