A Rocky Topic: Expendable romances (Dolph Lundgren's panel at Supanova GC 2015)
Having been a child in the 80s, there’s a soft spot in my heart for things like He-Man, World Wrestling Federation, and the buddy action-comedy genre that lasted well into the 90s. I often surprise people with my enthusiasm for the new Expendables movies, and could probably name every film two or more of the actors have collaborated on in the past. In fact, I’m thinking of making a drinking game out of it. So I couldn’t have asked for a better way to begin my Supanova Panel experience than with Dolph Lundgren.
For you post-GenX babies who might not know: Dolph came to fame in Rocky IV as Stallone’s Russian adversary, then went on to actually play He-Man in Masters of The Universe, and later starred alongside Jean-Claude Van Damme in Universal Soldier - which was my introduction to both these actors and a movie I still have a soft spot for as well :)
Standing at 6′4″ and of Swedish descent, Dolph was often typecast as the imposing/foreign villain, or the hero with the brawn as opposed to brains, so not many people know he actually has a masters in chemical engineering. I thought that when they made Dolph’s character Gunner Jensen the almost comedic, smart guy in The Expendables, it was just a refreshing way to counter the stereotype. But no, it’s actually a reference to his real life - including the joke when he writes the Theory of Relativity on a napkin (“only I made it better”) - something Dolph might have implied that he did to pick up a girl at a bar in real life, and Stallone wanted to use it in the film ;p
But the most refreshing thing to discover about Dolph in real life is that despite his intimidating stature, he just comes across as this giant teddy-bear! His accent is much more American than anything else these days, and with his blond hair and blue eyes, he gives off the laid-back vibe of of someone who spends a lot of time on a Californian beach. His easy-going attitude while responding to questions warmed his audience up to him quite quickly, and soon even I gathered the courage to raise my hand and ask something that’s been on my mind since the Expendables franchise took off.
And just when I did, someone else asked something very similar. (Dammit. Same thing happened to me at AHBL3).
Anyway, the question that was actually asked was about which other stars from that classic action genre/decade Dolph (and Stallone) might like to have return for a cameo if they make another Expendables movie. Dolph then graciously mentioned how great it was to have Mel Gibson in the most recent film, knowing we Aussies would appreciate the shout-out :)
Dolph then asked the audience for any suggestions on actors that are “kind of washed-up” but might be good to see in the movies. I heard Kurt Russell’s name was shouted out amongst the lot :) But since my own question would’ve been more specifically about whether we might see any female action stars make a return as an Expendable, I yelled out “Brigitte Nielsen!” Simply because she was one of the most recognizable women from that time.
You have to understand, we didn’t have the internet back in the day, and I don’t really read magazines or gossip tabloids, so I only have the vaguest memory of Nielsen and Stallone being involved in some way. I had no idea they were actually married for a couple of years, and that it was a notoriously rocky (heh) relationship that failed and ended miserably :s
Dolph’s response to my suggestion: “Oooooh, I don’t know how Sly would feel about that.”
Oops. But hey, at least it took the discussion somewhere :) Someone then suggested that they could just bring her back for 10 minutes and then kill her off. There was more colorful language used at the time, but nonetheless, I think it’s still a decent idea. I don’t know if Stallone and Nielsen are at a place where they can be civil to each other, let alone have a sense of humor about their past, but wouldn’t it be hilarious to see Brigitte rock up in the middle of a mission and Stallone’s character make some eyeroll comment about her being his ex-wife? I’d pay to see that!
Anyway, even though he’s not sure how Stallone would feel about including Nielsen specifically, Dolph did go on to say that, “yeah, it would be cool to have some chicks in the movies.”
YES! The seeds have been planted.
[crossposted at tumblr]