ACTOR
Dolph Lundgren
33 archived facts 4 topics 1 source Last reviewed Oct 2026
All facts (33)
- #001
Dolph Lundgren holds a master's degree in chemical engineering. He was offered a Fulbright scholarship to study at MIT.
- #002
In 2009, three intruders broke into his home in Spain and attacked his wife. When they saw a family photo featuring Lundgren and realized the house was his, they fled immediately.
- #003
He was the European Heavyweight Karate Champion in 1980-81.
- #004
He was once Grace Jones's bodyguard.
- #005
In the late 1980s, he caused a stir in his native Sweden by refusing to give interviews in Swedish and preferring English instead.
- #006
He enjoys mixing drinks using his knowledge of chemistry.
- #007
He served in the Swedish Marines.
- #008
He used to perform most of his own stunts, but as he got older he does only half of them.
- #009
He served as team leader for the US modern pentathlon team at the 1996 Summer Olympics.
- #010
Contrary to popular belief, he was never engaged to Grace Jones, but Grace Jones lived with him for four years.
- #011
He speaks three languages: English, Swedish and some German. He is also said to speak Japanese, but he actually knows only a few phrases. He also speaks some Spanish because he lived in Spain.
- #012
He maintains his own personal website for his fans.
- #013
He was the Australian Heavyweight Karate Champion in 1982.
- #014
He worked as a bouncer in New York with Chazz Palminteri.
- #015
Except for The Punisher (1989), I Come in Peace (1990) and Small Apartments (2012), in which he was dyed pitch black, he has his natural blond hair and blue eyes in all his films.
- #016
In real life, he was asked for and gave his "Ivan Drago" autograph.
- #017
Kyokushinkai Karate: British Open Champion 1980, 1981; Australian Open Champion, 1982; Swedish Open Champion, 1979, 1980, 1981.
- #018
On 13 February 2024, he became a naturalized US citizen.
- #019
In July 1998, after four to five months of training with his former teacher Brian Fitkin, he earned a third-degree black belt (third Dan) in Kyokushinkai Karate in Stockholm, Sweden.
- #020
He married Anette Qviberg in Stockholm, Sweden.
- #021
In the early 1980s, Dolph Lundgren was photographed at the Factory by Andy Warhol and photographer Christopher Makos.
- #022
Dolph Lundgren was reportedly interested in the role of Ben Richards in The Running Man (1987), which ultimately went to Arnold Schwarzenegger.
- #023
Dolph Lundgren also briefly trained in Tae Kwon Do.
- #024
Dolph Lundgren auditioned for a role in the sequel Rambo: First Blood Part II (1985).
- #025
Dolph Lundgren was born in 1957 but claims his birth date is 1959.
- #026
Dolph Lundgren appeared alongside Ralf Moeller in Universal Soldier (1992). Years later, both auditioned for the role of Hagen in Gladiator (2000); Lundgren lost the part because Ridley Scott was not impressed by his acting, and Moeller won the role.
- #027
In 2011, Dolph Lundgren returned to Los Angeles, CA, together with his girlfriend Jenny Sanderson.
- #028
Dolph Lundgren was one of the last celebrities to model for photographer Victor Skrebneski, in particular for the Chicago International Film Festival poster.
- #029
In April 2002, it was reported that Dolph Lundgren had announced his retirement from acting to spend more time with his family, but a few months later Lundgren denied this while filming Detention (2003).
- #030
When Lee Falk's comic-book hero "The Phantom" was cast for a film adaptation in the 1980s and early 1990s, Dolph Lundgren was considered for the role of Phantom/Kit Walker.
- #031
While living in Europe, Dolph Lundgren supported Everton Football Club.
- #032
In 1990, Dolph Lundgren had a project titled "Le Tigre" with the famous Polish director Andrzej Żuławski, set in the autumn of Dien Bien Phu. Among Lundgren's other cancelled projects were "Meltdown", based on a John Carpenter screenplay and to be directed by John Dahl, and RPM (1997), written and directed by Roger Avary (ultimately rewritten and directed by Ian Sharp).
- #033
Dolph Lundgren is mentioned in Mac and Charlie Write a Movie (2009).
Continue through the archive
Sources & editorial notes
Reference databases
Sources for the entries on this page
- IMDb IMDb kaydı
Information from external sources is independently selected, consolidated and edited by Arka Evren. Sources are listed for verification and further reading. Encyclopedia text is used under its licence (CC BY-SA). How we work