When I ask who’s your favorite actor, chances are Dolph Lundgren won’t be at the top of your list. Let’s be honest: he’s probably not on your list at all. Most moviegoers look at Dolph as an over-the-top action goon who blows everything up and spouts one liners. For shame, movie fans. Dolph is much more than a hulking mass of action hero man meat.
For one, the dude is ridiculously intelligent. Go check out Wikipedia and see the amount of degrees he has. You’ll be shocked. Plus, he has produced and directed quite a few movies. He’s a man of many talents. Today, though, I want to focus on what I see as his best onscreen performances. So here we go, Dolph Lundgren’s top 5 movies:
5. Rocky IV (1985): The one that started it all. Yes, I know he was in the James Bond flick A View to a Kill for a few seconds. But Ivan Drago really introduced the world to the phenom known as Dolph.
4. Universal Soldier (1992): Jean Claude Van Dam is technically the star here, but Dolph steals every scene he’s in. Just watch the grocery store scene and tell me that Dolph can’t act.
3. The Punisher (1989): Before Marvel movies took over the world, Dolph starred as the title character in a low budget comic book movie that includes some of the most amazing fight/death scenes you’ll see in any action movie no matter the budget size. The crossbow scene and the crazy stuntman action in the school bus scene are 2 must-sees.
2. Skin Trade (2015): Dolph’s finest acting performance of his career. His emotional acting is touching to see. Plus, this movie was a passion project for Dolph, and you can see the quality exude throughout. So if this is his finest acting performance, how is it not #1 on the list? There could only be one movie to head the class of this list…
1. Masters of the Universe (1987): I can’t begin to adequately describe how much I truly love this movie. And nobody else could have filled He-Man’s heroic Eternian boots except for Dolph Lundgren. He is magnificent in this role. Some might say it’s cheesy and ridiculous. I say so what. It’s fun personified. Also, Oscar nominee Frank Langella gloriously hams it up as He-Man’s arch nemesis Skeletor. And, when you factor in the movie was made by Cannon, what more could you possibly ask for?
*Honorable mention: Command Performance – Dolph stars as a hard rock drummer that helps save the kidnapped daughters of a Russian politician.
There you have it. If you’re not familiar with Dolph’s work, shame on you. Go to his IMDB page, play eeny meeny miney moe, and you’re bound to find a fun, entertaining Dolph movie/performance.
