Real
Name:
Hans
Lundgren
Birthdate:
November
3, 1959 (not 1957)
Birthplace:
Stockholm,
Sweden
Height:
1.98
m (6' 5")
Weight:
108
kg
Occupations:
Actor,
Producer, Director
Residence:
Marbella,
Spain and London, UK (used to be New York City and Stockholm,
Sweden.)
Family:
Wife:
Anette Qviberg (aka Anette Qviberg-Lundgren). Fashion stylist,
jewelry designer. Swedish; met 1990; Lundgren proposed at midnight
New Year's Eve during press tour for "Universal Soldier";
married 1994 in Stockholm; honeymooned in Marrakech. - photos
Daughter: Ida
Sigrid Lundgren (Born April 29, 1996 in Stockholm, Sweden). - photos Greta Eveline Lundgren (Born January 2002)- photos
Mother: Brigitta
Lundgren. Languages Teacher.
Father: Karl
Lundgren. Electrical engineer, (member of the Swedish Parliament).
Brother: Johan
Lundgren. Younger; worked in offshore oil technology.
Sisters: Annika
and Katharina.
Education:
Royal Institute
of Technology in Stockholm, Sweden.
Washington State
University and Clemson in South Carolina
University of
Sydney in Sydney, Australia. Majored in chemical engineering
(MA 1982).
Massachusetts
Institute of Technology in Cambridge, MA. Attended on Fulbright
scholarship.
Claim
to Fame:
Playing the superbly
trained, steroid-enhanced Russian boxer Drago in Rocky IV.
Factoid:
- Plays drums
(used to play drums and trombone in a band when he was a teenager)
and performed several times during TV shows.
- Worked the
door, alongside Chazz Palminteri, at a NYC nightclub.
- Loves his cigars.
|
Dolph Lundgren
grew up in Stockholm, Sweden, where he attended the Royal Institute
of Technology. He also lived in Nyland, in Kramfors Sweden, as
a teenager. Spending time abroad in the U.S. on various academic
scholarships, he attended Washington State University and Clemson
in South Carolina. He received a master's degree in chemical
engineering from the University of Sydney, Australia in 1982
(where he bused tables and worked as a bouncer at Icabod's Cafe)
and the next year was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship to MIT.
While on his way
to Boston to continue his studies, he stopped in New York City
and there his life took a radical turn. He met with noted drama
coach Warren Robertson, and decided to give acting a try. After
beating out 5,000 hopefuls and winning the role of Drago opposite
Sylvester Stallone in "Rocky IV", Lundgren went on
to star in many feature films.
Previous to getting
the coveted role in "Rocky IV", he auditioned for a
role in "Rambo: First Blood Part II."
A world-class athlete
and winner of several international karate competitions, Lundgren
took up martial arts at 14 and is now a 3rd Dan (third degree
Black Belt) in Kyokushinkai (full-contact karate) and attends
the Swedish Kyokushin camps yearly. His accomplishments in the
sport include being the captain of the Swedish Kyokushin karate
team and the winner of the European Heavyweight Kyokushin Karate
Championship in 1980 and 1981, as well as the Australian heavyweight
division title in 1982. titles. Lundgren's lifelong interest
in physical fitness led to his 1987 release of an exercise video
called "Maximum Potential," based on his own daily
workout. Lundgren has been writting a fitness book due for an
estimated 2008 release.
Lundgren was selected
by the U.S. Olympic committee to serve as the Team Leader of
the 1996 U.S. Olympic pentathlon team. He was responsible for
administrative coordination and planning between the U.S. team
and the USOC, and is also actively involved in promoting the
image of this sport. "Over the past few years, my involvement
with modern pentathlon has grown from pure interest to an opportunity
to raise the visibility of the sport, increase recruitment of
young talent and make sure that this event, originated by the
founder of the Olympics, Baron de Coubertin, will remain in the
Games," Lundgren said.
Lundgren announced
in 1993 the formation of Thor Pictures, which produced the dramatic
thriller "Pentathlon." He is also a founding member
of the theater group, Group of Eight, which performed "Another
Octopus" in New York City.
In 2004, Dolph
Lundgren made his directorial debuts with the hard-core action
dramas "The Defender" and "The Mechanik",
in which he was both starring and directing.
Since then, Lundgren
has co-starred alongside Daniele Liotti, Max von Sydow, F. Murray
Abrahams, Monica Cruz and Ornella Mutti in the Italian/Spanish/US
co-production "The Inquiry", based on the 1986 eponymous
film by Damiano Damiani; he also starred in "Diamond Dogs",
the first in a series of feature films to be filmed on location
in China.
With several projects
in development to star and direct, Lundgren just finished his
third picture as a director, a modern western called "Missionary
Man".
Lundgren has also
been working on the creation and launch of a new Dolph Lundgren
brand, a licensing, media and publishing programme and the development
of future entertainment and media projects. |