A throwback to Dolph Lundgren's first screen role (Venz in A View to a Kill)

By: Anders Frejdh

Published:
2024-11-21

Dolph Lundgren, A View to a Kill, first screen role

With A View to a Kill (1985) filming 40 years ago this summer and fall, it also marks the acting debut of Swedish action star Dolph Lundgren ...

Dolph Lundgren was just visiting the set to be with his then girlfriend Grace Jones, who was co-starring in the film. One day though, an extra was missing, so director John Glen looked at the tall Swede and asked him to be in the scene as a Russian bodyguard.

John Glen recalls, “He did a short test for me where he impressed me with his gunplay, so I cast him as a Russian heavy.” He would just have to stand in the background and then point a gun at Grace and Christopher Walken ... Already playing the heavy!

Glen adds: “On the few occasions that I have met him subsequently he credits me with launching his film career. He had the good sense not to frequent the set too much and apart from a brief visit to our location at Amberley, Sussex, we didn’t see much of him.”

The director adds that, “I remember him and the rest of the crew at a party I threw at Chantilly where we all did headstands under his supervision. A lot of coins were lost, and a lot of champagne was drunk... it was a great time.”

A few months earlier, Lundgren had auditioned (unknowingly) for Rocky IV and was rejected by the casting director (Sylvester Stallone’s then spouse Sasha) for being too tall. It’s while he was on A View to a Kill that the Swede received a call from an assistant who said Stallone wanted to meet with him in LA. Lundgren had poached the still photographer Keith Hamshere to shoot some photos of him in boxing gear to send Stallone. As Hamshere recalls: “It was me that took Dolph into the studio and grounds at Pinewood [Studios] and spent some time with him to get a good look to present to Sly for his upcoming Rocky sequel. It was Grace Jones, who was with Dolph at the time, who asked Geoff Freeman (our publicist) and I to make a package to present to Sly for consideration. What happened to my negatives I never knew...”

Glen reminisces: “The next time I saw Dolph was at the premiere of one of his films in London. I happened to be walking through Leicester Square when he spotted me and came rushing over to say hello. He is a very nice man and deserving of his success. He has a very imposing physique, and it didn’t surprise me that he went on to play the boxer in Rocky IV.” He adds: “I didn’t have the opportunity to work with Dolph again although I certainly would have considered it.”

Grace Jones, Dolph Lundgren, A View to a Kill

Grace Jones, Dolph Lundgren, A View to a Kill

Grace Jones and Dolph Lundgren on the set of A View to a Kill in France. Photo by Sharok Hatami. Copyright © 2024 REX. All rights reserved.

The formerly named Hans (Dolph) Lundgren was born in Stockholm, Sweden in a rather traditional family. His mother Sigrid Birgitta, a linguist, was to take care of the household, while his father, Karl Hugo, was the traditionally macho man of the family.

Young Hans had an older half-brother, two younger sisters, Annika and Katharina, and a younger brother, Johan (who then grew even taller than Dolph!). Little Hans had allergies and other issues preventing him from playing much outside and was rather reserved. But also, he would soon encounter the rage of his father, leaving indelible marks and traumas on the boy. Reaching pre-adolescence, Hans started to act out, hanging with troublemakers, smoking, drinking and stealing... In response, his father sent him to Northern Sweden to his grandparents, which later turned out to be a blessing in disguise...

Eventually, the teenager got back to getting good grades in school and began practicing karate. He would soon start prepping for his future to get scholarships and study abroad, while he also demonstrated his skills in karate competitions. His ascension at the 1979 World Tournament, where he only got beaten by the Japanese title champion, was noted in the Kyokushin karate circuit. He won the heavyweight British Open in 1980 and 1981. After graduated from the Royal Institute of Technology (KTH) in Stockholm, Hans would fly to Australia to attend the Sydney University for his master in 1982. Again, he fought his way through and won the Australian Open in Kyokushin. Meanwhile he was working in security to make some money, when he was sent to do so at a Grace Jones concert… Later that night, after the concert was done, Lundgren was backstage when Jones took a good look at him and said something about cutting his hair, and a four-year whirlwind relationship began...

Lundgren later moved with the singer to New York. While on a Fulbright scholarship, he attended the prestigious MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) for about two weeks before he dropped out. The young Swede started to go to acting workshops with Jones’ coach Warren Robertson (disciple of Lee Strasberg). Lundgren got into modelling a little bit and went to some auditions. One day he got rejected for a part in a boxing movie: “How tall are you,” they asked, “6’5’’”, “Too tall, next!” … Lundgren was leaving the premises when he saw a sign that said, “ROCKY IV”! But “it ain’t over till it’s over”, and perseverance paid off even though it took six months to get the part… The rest is history… Dolph Lundgren was born.

Text written by Jérémie Damoiseau. Copyright © 2024 From Sweden with Love. All rights reserved.

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A throwback to Dolph Lundgren's first screen role (Venz in A View to a Kill)

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