When you think of the glory days of the action movie in the 1980s when the genre was populated by larger-than-life heroes that favored biceps and brawn in favor of smarts or subtlety, then you’d be forgiven for thinking that many of the actors that built their reputation in the realm of straightforward shoot-em’-ups don’t have much between the ears.
However, despite what their well-established screen personas would suggest, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Dolph Lundgren in particular are far from one-dimensional musclebound lunkheads. As well as becoming the biggest movie star in the world, Schwarzenegger is a hugely successful businessman, investor and entrepreneur that was already a millionaire before he even got into acting as well as a humanitarian and philanthropist, and that’s without even mentioning his stint as the Governor of California.
Lundgren may not have hit the same heights career-wise as his Expendables co-star, but the 62 year-old can nonetheless hold a conversation in seven languages, is a former European karate champion, holds two degrees in chemical engineering and was accepted into the world-famous Massachusetts Institute of Technology before dropping out to chase his dream of becoming an actor.
The two have been friends for almost 40 years at this point, and to celebrate Schwarzenegger’s recent 75th birthday, Lundgren revealed that he was the victim of a prank at the hands of the big Austrian while he was training for his breakout role in Rocky IV.
“I’ve known Arnold since before I was in the film business. Met him on the set of Conan The Destroyer in 1983, when I was still a fighter and engineering student. Next time we met, I was training for Rocky IV, trying to get some sleep while my girlfriend Grace Jones was having the usual party at my house. There was a knock on my door at midnight and when I yelled, ‘Who the hell is it?’, the response came, ‘It’s your trainer! I’m here to check your abs!’. When I opened the door, there he was, a big smile on his face, smoking a fat Cuban cigar.”
Arnold Schwarzenegger is no stranger to poking fun at his action hero rivals, but it would be safe to assume that he would have been rumbled as soon as he opened his mouth, seeing as the Terminator star has one of the most instantly-recognizable and frequently-imitated accents of anyone on the planet.
