- 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.
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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. |