- 2 days ago
You probably know him from his iconic roles in classics Rocky IV , Masters of the Universe , and his recent blockbuster, Expend4bles . However, actor, filmmaker, and martial artist, Dolph Lundgren didn't set up to be in showbusiness. The Swedish-born star was actually a chemical engineer but after a chance encounter with Andy Warhol, he broke into the modeling world and later landed his first role in the James Bond film, A View to a Kill . His latest endeavor, launching his own liquor brand, Hard Cut Vodka . He stopped by our LifeMinute studios for some good cocktails and conversation. This is a LifeMinute with Dolph Lundgren.
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00:00Hi, this is Dolph Lundgren and you're watching Life Minute TV.
00:05You probably know him from his iconic roles in classics Rocky IV, Masters of the Universe, and his recent blockbuster Expendables.
00:13But actor, filmmaker, and martial artist Dolph Lundgren didn't set up to be in show business.
00:19The Swedish-born star was actually a chemical engineer, but after a chance encounter with Andy Warhol,
00:25he broke into the modeling world and later landed his first role in the James Bond film of View to a Kill.
00:31His latest endeavor? Launching his own liquor brand, Hard Cut Vodka.
00:36He stopped by the Life Minute studios for some good cocktails and conversation.
00:41This is a Life Minute with Dolph Lundgren.
00:44Dolph Lundgren in the house! Woohoo!
00:46Thanks for joining us in Life Minute. Love having you here.
00:49Thank you. My pleasure.
00:51You know, I want you to take me. You have a new vodka out, first of all, of course.
00:55But I want you to take me through your journey. You've had an interesting start, interesting career.
01:01Yes, an interesting life, maybe.
01:02An interesting life. Yeah, right. A whole life.
01:05Well, where do I start? I mean, I was born in Sweden, and my dad was an engineer,
01:09and my older brother was an engineer, and my other brother was an engineer.
01:12So I decided to become a chemical engineer.
01:15I studied all over the world, in America a few times, Australian.
01:18I was going to come back here and go to MIT.
01:20I had a Fulbright scholarship, which was a lot of hard work for me to get.
01:25At the same time, I was a martial artist as well.
01:28I started when I was a young kid, like 14 or so, karate.
01:32I had a hard relationship with my dad.
01:34He was a tough guy, kind of physically kind of hard on me, a bit abusive.
01:39So that kind of led me to search out a combat sport, as many young men do that grow up like that,
01:48where you end up in the military, end up, you know, being a boxer or a football or something.
01:53So I ended up doing martial arts to try to feel more powerful, not to feel so insecure,
01:59like I could defend myself.
02:00So I did parallel, sort of unusual paths of martial arts and full-contact fighting and chemical engineering.
02:09So where was I going to end up?
02:12I didn't really know.
02:14I didn't really want to be a chemical engineer.
02:16I always knew that I wanted to use it to be able to travel, to be able to come to America,
02:21because I always wanted to come here since I was a little kid.
02:24But I couldn't afford to travel, so I needed scholarships.
02:28So that's why I used chemical engineering.
02:31I was doing some security work in Australia when I was studying at the University of Sydney.
02:36And one of the acts I was working for was Grace Jones.
02:40She was a famous singer back in the 80s.
02:43And, you know, I ended up getting to know her and actually really well.
02:47We ended up being romantically involved.
02:49And I came back, moved to Manhattan with her in the early 80s on my way to MIT and ended up going to 54.
02:58And, you know, some little guy came up with an Instamatic camera and took a picture of me and said,
03:05what are you famous for?
03:07And I'm like, nothing, as far as I know.
03:10And he says, I'll put you in my magazine.
03:12And it was Andy Warhol, you know.
03:13So I ended up kind of pursuing a bit of a modeling career and acting.
03:19And pretty soon I decided to give up chemical engineering and give acting a shot.
03:26I always did a little acting when I was younger as well.
03:29My first film, I was with Grace.
03:31We were in France.
03:33She was the bad girl in the Bond movie with Chris Walken.
03:36So I saw him work, which is cool.
03:38I was watching him.
03:39I was doing some acting at the time.
