YOU TALKIN’ TO ME?

IN THE CROSSHAIRS THIS MONTH…: DOLPH LUNDGREN

FILM QUOTES POSE AS QUESTIONS. FILM STARS TRY TO COPE.

You talkin’ to me?

I am. I’m talking to you from my apartment in West Hollywood, up here on the 27th floor.

Why don’t you tell me the story of your life?

It’s a long story! There’s going to be a documentary about it called Fights Worth Fighting. That’s starting out in Sweden, my career in chemical engineering, studying martial arts, the movies, my dad, my trauma, getting back onto the big screen with The Expendables and Aquaman… And then my medical adventure with kidney cancer. I’ve had a pretty interesting life, I would say.

You’ve got to ask yourself one question: ‘Do I feel lucky?’ Well, do ya, punk?

I had a prognosis [in 2015] that I only had a couple of years left, so I feel lucky to be alive. Luck has always played a part, though. It’s like one of the Roman generals said, ‘Everything that happens to you has been decided since the beginning of time.’ Everybody has their fate. And my fate was to be somebody who entertains and inspires people, I hope.

Aren’t you a little short for a stormtrooper?

No, I think I’m about the right size for a stormtrooper!

Have you ever danced with the devil in the pale moonlight?

Oh, yeah, many times. I went through a period of heavy drinking and a few addictions while trying to deal with the trauma from my childhood and I think I danced with the devil a few times.

But I lived to tell about it.

Do you have an off switch?

I do. But I didn’t used to. The off switch would be to get drunk. But now I like to hit the couch at least once a day. I like watching historical dramas. I was directing, writing and starring in my latest movie, Wanted Man, which is a lot, but my wife keeps me balanced.

How much can you know about yourself if you’ve never been in a fight?

A lot of smart people think they know a lot about themselves. But they don’t know about physical courage. You learn a lot about yourself in a fight.

What’s your favourite scary movie?

I don’t scare that easily. It has to be really good for me to stop analysing what I’m seeing and get into it, so I would say my favourite is the original Exorcist. Those in-camera effects were way more powerful than anything that came later.

Why do you do it? Why get up? Why keep fighting?

Because the alternative is to lay back and die. We’re supposed to take on the challenge of life. That’s part of the deal. We’re supposed to be fighting and trying to make the best of the situation. That’s where you find your happiness and meaning.

Magic Mirror on the wall, who is the fairest one of all?

Not me any more! My wife is the fairest. And my little cat son, Bello. When I was starting out, I wanted to be Clint Eastwood. I liked the grittiness of his characters, and the fact that he wasn’t afraid to show his age and his vulnerability, and also the fact that he became a great director after once being considered just a dumb cowboy.

I suppose you think you’re brave, don’t you?

I think I’m fairly brave. I mean, I’m not stupid brave, but I’d stand up for my family if I had to. I sometimes think that if I’d have lived a couple of hundred years ago I probably would have been dead by this age already. I would have died in battle somewhere, doing something heroic, trying to save somebody.

Are you one of those single-tear people?

Oh, yes. I cry in movies. And sometimes when I prepare for a role, too. It doesn’t mean I have to cry on screen, but I like the release. When I first started acting I was quite emotional. And then through therapy I learned that I had a lot of bottled-up feelings. Crying was a good way to give them up.

Drago, how does it feel to spar with the great former champion?

Well, it felt good to spar with Stallone! That’s a relationship that has been very special to me over the years. We’re friends. Our daughters are friends. When I did an interview about my medical condition last year I got a call from him and he’d been crying. It was a beautiful moment. We’ve come a long way since punching each other’s lights out…

WANTED MAN IS AVAILABLE ON DIGITAL PLATFORMS NOW.

QUESTIONS TAKEN FROM: TAXI DRIVER, WHEN HARRY MET SALLY…, DIRTY HARRY, STAR WARS: EPISODE IV – A NEW HOPE, BATMAN, DEADPOOL, FIGHT CLUB, SCREAM, THE MATRIX REVOLUTIONS, SNOW WHITE AND THE SEVEN DWARFS, THE PRINCESS BRIDE, WHIPLASH, ROCKY IV