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7->''"When I started studying acting in New York, I didn't plan to be an action hero. I just wanted to learn acting because I felt it was something I needed to try to do for myself, to express something, my inner pain, or something I couldn't get out."''
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9Hans "Dolph" Lundgren (born 3 November 1957 in Stockholm, Sweden) is an actor from Sweden, often viewed as "the [[PoorMansSubstitute poor man's]] Creator/ArnoldSchwarzenegger" (but is no less of a MrFanservice). He has won European and Australian karate championships, as well as represented the United States in the 1996 Summer Olympics in pentathlon. He may be one of the best RealLife examples of HiddenDepths, as despite being famous for playing DumbMuscle characters, [[GeniusBruiser he has a master's degree in chemical engineering.]] He is rumoured to have a genius-level IQ, but he denies it.[[note]]In the commercials for ''Brain Games'' on the National Geographic channel he mentions that he has an IQ of 160 (which ''is'' genius level), as well as his master's degree in chemical engineering.[[/note]]
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11Lundgren's first foray in the film industry was a minor role in ''Film/AViewToAKill'' as a KGB mook, Venz, who has two seconds of screentime. He got this role thanks to his then-girlfriend Creator/GraceJones. After that, he got his breakthrough role in ''Film/RockyIV'' as the Russian boxer Ivan Drago, which launched his career in [[ActionGenre action]] movies.
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13Lundgren's first starring role was in the LiveActionAdaptation of ''Film/MastersOfTheUniverse'' as He-Man in 1987, whose fight against Skeletor is taken to Earth. This was followed by ''Franchise/{{Rambo}}''-esque ''Film/RedScorpion'' in 1988, where he plays a Soviet special ops soldier who is sent on an assignment in Africa but ultimately turns against his own after witnessing the atrocities they have committed. After that he was cast in the comic book film ''[[Film/ThePunisher1989 The Punisher]]'' in 1989, where he played the titular vigilante and got bad press for not wearing the [[ClothesMakeTheLegend iconic skull shirt]].
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15At about the mid 90's, Lundgren gradually disappeared from the consciousness of the movie-going audiences but remained active doing smaller DTV movies. After his time in ''Film/TheExpendables'' along with an AllStarCast, he had something of a CareerResurrection, including prominent roles in ''Series/{{Arrow}}'' and ''Film/{{Aquaman|2018}}''. He also featured prominently in the music video for [[Music/ImagineDragons Imagine Dragons']] single ''Believer''.
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17Some people consider him proof that the axiom "All other factors in a fight being equal, the biggest guy wins", especially after watching him knock Creator/JetLi on his butt in ''Film/TheExpendables''.
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19True fact: a bunch of [[http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/spain/5224797/Thieves-flee-after-breaking-into-Dolph-Lundgrens-Spanish-home.html burglars broke into his house and tied up his wife and daughter in 2009]]. Luckily, before they got to anything serious they saw a family photo and realized ''[[OhCrap they had just tied up Dolph Lundgren's wife.]]'' This was in itself enough reason for them to let her go and run away very quickly, thus also saving some wear and tear on the He-Man sword. Unfortunately both wife and daughter suffered from PTSD and trauma after the incident, which may have led to their divorce.
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21----
22!!Other notable films:
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24* ''Film/IComeInPeace'' (1990) in which he plays CowboyCop Jack Caine, who is put against a drug-addicted alien. Also known as ''Dark Angel''.
25* ''Film/ShowdownInLittleTokyo'' (1991). In this movie he fights [[Film/MortalKombatTheMovie Shang Tsung]], makes love to Series/RelicHunter and his [[GagPenis penis size]] is praised by [[Film/TheCrow Eric Draven]]. Truly, a chain of feats that can only be pulled by the one and only Dolph Lundgren.
26* ''Film/UniversalSoldier'' (1992), where he and Creator/JeanClaudeVanDamme play feuding Vietnam vets who after death are re-used in military's experimental [=UniSol=] project, which then goes haywire when the two start remembering who they were in the past. A defining film of TheNineties action movie scene.
27* ''Film/ArmyOfOne'' (1993) in which he plays Wellman Santee, who is escaping the law and must [[ClearMyName clear his name]]. He drives a CoolCar, kills a warehouseful of Asians and makes love to [[Series/DaysOfOurLives Hope Brady]] along the way. Also known as ''Joshua Tree''.
28* ''Film/MenOfWar'' (1994), where he plays Nick Gunnar, a Swedish mercenary who is hired along with a RagtagBunchOfMisfits to coerce the inhabitants of a remote island to give a greedy MegaCorp the rights to exploit their natural resources... only to pull a HeelFaceTurn after finding out that they're after more than natural resources. Cue our Swedish badass almost single-handedly decimating an army of [[{{Mooks}} hired goons]] with a friggin' [[VideoGame/MetalSlug RAWKET LAWNCHAIR]].
29* ''Film/JohnnyMnemonic'' (1995) in which he plays a ChurchMilitant street preacher who is after the titular hero.
30* ''Film/Blackjack1998'', directed by Creator/JohnWoo. With Woo's usual trademarks, so audiences get to see Lundgren kick ass using GunsAkimbo and blow up motorcycle-riding mooks by shooting at their fuel tanks.
31* ''Bridge of Dragons'' (1999) in which he plays a guy called Warchild and fights [[Film/MortalKombatTheMovie Shang Tsung]] ''again''. Titular bridge doesn't appear in the movie at all.
32* ''Detention'' (2003) in which he plays a BadassTeacher who [[SaveOurStudents inspires bunch of detention students]] while battling violent criminals in [[DieHardOnAnX Die Hard On A High School]].