03:41I'd start studying acting, so I watched him work, you know.
03:44And he was really interesting because he would rehearse with this British stage actor who always plays.
03:50He always used to play the KGB colonel, you know.
03:52Yes, he always spoke, you know, to Bond, Mr. Bond.
03:55He was the Russian guy.
03:57And then Walken would rehearse with him one way.
04:02And then on the first take, he would do a 180, like if you spoke very softly in the rehearsal.
04:08And he would yell at the guy and the guy jumped back like a half foot, you know.
04:13It was really great.
04:14So he was in the moment.
04:16Like he would elicit a reaction out of him.
04:18But anyway, I was on set watching and the director said, oh, there was this guy, the stunt guy didn't show up, you know.
04:25So we need one more guy, one more kind of bad guy who works for the Russian, you know.
04:32And do you want to do it?
04:33And I was like, I don't know.
04:35I'm going to mess it up, you know.
04:36It's like a big movie, a Bond movie.
04:38I said, no, no, no.
04:39Here, you know, you put the suit on and you get a gun.
04:43You point it at Chris walking over there.
04:45And I ended up being in the movie, you know.
04:47But when you watch the credits, my name shows up like three minutes later at the end somewhere.
04:54But it was cool.
04:54It went well.
04:55And he said, John Glenn was the director.
04:58He said, yeah, you did a very good job, you know.
05:01Perhaps you could be in the pictures, you know.
05:04I always remember Roger Moore.
05:06He was a very nice man.
05:08And, you know, he would arrive in his Bentley, you know.
05:10He was like James Bond, like before.
05:13He was James Bond in real life.
05:15So he would show up in his Bentley with his driver.
05:17And then he would smoke his lunch.
05:19He would take a break, smoke a cigar.
05:21You know, back in those days, he could smoke cigars in the restaurant.
05:24And I sat with him once.
05:26And he was like, for some reason, he said, Dolph is larger than Denmark.
05:33I was just sort of, where did that come from?
05:36Anyway, so it was a good experience.
05:38And two years later, one movie I was up for was a boxing movie.
05:43Turned out to be Rocky IV, which turned out to be a big hit.
05:47I'd met Sly Stallone and moved to Hollywood.
05:50And before I knew it, I was, you know, kind of a movie star without really knowing what I was doing and what was going on.
05:58It happened extremely quickly and took me years to recover.
06:02But basically, that was my new path.
06:04And, you know, I've been doing that ever since.
06:08So there's been a few other turns in the road since then.
06:10But that was how it all started.
06:12What's Sly like?
06:14He's a very smart guy, very talented, creative, tough.
06:18He was, you know, obviously a big star at the time.
06:21And I'd seen Rocky III when I was in Australia.
06:24I was, you know, fighting there.
06:26I was competing.
06:27And I listened to Eye of the Tiger to get fired up.
06:31And little did I know I was going to be in the next one.
06:34But he was a great guy, a very good kind of a role model to me.
06:38And, you know, I kind of watched him the way he was directing and producing and acting at the same time, which I ended up doing myself later.
06:46It was tough because he was my boss, but he was also my sparring partner.
06:50And when you do movie fighting, you have to get kind of close, but you can't hit the other person.
06:58So if I didn't get close, did not get close enough, he got upset.
07:02You know, you got to get closer.
07:03And if I, of course, nicked him a little bit, he got really upset too.
07:08We'll fire your ass if you do that again.
07:10So as a young kid, I was, you know, kind of every sparring session, we did it for six months, you know, twice a day.
07:19Weights in the morning, boxing in the afternoon.
07:22So it was a tough school, but I came out okay.
07:26And we're still friends, so we've done six movies together.
07:30Wow, yeah.
07:31And then I saw when you were young, too, you had allergies, so you weren't really into sports when you were little.
07:36Yeah.
07:37Is that right?
07:37Yeah, I had a tough childhood in that respect.
07:39I mean, I think we all do, but I was not very physical.
07:43I had allergies.
07:44My dad was, like I said, he was a very smart man and great looking, but he had a lot of issues, you know, I think from his childhood.
