Dolph Lundgren is a Swedish actor, filmmaker, and professional martial artist who first entered cinema in 1985 with the legendary boxing film series Rocky. He has since appeared in numerous Hollywood productions, including Universal Soldier, Masters of the Universe, and The Expendables, becoming one of the most recognizable action stars of his generation.

Dolph Lundgren was born on November 3, 1957, in Stockholm, Sweden. His mother, Brigitta Lundgren, was a language teacher, while his father, Karl Lundgren, worked as an economist and engineer for the Swedish government. Raised in Stockholm alongside three siblings, Lundgren was brought up according to Lutheran traditions.

He began weightlifting at a young age and won a bronze medal at the Swedish National Junior Weightlifting Championships. A third-degree black belt in Kyokushin karate, Lundgren also served as captain of Sweden’s national karate team. He became European Karate Champion in 1980 and 1981 and won first place at an Australian martial arts championship in 1982.

Despite his intimidating physical appearance, Dolph Lundgren is one of Hollywood’s most academically accomplished actors. He graduated from Sweden’s Royal Institute of Technology and later earned a doctorate in chemical engineering from the University of Sydney. In 1983, he was awarded a prestigious Fulbright Scholarship to attend the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. After only two weeks at MIT, he chose to leave academia to pursue acting.

Lundgren’s first screen appearance came in 1985 in the James Bond film A View to a Kill, where he portrayed a KGB agent in a brief role. His breakthrough came the same year when he starred opposite Sylvester Stallone as Soviet boxer Ivan Drago in Rocky IV. Selected from over 5,000 candidates, Lundgren transformed his body to 111 kg for the role. Stallone later revealed that Lundgren’s punches during filming were so powerful that he was hospitalized for four days.

His first leading role followed in 1987 with the live-action adaptation Masters of the Universe, where he played He-Man. Although the film underperformed commercially, Lundgren remained active throughout the 1990s, starring in notable titles such as The Punisher, Dark Angel, Showdown in Little Tokyo, Universal Soldier alongside Jean Claude Van Damme, and Johnny Mnemonic with Keanu Reeves.

During the 2000s, Lundgren primarily appeared in lower-budget action films and began directing. From 2004 onward, he directed and starred in films such as The Defender, The Mechanik, Missionary Man, and Command Performance.

After years away from major studio productions, Dolph Lundgren returned to high-profile cinema in 2010 as Gunnar Jensen in The Expendables, joining an ensemble cast that included Jet Li, Jason Statham, and Mickey Rourke. He reprised the role in multiple sequels, reestablishing himself as a major Hollywood action icon.

Since 1994, Lundgren has been married to jewelry designer and stylist Anette Qviberg, with whom he has two daughters. Fluent in English, Swedish, German, French, Spanish, Japanese, and Italian, Lundgren is reputed to have an IQ of 160, often cited as one of the most intelligent actors in Hollywood.

Filmography and Television Work

Director:
2010 – Icarus (Feature Film)
2009 – Command Performance (Feature Film)
2008 – Diamond Dogs (Feature Film)
2007 – Missionary Man (Feature Film)
2005 – The Mechanik (Feature Film)
2004 – The Defender (Feature Film)

Screenwriter:
2015 – Skin Trade (Feature Film)
2009 – Command Performance (Feature Film)
2007 – Missionary Man (Feature Film)
2005 – The Mechanik (Feature Film)

Producer:
2015 – Skin Trade (Feature Film)
2015 – Shark Lake (Feature Film)
2013 – Rush (Feature Film)
2013 – Battle of the Damned (Feature Film)
2008 – Diamond Dogs (Feature Film)
1994 – Pentathlon (Feature Film)

