Dolph Lundgren facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Dolph Lundgren
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Lundgren in 2024
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Hans Lundgren
3 November 1957 Stockholm, Sweden
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| Education | KTH Royal Institute of Technology (BSc) University of Sydney (ME) Washington State University Clemson University Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
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| Years active | 1979–present |
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Full list |
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| Children | 2 |
Hans "Dolph" Lundgren (born November 3, 1957) is a Swedish actor, filmmaker, and martial artist. He is famous for playing tough guys and heroes in action movies. Lundgren's first big role was in the 1985 James Bond movie A View to a Kill. That same year, he became a star playing the powerful Soviet boxer Ivan Drago in Rocky IV.
Lundgren became a major action star in the 1980s and 1990s. He starred in movies like Masters of the Universe (1987), The Punisher (1989), and Showdown in Little Tokyo (1991). He also played the villain Sergeant Andrew Scott in the Universal Soldier movies with Jean-Claude Van Damme.
In the 2000s, Lundgren began directing his own movies, including The Defender (2004) and The Mechanik (2005). He returned to major movies in 2010 as Gunner Jensen in The Expendables and its sequels. He also appeared in big films like Aquaman (2018) and returned as Ivan Drago in Creed II (2018).
Besides acting, Lundgren is very smart and athletic. He has a master's degree in chemical engineering. He is also a skilled martial artist with a 4th dan black belt in Kyokushin karate. He even won the European championships in 1980 and 1981.
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Early Life and Education
Hans Lundgren was born in Stockholm, Sweden. His mother was a language teacher, and his father was an engineer for the Swedish government. He has two sisters and a brother. Growing up, Lundgren had a difficult relationship with his father. This experience motivated him to become strong in sports like boxing and karate.
As a child, Lundgren was interested in drumming and wanted to be a rock star. He started practicing martial arts like judo and karate when he was young. He also began lifting weights as a teenager. After finishing high school with excellent grades, he received scholarships to study in the United States. He studied chemical engineering at Washington State University and Clemson University.
Lundgren served for one year in the Swedish military. He later earned a degree in chemical engineering from the Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm. In 1982, he earned a master's degree in chemical engineering from the University of Sydney in Australia. He was even awarded a special scholarship to the famous MIT in 1983. However, he decided to pursue acting instead.
Martial Arts Career
While studying, Lundgren became a top karate competitor. He trained for five years to earn his black belt in Kyokushin karate. He was the captain of the Swedish Kyokushin karate team. He competed in the 1979 World Open Tournament.
Lundgren won the European championships in both 1980 and 1981. He also won a karate tournament in Australia in 1982. His skill in martial arts helped him get his start in action movies.
Acting Career
Breakthrough as Ivan Drago
Lundgren's acting career began with a small part as a KGB agent in the 1985 James Bond film A View to a Kill. His big break came later that year when he was cast as Ivan Drago in Rocky IV. He was chosen from 5,000 actors for the role.
To play the powerful boxer, Lundgren trained hard for five months. He focused on bodybuilding and boxing. His character's famous lines, "If he dies, he dies" and "I must break you," are some of the most memorable in the Rocky series. The movie was a huge success and made Lundgren an international star overnight.
An Action Movie Star
After Rocky IV, Lundgren became a leading man in action films. In 1987, he played the hero He-Man in Masters of the Universe, based on the popular cartoon. In 1989, he starred as the comic book character Frank Castle in The Punisher.
Throughout the 1990s, he starred in many action movies. In I Come in Peace (1990), he played a tough cop fighting an alien. In Showdown in Little Tokyo (1991), he teamed up with Brandon Lee as police officers fighting the yakuza.
One of his most famous roles from this time was in Universal Soldier (1992). He co-starred with Jean-Claude Van Damme. They played soldiers brought back to life as super-warriors. The movie was a big box office hit around the world.
Directing and Recent Roles
In the 2000s, Lundgren started directing his own films. His first was The Defender (2004), which he also starred in. He went on to direct other movies like The Mechanik (2005) and Missionary Man (2007).
In 2010, Lundgren returned to the spotlight in The Expendables. He joined a cast of famous action stars, including Sylvester Stallone, Jason Statham, and Jet Li. He played Gunner Jensen and returned for the sequels, The Expendables 2 and The Expendables 3.
He has continued to appear in major films. In 2018, he played King Nereus in the superhero movie Aquaman. That same year, he brought back his iconic character, Ivan Drago, in Creed II. The film explored what happened to Drago after his fight with Rocky Balboa.
Personal Life
Lundgren speaks Swedish and English, and knows some French, German, Italian, Japanese, and Spanish. He is a big fan of football and supports teams from around the world.
In 1994, he married Anette Qviberg, a jewelry designer. They have two daughters, Ida and Greta. The family lived in Marbella, Spain, for many years. Lundgren and Qviberg divorced in 2011. In July 2023, Lundgren married Emma Krokdal, a personal trainer from Norway.
In May 2023, Lundgren shared that he had been treated for kidney cancer since 2015. In February 2024, he and his wife Emma officially became U.S. citizens.
Filmography
Awards and Honors
| Nominated work | Year | Award | Results |
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| Rocky IV | 1985 | Marshall Trophy for Best Actor | Won |
Special awards
| Ceremony | Year | Award | Results |
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| Málaga International Week of Fantastic Cinema | 2007 | Fantastic Lantern | Won |
| Nominated work | Year | Award | Results |
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| Rocky IV | 2013 | Lifetime Achievement Award Best Actor Historical Blockbuster | Won |
Images for kids
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Lundgren in 2007
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Lundgren and Mathew Pritchard at the 2015 annual Gumball 3000 event in Stockholm, Sweden
See also
In Spanish: Dolph Lundgren para niños