07:52He grew up during the Depression, and I think, you know, when he grew up, you know, everybody, all the kids were beaten by their parents or in school, you know.
08:01We were allowed to, the teachers were allowed to beat the kids, you know.
08:04So I think he probably had some kind of trauma, and he kind of took it out on me.
08:09He also beat my mom up.
08:11She was a great woman, really very sweet and kind.
08:15But with women, either, usually if they're abused, either they'll pick up and go immediately, you know, take the kid and split.
08:22But she didn't, so I think it was a complex relationship for me because I had a mother who didn't really protect me, but I loved her, you know.
08:31Then I had this kind of abusive father.
08:34I mean, it wasn't like my childhood was all, it was hell.
08:38It wasn't that bad, but I did develop kind of a toughness, I think, mental and physical toughness that came in very handy when I became a fighter, and also later in the business, in show business, you know.
08:51Did your parents see you become famous?
08:53Yes, my parents did see me become famous, and it was great, you know.
08:59My dad, I remember one event when he was in London.
09:03He had had some surgery, and my mom was there with him, and I was on the Good Morning Britain show, you know, and they were watching me on TV, and they were very proud.
09:12And by then, he'd kind of forgotten what had happened when I was a kid, and we never talked about it.
09:19And I forgave him, you know, because I realized that he had a rough childhood, and some people were mean to him, I think, when he was a kid, when he was just a little kid, too.
09:28As they say, you know, we're victims of victims sometimes, so.
09:32But it was great that they got to experience that, and I took my mom to Wimbledon one year, bought her some Bulgari jewelry and Bulgari watch.
09:42We watched the finals, and she was kind of, she sort of couldn't believe it.
09:49She was a bit sort of overwhelmed by everything, but it was great for me to be able to do it for her, you know.
09:54Oh, that's beautiful.
09:55Wonderful.
09:57Black belt and karate.
09:58So that obviously helped you in the Rocky movies.
10:01The black belt.
10:03The black belt helped me a lot.
10:05Obviously, my first role, I played a fighter, so I was used to moving, and I was very, had a lot of agility for a big guy.
10:12You know, which Stallone, of course, used that, because you can't teach a person to fight, you know, it takes years.
10:21So you can have an actor, you can teach them a little bit, but this is back in the 80s where it was impossible to double you when you're, you know, bare-chested in the ring.
10:33You know, everybody could see who it is.
10:34So Stallone did his fighting, and I did mine.
10:37So I think that came in very handy.
10:40I think the black belt also gave me sort of a bit of a spiritual lift when I was a kid.
10:47Zen Buddhism, it's like a philosophy of inner calm and control and respect, which has been useful for me in my life, in business and in private life as well.
10:57I love it.
10:58I love it.
10:59It's great.
10:59Hi, I'm Dolph Lundgren.
11:02I like to share something personal.
11:04I'm an actor, but I'm also a drinker, and this is the drinker talking.
11:09I love vodka.
11:11Vodka.
11:12Why vodka?
11:13I was born in Sweden, and in Sweden, people drink a lot of liquor.
11:17You know, it's dark up there, and traditionally, it's called the vodka belt, which is Russia, Scandinavia, northern England, even up in Canada and northern America.
11:28People drink more, you know, because of the weather, I think.
11:31So I kind of grew up with drinking liquor, usually straight over ice, and they have a lot of great aquavits and such in Sweden.
11:40My wife, she's from Norway, but I was dating her, and we were in Santa Barbara in California, and I was complaining about all the vodkas because they were too harsh.
11:50I couldn't drink them straight.
11:51And she said, well, maybe you should make your own, you know.
11:54You're a chemical engineer.
11:56You played a Russian.
11:58You're from Sweden.
11:58She's smart.
11:59And she was, it was a cool idea, and I sometimes wish I would have said no because there's been a lot of work, but I did take her up on it.
12:07And I realized that vodka has been kind of exploited lately.
12:11It sort of hadn't been used as a new vodka brand.
12:15It wasn't anything exciting I could see behind the bar.
12:18I saw a lot of tequila brands that, you know, lately that were developed and whiskey, but I thought vodka is kind of interesting.
