Dolph Lundgren is looking back at one of the most famous behind-the-scenes moments from “Rocky IV.”
He recently confessed he still feels guilty for breaking Sylvester Stallone’s ribs during their legendary fight scene.
The action star was candid when asked during an appearance on “FOX & Friends” if he felt responsible for the accident, which happened during one of the film’s most brutal sequences.
“I didn’t know it happened, we were both getting hit in that fight,” Lundgren said. “We shot for two weeks in Vancouver, and I got back to L.A. … the producer called and said, ‘Hey, Dolph, you got two weeks off.’ I said, ‘That’s great, what’s going on?’ ‘Sly’s in the hospital.’ I found out that way.”
Lundgren, who played the Russian powerhouse Ivan Drago, admitted the news took him by surprise.
“I did feel a little guilty, you know, he hit me too. He was the boss, I did what he told me, which was good. Go really hard with the body, you know those Russian uppercuts. I don’t know if it was my body or exhaustion or my punches, I don’t know, but he did get hurt. I’m sorry about that,” he said.
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Before stepping into the role of Ivan Drago, Lundgren was following a very different path — one rooted in academics and engineering. He was a Fulbright Scholar studying at MIT.
But his path to stardom took a turn when he crossed paths with some of New York’s biggest names.
Lundgren explained how his career started with a chance encounter that led him to Hollywood.
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“I was in New York, and I went out with this singer. I ended up going to [Studio] 54, meeting Andy Warhol, Michael Jackson and a few other people. I did some modeling, and then somebody said, ‘You should try acting,’ because I was a karate champion in Europe,” Lundgren continued to share on “FOX & Friends.”
The Swedish-born actor landed his first big role in “Rocky IV” and quickly cemented his place in the action-movie pantheon.
“And one film I went up for was a boxing movie, it turned out to be ‘Rocky IV.’ I moved to Hollywood, I met Sly, and got that part and the rest was history. It’s been like 95 films since, it has been a great ride.”
Despite a career that spans nearly 100 films, Lundgren told “FOX & Friends” his favorite role to date was revisiting Ivan Drago in “Creed II.” The film allowed him to explore a new side of his character in a father-son dynamic with Adonis Creed.
“I like ‘Creed II’ actually,” Lundgren said. “I got a chance to play that character again — an older version, kind of a father-son relationship. I like that one.”
From screen fights to spirits, Lundgren recently launched his brand, Hard Cut Vodka.
The actor-turned-entrepreneur said he was inspired to create his own vodka after years of dissatisfaction with what was on the market.
“Five years back, I couldn’t find a vodka I liked, so my wife said, ‘You should make your own — you’re a chemical engineer. You’ve played a Russian a few times, you’re from Sweden.’ I started that journey, and now here we are,” he explained.