33* ''Film/FatSlags'' (2004) in a quick appearance as Randy.
34* ''Missionary Man'' (2007), a modern-day western in which he wrote, directed and played a tequila-drinking, shotgun-toting, motor-biking, Bible-reading vigilante out to save a town from a gang of Hell's Angels that [[spoiler: may or may not have shot him dead]] some time in the past.
35* ''Film/TheExpendables'' (2010), where he plays Gunnar Jensen, who is the SixthRanger PsychoPartyMember of a mercenary team consisting of [[Franchise/{{Rambo}} John Rambo]], Film/DannyTheDog, [[Film/TheTransporter Frank Martin]], [[VideoGame/CommandAndConquerRedAlert3 Cmdr. Warren Fuller]] and [[Series/EverybodyHatesChris Chris Rock's dad]]. And they're all hired by [[Franchise/DieHard Lt. John McClane]], who was just transferred to the CIA. He returns in the sequels, firmly on the side of the heroes.
36* ''Film/InTheNameOfTheKing2TwoWorlds'' (2011) is a dip into Creator/UweBoll territory in this DTV sequel to ''Film/InTheNameOfTheKing''. Lundgren stars as Granger, a modern-day badass who is sucked into a fantasy world (largely comprising a styrofoam castle in a Canadian forest) to fight its corrupt king.
37* ''Film/SkinTrade'' (2014), where he plays a cop on a RoaringRampageOfRevenge against the human trafficking ring that killed his family.
38* ''Film/DontKillIt'' (2016), where he plays a grizzled demon slayer who can't kill his current target without risking possession himself.
39* ''Film/TourDePharmacy'' (2017), where he plays an Austrian cyclist ([[OohMeAccentsSlipping with a Swedish accent]]) who reflects on his past steroid use (it's a comedy).
40* ''Film/Sharknado5GlobalSwarming'' (2017), where he plays the FutureBadass version of the hero Fin Shepard's son Little Gil.
41* ''Film/CreedII'' (2018), where he reprises the role of Ivan Drago.
42* ''Film/{{Aquaman|2018}}'' (2018) and ''Film/AquamanAndTheLostKingdom'' (2023), where he plays King Nereus.
43* ''[[Animation/SealTeam2021 Seal Team]]'' (2021), where he voices a dolphin named Dolph.
44
45!!Tropes associated with Dolph
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47* AcademicAthlete: He was taking part in European karate competitions while also studying for his Master's degree.
48* TheBigGuy: Due to being 6'5 and very muscular, he'll often play the strongest characters in ensemble casts.
49* TheBrute: If he's on the antagonist's side.
50* CareerResurrection: After spending the latter half of the 90's and the 2000's in DTV action films, his career received a notable boost with his role in ''Film/TheExpendables'' and he later got prominent supporting roles in ''Film/Aquaman2018'' and ''Film/HailCaesar'' and even played Ivan Drago again to notable acclaim as well as having a major villain role in ''Series/{{Arrow}}''.
51* CoolOldGuy: Can be considered "old" by now but that hasn't mitigated his coolness and he can still do physically taxing roles.
52* EvilIsBigger: Given that he stands at 6'5, having a few inches even on Creator/ArnoldSchwarzenegger, this trope naturally comes in to play whenever he plays a bad guy.
53* EvilSoundsDeep: Has played quite a few villains and has the voice to match.
54* FakeRussian: Has played a few, most notably Ivan Drago.
55* GeniusBruiser: Not only is he known for being very strong and husky and a trained martial artist, but he has a Master's degree in Chemical Engineering. This trait is often reflected in his characters as well.
56* {{UsefulNotes/Karate}}: His main fighting style is Kyokushin Karate in which he holds a fourth level black belt. He has also trained in Judo and a little bit of Taekwondo.
57* LargeAndInCharge: His imposing size makes him a natural choice for leaders and general authority figures.
58* LightningBruiser: He's very big and surprisingly quick and agile, able to match martial artists like Creator/JetLi and Creator/TonyJaa in combat.
59* MrFanservice: Especially in his younger days. ''Film/MastersOfTheUniverse'' has him go shirtless the whole film and spends a lot of time ogling his muscles.
60* NeverAcceptedInHisHometown: Played straight and ultimately [[VindicatedByHistory averted]]. Lundgren's acting, the often poor quality of his films and a failed media stunt where he pretended to have [[JustAStupidAccent lost his ability to speak Swedish properly]] made him something of a joke in Sweden. However, after agreeing to host an episode of ''Summer on P1''[[note]]a Swedish public service radio show where celebrities play their favorite music and talk about their life[[/note]] he shocked the [[DarkAndTroubledPast listeners by speaking openly about being abused as a child and starting bodybuilding to make up for his crippling insecurities]]. He followed this up with hosting Melodifestivalen, where the Swedish representative for the Eurovision song contest is selected, in 2010. He ended up being hailed as one of the best hosts ever, in particular for his performance of Elvis Presley's "A Little Less Conversation". This coincided with his minor CareerResurrection with ''Film/TheExpendables'' and nowadays Dolph Lundgren is much more well respected in Sweden as a pop-cultural figure.
61* NotEvenBotheringWithTheAccent: Rarely makes any effort to cover his natural Swedish accent.
62* PushedInFrontOfTheAudience: Supposedly happened to him in ''Film/AViewToAKill'' -- the bit-part actor who was meant to play General Gogol's KGB bodyguard failed to turn up. Lundgren was on the set because he was dating Grace Jones, and the director supposedly noticed his imposing size and asked him if he'd mind standing around in the background of a scene holding a pistol and looking tough.
63* SilverFox: He's in his sixties with some grey hair but still ruggedly handsome and in very good shape.
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