Swedish actor, screenwriter and filmmaker Dolph Lundgren is best known for essaying the role of Soviet boxer Ivan Drago in the sports drama Rocky IV (1985). A masters degree holder in chemical engineering with a black belt in Kyokushin karate, Lundgren took up acting upon the insistence of Jamaican singer-songwriter Grace Jones. In 1985, he debuted with a minor role in the James Bond film A View to a Kill, which preceded his breakout role in the Sylvester Stallone starrer Rocky IV.

Since portraying his first leading role as He-Man in the sci-fi fantasy Masters of the Universe (1987), the actor has appeared in over 75 movies, over 40 of which were direct-to-video flicks. He has also written and directed over half a dozen of these, among which are the action thriller The Defender (2004), The Mechanik (2005) and Missionary Man (2007). Other significant acting credits include The Expendables (2010), its sequel The Expendables 2 (2012), the comedy Hail, Caesar! (2016), the sports drama Creed II (2018), Aquaman (2018) and Dead Trigger (2019).