The Expendables star Dolph Lundgren says he wanted to hit actor/director Sylvester Stallone on the set of the action film.
Per Variety, the legendary action star sat down with In Depth With Graham Bensinger where he discussed his collaborations with Stallone dating back to their first on-screen encounter in 1985’s Rocky IV. While Lundgren admitted his family-like friendship with Stallone “had some good times and bad times,” the actor recalled an incident in the original Expendables film in 2010 where he almost got into a physical altercation with the star and director. “He was very harsh on me in a scene in ‘The Expendables’ where he kinda yelled at me in front of the whole crew and had me do about 20 takes on a scene. It was like, ‘My grandmother could do it better than that. What the fuck, what are you doing?’ You know, basically in front of everybody. And there was press there that day too, international press,” Lundgren recalled.
Stallone vs. Lundgren
He continued, “We took a lunch break and I remember I was kind of in tears. I was really upset. I called my wife that time and I basically just told her, ‘If he says one more word, I’m gonna knock him out and fuck this movie, I’m outta here. I’m just gonna punch him out and fucking leave.’ And I think when I walked on the set, people felt it wasn’t such a good vibration. And then I had a tap on the back and it was Sly. And he was like, ‘Uh, I’m sorry about that. Let’s just do another take and let’s just keep moving on.’ And we’ve had a few run-ins over the years, but what can I say, he’s a crazy Italian. I think he knows that I’ve always respected him and loved him, and I think that’s why we’re still friends.”
The incident ultimately did not hurt Lundgren and Stallone’s friendship or the film at the box office. Released in August 2010, The Expendables delighted action movie fans, grossing $274 million worldwide. Lundgren reprised his role as Expendables member Gunner Jensen in 2012’s The Expendables 2 and 2014’s The Expendables 3. Additionally, Lundgren reprised his iconic role as an older Ivan Drago opposite Stallone’s Rocky Balboa in 2018’s Creed II.
The Expanding Rocky Franchise
In July 2022, Lundgren and Stallone’s friendship was tested again when a Drago spinoff project was announced to be in development. Stallone hit back against the spinoff in his ongoing feud with Rocky and Creed franchise producer Irwin Winkler and claimed Lundgren went behind his back to do the project. Lundgren disputed his involvement in Drago and was under the false impression that Stallone was involved.
Lundgren will be back for more action when The Expendables 4 hits theaters on Sept. 22.