12:26So I started doing more research, and we together, we started trying a lot of different vodkas and trying to determine what kind of vodka do we like.
12:34And we tried about 30 to 40 different vodkas, and finally we realized potato vodka is smoother and kind of creamier.
12:41So we ended up finding one in America, which turned out to be a great idea.
12:46It was just by chance, Richard, the one we liked the best from Idaho.
12:50Yeah, I thought vodka was kind of a challenge to create a brand and be an entrepreneur, and I haven't done anything like that.
12:58I've only worked in the movie business, you know.
13:01There was a lot to learn.
13:02I mean, it turned out to be a very slightly complicated business, or let's say it's quite difficult to have a liquor brand because every state has different rules.
13:13You need the permits, you need to think about a lot of things as you develop it.
13:18But it's turned out to be something me and Emma, now she's my wife, we're doing together on a daily basis.
13:27Gives us something to work on together and to kind of, it's almost like it's our child or something, our kid,
13:35who we're kind of slowly, over six years, kind of brought up this brand called Hard Cut Vodka.
13:42We wanted it to be a cool brand and kind of cool name, a bit fashionable, a little cinematic, but also for it to taste very good and be smooth.
13:52And we both hate harsh-tasting liquor, so we try to make it very smooth, which I think we've done.
14:02I'll show you later.
14:04We're going to try it later and make some recipes.
14:07What's your favorite way to drink it?
14:09I got a few favorite ways.
14:10Obviously, the best way to discover it initially would be straight over ice.
14:16No lemon, nothing, just the liquor itself chilled.
14:20I think the second favorite is a five-to-one martini.
14:24So it's five parts vodka and one part of vermouth.
14:27Stirred, not shaken.
14:29Mr. Bond was wrong.
14:31It was not shaken, not stirred.
14:33It's just stirred, not shaken, 45 seconds, with three Italian olives.
14:38That's kind of savory and a smooth martini.
14:42I like that one, too.
14:44We're going to do an espresso, I believe.
14:46Oh, espresso martini is great, too.
14:48Yeah, thanks.
14:48You know, it's a day here, so.
14:50Yeah.
14:51Just put a little coffee in there.
14:54Awesome.
14:54And potato vodka is pretty rare, isn't it?
14:56Potato vodka is pretty rare, especially in America.
15:00I think only about 1% of all vodkas made here use potatoes, which you wouldn't believe that.
15:06I mean, I assume that potato is a very common raw material, but it isn't.
15:12Mostly it's wheat and grain.
15:14There's some corn vodkas, like Tito's, for instance.
15:18There's wheat vodkas, like Belvedere and Grey Goose and Kettle One.
15:23Potato is unusual.
15:25There was one called Chopin, which is Polish, which is pretty smooth.
15:30Also creamy, like our vodka.
15:32But, no, I think potato turned out to be a good choice.
15:35Yeah, for sure.
15:36Yeah.
15:36And you guys are really hands-on, which is nice.
15:38Not just a name on a bottle.
15:40You're really...
15:40No, no, we're involved.
15:42I mean, my life now, about 80% vodka business and 20% movie business.
15:48Yeah.
15:50Cool.
15:51Very cool.
15:51It's great to be back in New York.
15:53And this is where it all started, you know.
15:54Yes.
15:55Four years ago.
15:56What do you do in alcohol conventions or...
15:59Yeah, I'm at the Bar Common in Brooklyn.
16:01It's like a beverage and alcohol convention in Brooklyn.
16:07It's great.
16:07There's a very famous bartender named Dale De Groff.
16:10He used to be at the Rainbow Room here at Rockefeller Center.
16:14And before that, he was at the Bel Air Hotel in California.
16:17Anyway, he wrote the book called The Craft of the Cocktail, which is the most famous cocktail book.
16:23And I read it twice.
16:24So I met him today and he made a drink with my vodka.
16:27And, yeah, it was cool.
16:29Oh, it's so cool.
16:30Yeah.
16:30Oh, great.
16:31What do you like to do when you're not working or drinking?
16:35Oh, when I'm not working or drinking?
16:39Well, working out is something I try to do a lot.