Actor:
2019 – Hard Night Falling (Michael Anderson) (Feature Film)
2019 – Acceleration (Vladik) (Feature Film)
2019 – It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia (John Thundergun) (TV Series)
2019 – The Tracker (Aiden Hakansson) (Feature Film)
2018 – Creed II (Ivan Drago) (Feature Film)
2018 – Black Water (Marco) (Feature Film)
2018 – Aquaman (King Nereus) (Feature Film)
2017 – Sharknado 5: Global Swarming (Mature Gil) (TV Film)
2017 – Dead Trigger (Kyle Walker) (Feature Film)
2017 – Altitude (Matthew Sharpe) (Feature Film)
2016 – Hail, Caesar! (Submarine Captain) (Feature Film)
2016 – Larceny (Jack) (Feature Film)
2016 – Kindergarten Cop 2 (Agent Reed) (Feature Film)
2016 – Female Fight Club (Holt) (Feature Film)
2016 – Don't Kill It (Jebediah Woodley) (Feature Film)
2015 – War Pigs (Captain Hans Picault) (Feature Film)
2015 – Skin Trade (Nick Cassidy) (Feature Film)
2015 – Shark Lake (Clint Gray) (Feature Film)
2015 – Riot (William) (Feature Film)
2015 – Malchishnik (Natasha’s Husband) (Feature Film)
2015 – 4Got10 (Bob Rooker) (Feature Film)
2014 – The Expendables 3 (Gunnar Jensen) (Feature Film)
2014 – A Certain Justice (Hollis) (Feature Film)
2013 – The Package (The German) (Feature Film)
2013 – SAF3 (John Eriksson) (TV Series)
2013 – Rush (Maxwell) (Feature Film)
2013 – Legendary: Tomb of the Dragon (Harker) (Feature Film)
2013 – Blood of Redemption (Axel) (Feature Film)
2013 – Battle of the Damned (Max Gatling) (Feature Film)
2012 – Stash House (Andy Spector) (Feature Film)
2012 – Small Apartments (Dr. Sage Mennox) (Feature Film)
2012 – One in the Chamber (Aleksey Andreev) (Feature Film)
2012 – Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning (Andrew Scott) (Feature Film)
2012 – The Expendables 2 (Gunnar Jensen) (Feature Film)
2011 – In the Name of the King 2: Two Worlds (Granger) (Feature Film)
2010 – Icarus (Edward Genn) (Feature Film)
2010 – The Expendables (Gunnar Jensen) (Feature Film)
2009 – Universal Soldier: Regeneration (Andrew Scott) (Feature Film)
2009 – Direct Contact (Mike Riggins) (Feature Film)
2009 – Command Performance (Joe) (Feature Film)
2008 – Diamond Dogs (Xander Ronson) (Feature Film)
2007 – Missionary Man (Ryder) (Feature Film)
2006 – The Final Inquiry (Brixos) (Feature Film)
2005 – The Mechanik (Nikolai Cherenko) (Feature Film)
2004 – The Defender (Lance Rockford) (Feature Film)
2004 – Retrograde (John Foster) (Feature Film)
2004 – Straight Shooter (Frank Gannon) (Feature Film)
2004 – Fat Slags (Randy) (Feature Film)
2003 – Detention (Sam Decker) (Feature Film)
2001 – Hidden Agenda (Jason Price) (Feature Film)
2000 – The Last Patrol (Nick Preston) (Feature Film)
2000 – Jill the Ripper (Matt Sorenson) (Feature Film)
2000 – Agent Red (Matt Hendricks) (Feature Film)
1999 – Storm Catcher (Jack Holloway) (Feature Film)
1999 – Bridge of Dragons (Warchild) (Feature Film)
1998 – The Minion (Lukas Sadorov) (Feature Film)
1998 – Sweepers (Christian Erickson) (Feature Film)
1998 – Blackjack (Jack Devlin) (TV Film)
1997 – The Peacekeeper (Major Frank Cross) (Feature Film)
1997 – The Postman (Andrew Scott) (Feature Film)
1995 – The Shooter (Michael Dane) (Feature Film)
1995 – Johnny Mnemonic (Karl Honig) (Feature Film)
1994 – Pentathlon (Eric Brogar) (Feature Film)
1994 – Men of War (Nick Gunar) (Feature Film)
1993 – Joshua Tree (Wellman Anthony Santee) (Feature Film)
1992 – Universal Soldier (Andrew Scott) (Feature Film)
1991 – Cover-Up (Mike Anderson) (Feature Film)
1991 – Showdown in Little Tokyo (Chris Kenner) (Feature Film)
1990 – Dark Angel (Jack Caine) (Feature Film)
1989 – The Punisher (Frank Castle) (Feature Film)
1989 – Red Scorpion (Nikolai Rachenko) (Feature Film)
1987 – Masters of the Universe (He-Man) (Feature Film)
1985 – A View to a Kill (Venz) (Feature Film)
1985 – Rocky IV (Ivan Drago) (Feature Film)

Source: Biyografiler.com