Dolph Lundgren: The Action Man Who Fell to Earth

Dolph is very serious today, thoughtful, almost depressed. In the decade since we last hung out, he's become handsomer--better-looking now than I was then, if that's any gauge. Aging suits him. The pink-and-pumped image has given way to a harder, leaner look, the rugged look of a leading man. All he lacks now is respect.

"Would you like to do dramas with-out any action at all?"

"Of course I would," he says. "In fact, I've been trying to meet with New York writers and directors, and I've made a few contacts. It's hard for me to do something right away that doesn't have any action; it's easier for me to find an action-thriller, where it's mostly character-driven but there's action at points. A total drama would be fine; it's a genre I'd like to be in, but I'm not selling that as a goal."

"You could be in a movie like Pulp Fiction," I suggest.

"Actually, I'm talking to Roger Avary about doing something he's writing. An ensemble piece."

"A movie like Reservoir Dogs would be perfect for you, where there's lots of stuff going on in the midst of acting."

"That has character and dialogue first," he agrees.

"What kinds of scripts are you sent now?"

"A real range," he says with a deep sigh. ''From absolutely awful, generic action movies to some that are fairly interesting. I read one the other day that's set in 1979 in New York at Studio 54, around that whole scene. Andy's in the script, and Truman Capote and Divine and Grace . .. it's interesting because I was there!"

"You were actually creating some of that scene. You could play yourself. Speaking of those days, is that going-out life over for you?"

"Pretty much." he says. "I go out occasionally. Sometimes I miss it, but I guess it's just nostalgia. When you get older, you realize you have to do some-thing with your life--you can't just party every night. I think I've done enough damage. But I had a lotta fun."

"And you're married now. Your wife's name is Anette?"

"Anette Qviberg," he says. "But now it's Lundgren. She's Swedish, a fashion stylist and jewelry designer. I met her six years ago when she was living in New York. I was in Bora Bora on my way to Australia on a press tour for Universal Soldier in '93, and I proposed to her at midnight on New Year's Eve--I had to pick some moment. She said yes, and a year later we got married in Stockholm and honeymooned in Marrakech."

"Where do you live?"

"In New York and Stockholm. In L.A., they look at you only as a product. You have more of a chance as an actor here."

"Do you think of yourself as an actor, an athlete or a movie star?"

"Oh, that's a tough question," he says, sighing again, thinking. "I don't know anymore. I find myself drawn to all three. If I really get into acting in New York with the theater, then it's sort of exciting to go to L.A. and get the whole movie buzz; but at the same time, if I don't work out and I go to meet my old athlete friends, I don't feel good about that."

"Well, if you had to choose between being an actor, an athlete or a movie star, which would it be?"

"Actor."

"Are you still athletic?

"Yeah, I'm active. I do karate, kick-boxing. I look up squash," he says laughing, "which may sound like a sissy sport, but it's very tough. It's good for your legs."

"I don't think you can use 'sissy' and 'sport' in the same sentence," I say.

"I know. But people think I'm kid-ding when I say I'm playing squash. And I've taken up swimming. I don't lift weights much anymore because I wanted to lose weight. I felt very stiff and it hurt me in my acting."

"So you're not a buff muscle man anymore?"

"No. I'm not Drago," he says. "I was never a bodybuilder, I was always an athlete. And most of what we work for in act-ing is to get rid of tension, to relax; the more you lift weights, the more tense you seem to get."

I'm beginning to notice that we're not alone. Groups of tourists are making discreet repeat trips past us, whispering. Maybe they recognize me. "Let's talk about your movie," I say to Dolph, who seems oblivious to the scrutiny of others. "Do you have ail your movies on video at home?"

"No," he says. "In my contract it says I can get a 35mm print and a video if I want, but I've never been interested because I look ahead. When I get kids, maybe. But maybe I don't want them to watch them because... oh, who knows."

Okay, sorry I brought it up. A View to a Kill.

"It was a walk-on part, two minutes; you blink, you miss me. I remember the director, John Glen, said, 'Hey kid, you hit your marks right the first time--you're a natural talent.' That was it."

"And a star was born? Showdown in Little Tokyo. You worked with Brandon Lee."

"We worked out together. He was a really nice kid, you know. Very sensitive guy. I felt sorry for him because he had a lot of pressure from his father [to go into] the martial arts. I thought that as a person and as an actor he could have done without that. It's a very sad story. I couldn't believe it when I heard about his death. My memory of that movie will always be overshadowed by the fact that he's not with us anymore."

"I'm sure. You know, I just want to say here that there is definitely a place and an audience for martial arts films. They have a huge cult following and hip young filmmakers like Tarantino revere them and pay homage to them in their own films. Of course. I think they're a waste of perfectly good film stock."

"Well, I don't do martial arts in my movies, I may throw a kick or punch some guy through a wall, whatever, but I'm not into the really clean, clear, pure moves like some other actors. I think it limits you in the long run, and if you're my size it looks corny to throw all those high kicks. Better to do a John Wayne punch and take the guy out."

"Are you still six-five?"

"Yes."

"Universal Soldier," I soldier on. "Were you and Van Damme really feuding during the filming?"

"No," he says. "Well, there's always some competition, I guess, when you're with your peer as far as being an action lead is concerned. But I played more on the character level, and he was more like a straight leading man. I think we got along well. We both came out of it in one piece."

Masters of the Universe? "I froze my ass off in Los Angeles. It was 45 degrees and I was wearing nothing but a pair of trunks," he says, beginning to laugh, "and some sort of cape, standing on this camera vehicle going 40 miles an hour for hours! It was a tough shoot.

"You know, I was green back then," he says, almost wistfully. "I'd just made Rocky IV, and went from working at the door of Limelight and studying acting in the afternoon to doing a [Masters] world tour and starring in my own motion picture! I didn't know what the fuck was going on."

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