Dolph Lundgren Quotes

Movies are a powerful medium. People think you are your character. I've had plenty of people who think I'm Drago. They don't know about the chemical engineering part of my personality. They don't know about the geek part of my personality.

My sensei was a British karate champion named Brian Fitkin. He was my mentor and because I had a hard relationship with my dad, he became a father figure to me.

Sports became a way for me to find my personality and identity in life. I had a lot of problems as a young kid like we all do with my own confidence, trying to grow up, and become a man and whatnot. Sports helped me get there. It helped me get my role in Rocky IV. It has helped me ever since in my movies and dealing with a lot of hard times between pictures and my life. I would say it's the one thing that's kept me going over the years.

At least once a week, I try to have one day where I have nothing planned so I can get up and just go back to bed and lay around and recharge my batteries.

I'm not doing any crazy stuff any more. Like I used to do high falls; I used to jump from the motorcycle to the truck myself. That's unheard of today. Now nobody would ever do that. In those days it was stupid, man. I just did it because that's what it was, but that I don't do anymore.

It takes nine months for a baby to develop, it takes nine months to develop a character.

Your body's made to run, to walk, to trek long distances and carry things, work in a forest, and hunt animals. You have to keep it alive to function.

The interesting thing about TV drama that's kind of nice is, I'm just an actor. I'm doing my role.

Having bodyguards is just part of being famous, I think.

I discovered martial arts, first judo and then karate.

In my career, whether it's a big or a small movie, when I've worked on something for a long time, like [Ivan] Drago in Rocky IV, they start to take on a life of their own.

I found out about it probably 9 - 10 months before we shot the film [Don't Kill It] because it was postponed a couple of times, which was actually a good thing because once it all finally came together, I had to get in there and roll off different pages of dialogue and monologues pretty quickly.

It was fun to talk too much [as Jebediah Woodley], to keep running your mouth whether the other characters want to hear it or not. That's part of what made this guy fun.

I wanted to become an engineer, or get a masters in business. But I had the opportunity to do films when I was about 25 and it was a great way to express myself.

You know, some of the action stuff, I tend to have a pretty good sense of humor about it. Even when I direct and have a lot of pressure, it teaches me to laugh at stuff. I think that comes also from sports, from combat sports, where you've got to learn to laugh at it and take it in stride. Otherwise, you just can't deal with it.

I discovered martial arts, first judo and then karate, and I became quite good at it, because I had something to prove. And more than anything, I needed to feel safe.

Jebediah Woodley is one of those guys that when I'm sitting in my rocking chair one day, thinking back, I'll remember that guy. He was a fun guy to play.

When you're directing you're kind of interested in the movie and the story and the characters. I just sort of prefer the really tough fighting and some of the other street fighting type moves. You know, where it's not just show. It's not dressing it up for the cameras too much. It's pretty down and dirty, the way it should be. That's something I like to do. I do that.

I try to keep the martial arts up. It's a good thing, not just physically but also for your mind.

I think the energy I give off is quite non-confrontational. That's something you learn from karate. Once you try to be a tough guy, you've got to pay up. You've got to prove yourself. And that's exhausting.

No one can believe I might have a brain. Because I'm really tall, I'm really blonde, I have big muscles, and kill people for a living. There you go. If anybody's going to be assumed to be stupid, it's me. I don't know what my IQ score is, but I did study for five years at college. And I'm proud of my chemical engineering degree. I haven't done anything with it, but it's a card up your sleeve for later in life. It's nice to have, just in case.

I was this Swedish kid who came over here to study engineering, but I got into movies, and suddenly I'm in this 'Rocky' picture with Sylvester Stallone. And then the movie comes out, and it's a big hit, and I'm famous. Like, world famous. I wasn't thinking of ruling Hollywood; I was thinking of just trying to make it to the next day, trying to figure out what the hell happened.

I mean there's still also an element of the audience looking for role models. In my day, when I started, if you were an action hero, you were a little bit of a role model like the person.

Unless you're playing a real character based on a real person, if someone else has done it before, you're probably better off not watching it as an actor. Otherwise you end up trying to copy someone else.

I've actually always been into suits. But I never really wore them, I guess because I was too young and it didn't feel right.

I've never had a good line. Well, maybe 'I must break you'.

I think religious movies are more of a subset of the broader historical trend, and also the fact that there is more history in Europe, whereas in America, America is about the future. People in Europe think more of the past, and that's why I think filmmakers are drawn to it more.

Everybody's life has some mythical quality. You struggle against obstacles, you fight to get to a higher level and there are great loves.

I'd already rehearsed it [ Don't Kill It script ] for the first time it was supposed to happen and the second time. That was a blessing in disguise because the character [Jebediah Woodley] grew a little bit in me.

I do a little bit of yoga-style meditation. Relaxing and breathing even just one minute a day makes a big difference.

In the normal life of an actor or director, running around, there's not much time to go to church. But there's other ways to be spiritual, too.

My problem is that people get intimidated by someone big and beautiful like me. They hate to think I can be smart as well.

I think mortality makes you live a fuller existence. When I was a kid I was scared of death, and maybe that's what made me desperate to get the most out of life.

When I started studying acting in New York, I didn't plan to be an action hero. I just wanted to learn acting because I felt it was something I needed to try to do for myself, to express something, my inner pain, or something I couldn't get out.

You know which guys are doing steroids and which ones aren't. I don't judge anybody. Everybody has their own life and people do what they want. It's like smoking pot. If you experiment with it, it doesn't mean you're the devil, and it doesn't mean you've ruined your body. It just means you tried it.

Nicolas Cage is a great actor and he's done some good action movies too.

I've drank more beer and pissed more blood and banged more women than all you numb nuts put together!

I think we are affected so much by mythical stories and biblical stories, our society being based on the Bible - at least the old society is based on biblical terms and laws - that there's more of it in art than people realize. Sometimes it comes to the surface, but sometimes it's below the surface, but certainly, it does influence some of my movies.

I got good grades in school, but I'm not sure if I'm smart or if it just means I can study. I've never taken one of those IQ tests, and I don't want to. It's so pointless. As long as you enjoy life and have fun and you're healthy and happy, that's what matters.

I think by planning an exercise regime, your diet follows to some extent.

There are a lot of great athletes who stop working out, and they get out of shape like everybody else in their 30s and 40s.

Kristina [Klebe] plays her character [in Don't Kill It] pretty straight, and because my character's so crazy and colorful, it works quite well. Kristina really loved the part, so she was very accommodating and willing to explore it and work hard.

Life is stranger than fiction. It's nice to have stuff that people don't know about. And it helps when you read a bad review. You can go, "This guy doesn't have me figured out." There's more mystery to you than they understand.

One day you'll understand the sheer awesomeness that is me.

When I got cast in 'Rocky IV,' I had never seen a film camera before. And here I was in this boxing movie.

You really have to work hard to create a three-dimensional character. You have to rehearse and explore and take your time. You can't just memorize your lines and do it on the fly.

When I was a teenager, my dad used to put a lot of pressure on me to be successful, and I'd really beat myself up about things like losing martial arts competitions.

Hollywood is great for entertaining people, it's a wonderful business but it's make-believe, you must remember that. That's one of the most important things to remember and the distinction in your own life, otherwise people get lost in their own fame, and it makes them unhappy.