Firstly, he appeared in the Bond movieA View To A Kill.

He landed what arguably remains his most iconic role, as Ivan Drago, for star/writer/director Sylvester Stallone.

Now, things have come full circle for Lundgren, as he takes his place amongstThe Expendables.

And he spared us some time to talk about it, and his career to date…

Lets start in the obvious place.

I really likedThe Expendables, a film thats beautifully out of its time.

How was it pitched to you, though?

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Yeah.

He just said that hes got this script that he wrote.

And its a script with a character in it for me.

Of course, to me, that was just a bit like a dream.

Because, for me, I was like, Am I ever going to work with Sly again?

We stayed friends for 25 years…

You nearly killed him once?

Yeah, we almost killed each other!

It had complexities to it.

Immediately I thought Id do it.

Its yours more than any other character in there thats got an element of journey to it?

I think so, thanks!

At the point that he pitched it to you, were you aware of the rest of the cast?

I was aware of Statham, I believe.

Jet Li was about to sign, I think.

And then everyone else came in later.

Mickey Rourke came in, they just kept piling up.

I was like, Woah!

The casting announcements kept on coming for a while…

I thought it was just me and Stallone and Statham, and then suddenly it never stopped.

But its cool…!

It is competitive, but in a good way.

Its like, if youre in a sports team, you want to be as good as your mates.

But youre still playing the other guys.

As more and more of those names come in, did you find yourself checking them out?

Yeah, I did!

Im like, Hi, Im Dolph.

Hes like Hi, Im Jason.

And youre like, Shit, youre getting starstruck…

Do you stare each other out?

Thats what Id like to think you all do…

No!

You got Stallone, you got Jet Li, you got Mickey Rourke, you got whoever it is.

You know youd better know your lines, be in good shape and deliver.

Did you not even have an arm wrestling competition on set?

Stallone, you know, he leads from the front.

He trains hard, he does his own stunts, he gets injured all the time.

Hes not going to send in his double to do hardly anything.

So, obviously, everyone feels the same way, and yeah, youre going to suffer.

Thats part of the game, it was a tough shoot.

Backwards [laughs]!

I guess its a bit of a new charge in my career.

Im more of a mature man now, and people havent seen me so much sinceRocky IV.

Maybe a few times inUniversal Solider.

Its kind of fun to confront that, the public, with a few more skills than before.

Is it refreshing to go back to that now, having directed films yourself and written them yourself?

That its more relaxing?

Much more relaxing, its easy!

Stallones the one sitting there checking all the trailers, checking out the art, looking at every picture.

Getting copies of your interview.

Ive done that on my small movies, but Im glad I dont have to do it with this.

Its a lot of work!

Hows he changed as a director in all that time?

Well, I think he takes a little more time to talk to the actors.

He has a lot to offer.

Well, onRocky IVI was more inexperienced.

I was a kid.

He was nice to me, but it was a little more yes sir, you know?

You were scary in that film…

[Laughs] Thank you!

The Expendablesleaves room for sequels that Im personally very keen to see.

Well, if he likes me to be part of it then, yeah, why not.

Going back to you directing yourself, who are your influences when youre sat behind the camera?

I worked with some of them, like John Woo, Roland Emmerich.

You have certain images of them and things that they did.

But then a lot of it you do it on instinct.

I didnt even know if I was going to be able to direct.

I just said yes when I got offered the job, because the director got sick.

Its an all round interest.

Also, of course, Im influenced by Clint Eastwood.

Hes a guy who started as an actor, a television cowboy, one regarded lightweight.

Hes now a super heavyweight, and hes worked his way there by hard work.

[Hes directed] 29, 30 movies, you know.

Stallone is at 15-20.

I do, why not?

I admire anyone who can get a film made… Its more difficult than people think.

And if youre an actor-director, youre a producers nightmare.

Because you cant fire the star, you cant fire the director.

Theyll watch you and itll take about five movies before they can relax, maybe ten.

Then they can say maybe let this guy go and do his thing.

Whats your feeling on the current state of big Hollywood cinema, as youve seen all angles of it?

I look back and what I suppose happened is that Hong Kong cinema hit big in the US.

Thats it, its over.

So, thats why I think things are reverting back a little bit.

Also CGI came in, and it could make anyone an action star.

So, you bring in somebody whos just a good actor.

I suppose things come round in circles, and the audience got tired of that.

And now theyre into old-school action again.

We call it old-school…

Its scary, isnt it?

Its not that old.

[Laughs] No, it isnt!

Yeah, youre right.

How can Matt Damon be so lethal?

And for accomplish that it had to use a special editing job.

Because you couldnt really see what was going on.

Then everybody copied that style, like what you were saying, where you cant see whats going on.

Whereas in the old days, when me and Stallone were fighting in the ring, everything was real.

It was all us.

There was nobody else in there.

Stallone, with no shirt on, getting hit while he was directing the movie.

That doesnt happen much anymore.

[laughs]

You could take Jason Bourne out, couldnt you?

[Laughs] I think a lot of people could take him!

Maybe not in the Jason Bourne movie, but in real life.

They didnt do sequels in those days, though.

The only two that kept doing sequels.

Theyll grasp at anything that has a bit of a market.

Are you having fun yourself with that, though?

Because youve gone back toUniversal Soldiernow.

Well, that was… Im not much into sequels.

I did that as a favour, actually.

I was going to direct a film, and the same producer was doing that.

I did it as a favour.

So, that was just to get my own directorial thing done.

You know, sequels are great.

But Im not a great fan of doing them.

Im not pulling the old Ivan Drago shorts on again…!

I want to direct a film with some kind of Swedish story, where Sweden figures.

Something taking place there, about Sweden.

He was born in America, he can put something else behind it, whereas I couldnt, perhaps.

But those three or fourExpendablesmovies?

[laughs]

you better get on with them!

Ill give Stallone a ring and tell him… [laughs]

Id think Gunnar.

Hed take that big anti-tank gun and blow Dragos head off!

Dolph Lundgren, thank you very much…!

Our review ofThe Expendables is here.