16:42I try to stay in shape.
16:43You know, as we get older, you have to be smart about how you train and you need a lot of time to recover.
16:48I think a lot of things Emma and I do together is just we try to chill out at home and watch TV or just, you know, spend time together, quiet time together, just reading a book or surfing the Internet or something, but just resting.
17:03Because a lot of times when I do a project, if I'm acting or if I promote the vodka, it's quite intensive.
17:11You know, you spend a lot of energy meeting people and pushing a brand.
17:16So I think, yeah, going to the beach.
17:19We live in Los Angeles, so we can go to the beach once a week, go and work out.
17:25We have a gym in our place.
17:26We also go to Gold's, Gold's in Venice, you know, run into Arnold, you know.
17:32Really?
17:33You have to hold it like the old days, Dolphie, remember.
17:37So, yeah, I know Arnold.
17:40Since I was in the, before I was in the movie business, I met him.
17:43Nice guy.
17:44So you have a gym home, but you still go to Gold's.
17:47Still go to Gold's because there's a guy who does physiotherapy there.
17:50It's really good.
17:52And it's kind of fun to hang with all the old crew and guys have known him for 30 years or so.
17:58Yeah, and we try to get back to Scandinavia once or twice a year.
18:03Like we're going in a couple of weeks now just to see Emma's parents and my siblings.
18:08And it's, you know, Stockholm, for instance, it's a small city compared to New York.
18:12You can just get on a bicycle and go around everywhere.
18:16And, yeah, it's pleasant.
18:17Nice, nice.
18:19Favorite comfort food?
18:21A good burger is nice.
18:23Burger and fries.
18:24You don't eat a burger and fries.
18:25I do sometimes.
18:27I like steak.
18:29I like pasta bolognese.
18:30Emma makes killer spaghetti bolognese.
18:33Nice.
18:34She's a keeper, that one.
18:36Favorite music?
18:37I like R&B.
18:39Yeah.
18:40I like the backbeat, you know, and Latin music, too, because I used to play drums.
18:45Oh, really?
18:46Yeah.
18:46Oh, wow.
18:47I used to play drums when I was a teenager, and I did a movie, I directed a movie where
18:53I played drummers.
18:54Well, I kind of die hard in a rock concert, and the drummer, of course, is the badass guy
18:59who kind of takes over and saves the day.
19:02So I did that.
19:04But I like drums.
19:04I like anything with a good backbeat to it.
19:07So, yeah, R&B is cool.
19:09What do you guys binge?
19:10You said you watch TV.
19:12Well, I'm embarrassed to say the last thing we binged was Sex and the City.
19:16Ah, that's what I'm binging right now.
19:18I went back to it.
19:19Yeah.
19:20Stopped for a minute and then went back.
19:21I went back to it the second time.
19:22I went down, Emma, I've seen it about four times, and I like it.
19:26You know, and it was funny, because I was at a restaurant two nights ago with an old
19:30friend of mine, Vittoria, who owns the Busty Restaurants in town, called Serafina.
19:33Nice restaurant, Italian food.
19:36And I was there, and some guys show up, some friends of his, and with them is Chris Noth,
19:41you know.
19:41Yes, yes.
19:42Mr. Big.
19:43Yeah.
19:44And I like his character a lot in the series.
19:47So, you know, I said hi to him, which is fun.
19:49What's something that you want to do you haven't done yet?
19:51I like to take my kids.
19:52I have two daughters, 23, 29.
19:56I like to take them to Bora Bora one time.
19:59I love Tahiti, and I love that island.
20:01It's so magical.
20:02And they always heard about it since they were kids.
20:05So, I like to take them, and my wife, and maybe some other friends over there.
20:11Besides your phone, what do you take with you when you travel?
20:15Emma, I usually take some vitamins and supplements.
20:20Sometimes I take a Theragun.
20:23Theragun is a massage.
20:25It kind of looks like a, you know what it is?
20:27I think I have one.
20:28Yeah.
20:28Vibrates?
20:29Yeah, it vibrates.
20:29It looks like a bit like a hand drill.
20:31Yeah.
