CINEFILER

Dolph Lundgren

Born
November 3, 1957
Hans Lundgren (born 3 November 1957), better known as Dolph Lundgren, is a Swedish 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), and Icarus (2010), 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 The Expendables 4. 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.
Known For
Aquaman
(2018)
King Nereus
Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom
(2023)
King Nereus
Creed II
(2018)
Ivan Drago
Expend4bles
(2023)
Gunner Jensen
Rocky IV
(1985)
Ivan Drago
Minions: The Rise of Gru
(2022)
Svengeance (voice)
The Expendables
(2010)
Gunner Jensen
Come Out Fighting
(2023)
Major Chase Anderson
The Expendables 3
(2014)
Gunner Jensen
Dark Angel
(1990)
Det. Jack Caine
The Expendables 2
(2012)
Gunner Jensen
Universal Soldier
(1992)
Andrew Scott / GR13
Hail, Caesar!
(2016)
Submarine Commander (uncredited)
The Punisher
(1989)
Frank Castle / The Punisher
Seal Team
(2021)
Dolph (voice)
A View to a Kill
(1985)
Venz
Full Filmography
Acting
Rocky IV
(1985)
Ivan Drago
A View to a Kill
(1985)
Venz
The Making of Captain EO
(1986)
Self
Masters of the Universe
(1987)
He-Man
Dolph Lundgren: Maximum Potential
(1987)
Himself
Red Scorpion
(1988)
Lt. Nikolai Rachenko
The Punisher
(1989)
Frank Castle / The Punisher
Dark Angel
(1990)
Det. Jack Caine
Showdown in Little Tokyo
(1991)
Sgt. Chris Kenner
Cover-Up
(1991)
Mike Anderson
Universal Soldier
(1992)
Andrew Scott / GR13
Joshua Tree
(1993)
Wellman Anthony Santee
Pentathlon
(1994)
Eric Brogar
Men of War
(1994)
Nick Gunar
Sunny Side Up
(1994)
Dolph Lundgren
Johnny Mnemonic
(1995)
Street Preacher
The Shooter
(1995)
Michael Dane
Silent Trigger
(1996)
Waxman
The Peacekeeper
(1997)
Frank Cross
Sweepers
(1998)
Christian Erickson
Blackjack
(1998)
Jack Devlin
The Minion
(1998)
Lukas Sadorov
Storm Catcher
(1999)
Major Jack Holloway
Bridge of Dragons
(1999)
Warchild
The Last Patrol
(2000)
Nick Preston
Agent Red
(2000)
Matt Hendricks
Jill Rips
(2000)
Matt Sorenson
Hidden Agenda
(2001)
Jason Price
Detention
(2003)
Sam Decker
Fat Slags
(2004)
Randy
The Defender
(2004)
Lance Rockford
Direct Action
(2004)
Frank Gannon
Retrograde
(2004)
John Foster
Universal Soldier: A Tale of Two Titans
(2004)
Himself
Guns, Genes & Fighting Machines: The Making of 'Universal Soldier'
(2004)
Himself
The Russian Specialist
(2005)
Nikolai Cherenko
Oyama Karate Kyokushinkai
(2005)
The Opponents
(2006)
Self / Ivan Drago
The Final Inquiry
(2007)
Brixos
Missionary Man
(2007)
Ryder
Diamond Dogs
(2007)
Xander Ronson
Direct Contact
(2009)
Mike Riggins
Command Performance
(2009)
Joe
Universal Soldier: Regeneration
(2009)
Andrew Scott
Family Guy Presents: Something, Something, Something, Dark Side
(2009)
Ivan Dragon (voice)
Direct Your Own Damn Movie!
(2009)
Self
The Expendables
(2010)
Gunner Jensen
Icarus
(2010)
Edward Genn / Icarus
Inferno: The Making of 'The Expendables'
(2010)
Self
Casino Jack and the United States of Money
(2010)
Lt. Nikolai Rachenko (archive footage)
In the Name of the King 2: Two Worlds
(2011)
Granger
The Rocky Saga: Going the Distance
(2011)
Self
The Expendables 2
(2012)
Gunner Jensen
Small Apartments
(2012)
Dr. Sage Mennox
Stash House
(2012)
Andy Spector
Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning
(2012)
Andrew Scott
One in the Chamber
(2012)
Aleksey Andreev
The Package
(2012)
The German
All Out of Bullets
(2012)
Gods of War: Assembling Earth's Mightiest Anti-Heroes
(2012)
Himself
Battle of the Damned
(2013)
Max Gatling
Blood of Redemption
(2013)
Axel
Ambushed
(2013)
Maxwell
Legendary: Tomb of the Dragon
(2013)
Harker
Days of Reckoning: The Making of Universal Soldier 4
(2013)
Self
The Expendables 3
(2014)
Gunner Jensen
Puncture Wounds
(2014)
Hollis
Electric Boogaloo: The Wild, Untold Story of Cannon Films
(2014)
Self - Actor
Skin Trade
(2014)
Nick Cassidy
The Making of The Expendables 3
(2014)
Self
Shark Lake
(2015)
Clint Gray
The Real Miyagi
(2015)
Self
War Pigs
(2015)
Captain Hans Picault
7 Days in Hell
(2015)
Dolph Lundgren
4Got10
(2015)
Bob Rooker
Riot
(2015)
William
From Rocky to Creed: The Legacy Continues
(2015)
Self
Kindergarten Cop 2
(2016)
Agent Reed
Hail, Caesar!
(2016)
Submarine Commander (uncredited)
Welcome to Willits
(2016)
Derek
Don't Kill It
(2016)
Jebediah Woodley
Female Fight Squad
(2017)
Holt
Altitude
(2017)
Sharpe
Larceny
(2017)
Jack
Tour de Pharmacy
(2017)
Gustav Ditters Present Day
Sharknado 5: Global Swarming
(2017)
Mature Gil Shepard
Stopping Traffic: The Movement to End Sex Trafficking
(2017)
Self
Dead Trigger
(2017)
Kyle Walker
Power of Grayskull: The Definitive History of He-Man and the Masters of the Universe
(2017)
Self - Actor
Aquaman
(2018)
King Nereus
Black Water
(2018)
Marco
Creed II
(2018)
Ivan Drago
The Tracker
(2019)
Aiden Hakansson
Acceleration
(2019)
Vladik
Hard Night Falling
(2019)
Michael Anderson
One Night: Joshua vs. Ruiz
(2019)
Self
Castle Falls
(2021)
Richard Ericson
Pups Alone
(2021)
Victor von Manure
Seal Team
(2021)
Dolph (voice)
The Making of 'Rocky vs. Drago'
(2021)
Ivan Drago (archive footage)
Minions: The Rise of Gru
(2022)
Svengeance (voice)
Section 8
(2022)
Tom Mason
Operation Seawolf
(2022)
Hans Kessler
Expend4bles
(2023)
Gunner Jensen
Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom
(2023)
King Nereus
Come Out Fighting
(2023)
Major Chase Anderson
The Best Man
(2023)
Anders
Showdown at the Grand
(2023)
Claude Luc Hallyday
Sly
(2023)
Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
Jean-Claude van Damme: Karate King
(2023)
Self (archive footage)
Wanted Man
(2024)
Travis Johansen
Production
Directing
Writing
Data provided by TMDB