http://www.ctv.ca/CTVNews/Entertainment ... es-100729/Dolph Lundgren flexes his muscle in 'The Expendables'
It has been 15 years since Dolph Lundgren kicked some bad-guy butt in a major U.S. theatrical release.
Now the Swedish action star returns, delivering all the bone-crushing moves fans can handle in the new summer war caper, "The Expendables."
"We wanted to make a film that hasn't been made for a long time," Lundgren told CTV's Canada AM on Thursday.
"Forty years ago studios took Kirk Douglas, Burt Lancaster and John Wayne and put then in action flicks. Not any more," says the 52-year-old actor.
Directed by Sylvester Stallone, Lundgren joins Sly, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Bruce Willis, Mickey Rourke and Jet Li on screen in this tribute to the action blockbusters of a bygone era.
Big guns are everywhere in this US$85 million-dollar adventure about a group of mercenaries who travel to South America to take down a cold-blooded dictator.
"We had some competition on set," Lundgren laughs.
"I didn't have the biggest arms," he confesses.
Lundgren also got clipped in his fight scenes with Li, a man half his size who is known for his martial arts skills rather than his use of brute force.
No one will notice in the film's flawless, high-octane action sequences.
That, says Lundgren, should appeal to fans who grew up with these '80s action heroes, as well as new audiences.
"Younger moviegoers who are getting tired of back-flips and CGI effects will like this story," says Lundgren. "What you see here is all real."
Lundgren's got brains, not just brawn
Born in Stockholm, Sweden, the former championship weightlifter and black-belt student is more than a muscle head.
Lundgren speaks five languages and holds a master's degree in chemical engineering from the Royal Institute of Technology.
In 1983, Lundgren was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Lundgren quit after two weeks to become an actor.
In 1985, the fledgling star made his film debut as a KGB henchman in the James Bond film, "A View to a Kill."
His big film breakthrough, however, came in 1985's "Rocky IV." Lundgren wowed fans as the merciless Russian boxer, Ivan Drago, who ended the life of Rocky's friend and sometimes rival Apollo Creed.
Lundgren has since made more than 40 action pics, including 1987's "Masters of the Universe," 1992's "Universal Soldier," and the 1995 Keanu Reeves hit, "Johnny Mnemonic."
The maturing, 6-foot, 5-inch star took on a new challenge in 2004, directing his first film, "The Defender." Other features directed by Lundgren include 2005's "The Mechanik" and 2007's "Missionary Man."
Aging on screen is a concern. But Lundgren says he faces the same challenges as anyone else. "You've got to fight it by working out and watching your diet," he says.
The former MIT brain also looks ahead with no regrets.
"I thought it (acting) would be more exciting than shaking test tubes," smiles Lundgren. Maybe I'll shake some more test tubes when I grow up.