20:32And usually I take, also sometimes I take a band, like a workout band with me to do different
20:38exercises and little warm-ups and stuff.
20:40You have the nicest skin.
20:42I do?
20:42It's like glistening.
20:43Yeah.
20:44Any skin secrets?
20:47Hydration.
20:47I think it's all about hydration.
20:49You just have to overdo it, I think, as you get older, because your skin gets a little
20:52drier, and you just got to pour the stuff on there and drink a lot of water, and I think
20:58that's important.
20:58Biggest life lesson, since this is Life Minute?
21:03It's never too late.
21:04Better late than never.
21:05You can always change something.
21:07You can always learn something new.
21:08You can always apologize for something, or you can always forgive yourself, forgive somebody.
21:14You know, it's never too late.
21:16I think also in work and training, and a lot of things, I think anything is better than nothing.
21:23You have to start small, and then you take small steps, where, as I say, the journey of
21:2910,000 miles starts with a one step.
21:32Perseverance is a very important quality, you know.
21:35I've used it many times in sports, when they've got to pick you up off the mat and tie the belt
21:43on your uniform and push you back in there.
21:45You don't know whether you're coming or going, and suddenly you realize the other guy didn't
21:50get up, and you won, you know.
21:51But it always takes more work than you think.
21:54So I think that hanging in there, and just keep hanging in there, things will kind of
22:00work themselves out, usually for the better.
22:02Any other projects on the horizon?
22:04I'm developing a couple of projects that I'm developing to produce and act in.
22:11One is a comedy, action comedy set in L.A., sort of set in the business.
22:17I play myself, actually, in that one, and some other films I'm developing.
22:21There is a documentary about me coming out later this year about my life.
22:25So I'm kind of used to talking about my past and how it all kind of came together.
22:31So that should be exciting when that comes out.
22:33Oh, that's great.
22:35Want to go make some cocktails?
22:36Yeah.
22:36Let's do it.
22:44All right, Dolph, we're going to make an espresso martini.
22:47Espresso martini, yeah, that's right.
22:49It's one of my signature drinks.
22:51This bottle is beautiful, by the way.
22:53Put some ice in here.
22:54Yeah, the bottle, Emma and I tried to come up with something that looked a little tough.
23:00And a lot of vodka bottles were kind of sleek, and they all looked the same, kind of elongated.
23:05And this is a little masculine with the shoulders and kind of hard cut.
23:10Yes.
23:11Like a hard cut diamond.
23:12And the title, the name of the vodka, Hard Cut, comes from editing.
23:17When you do a, you can do a jump cut, you can do a direct cut, or a hard cut.
23:20Hard cut from L.A. to New York, and that's kind of came up with a cool name.
23:26Very cool name.
23:27So I got the ice there, and then we're going to use a little hard cut.
23:31See if it tastes as good as it looks.
23:33We need three ounces of liquor.
23:41That's the vodka.
23:46Then, of course, we need a little espresso.
23:48There we go.
23:49Yep.
23:50Two ounces of espresso.
23:57That's good.
23:58Then we have the coffee liqueur, which gives it a little more, a little sweetness and also
24:03a little more of a coffee taste.
24:06We'll do an ounce and a half of that.
24:10So, and then finally we'll put a little, a little bit of sugar syrup.
24:17Five mil of that.
24:18See?
24:18Five mil of that.
24:19Five mil of that.
24:19Five mil of that.
24:20Five mil of that.
24:21Five mil of that.
24:21See?
24:21I'm going to try the shake it.
24:24I'm going to try the shake it off.
24:28I'm going to try the shake it off.
24:36Put a strainer on there.
24:37a little bit of a lemon zest.
24:52And then you should do a little bit of lemon zest around the edges here.
25:00Lemon zest there.
25:05And a little flavor.
25:06Alright.
25:07There you go.
25:10Cheers, congratulations.
25:12Cheers, congratulations. Thanks for being here.
25:14Being here was nice and letting me get on the show.
25:18Mmm, not bad.
25:19Excellent.
25:20Cheers.
25:21To hear more of this interview, visit our podcast Life Minute TV on iTunes and all streaming podcast platforms.
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