DOLPH LUNDGREN

I've actually always been into suits. But I never really wore them, I guess because I was too young and it didn't feel right.

When I was a teenager, my dad used to put a lot of pressure on me to be successful, and I'd really beat myself up about things like losing martial arts competitions.

At least once a week, I try to have one day where I have nothing planned so I can get up and just go back to bed and lay around and recharge my batteries.

I think by planning an exercise regime, your diet follows to some extent.

Nicolas Cage is a great actor and he's done some good action movies too.

I used to play drums when I was a kid, play the trombone.

I do a little bit of yoga-style meditation. Relaxing and breathing even just one minute a day makes a big difference.

I wanted to become an engineer, or get a masters in business. But I had the opportunity to do films when I was about 25 and it was a great way to express myself.

I think mortality makes you live a fuller existence. When I was a kid I was scared of death, and maybe that's what made me desperate to get the most out of life.

When I got cast in 'Rocky IV,' I had never seen a film camera before. And here I was in this boxing movie.

Your body's made to run, to walk, to trek long distances and carry things, work in a forest, and hunt animals. You have to keep it alive to function.

Everybody's life has some mythical quality. You struggle against obstacles, you fight to get to a higher level and there are great loves.

I discovered martial arts, first judo and then karate, and I became quite good at it, because I had something to prove. And more than anything, I needed to feel safe.

I try to keep the martial arts up. It's a good thing, not just physically but also for your mind.

Having bodyguards is just part of being famous, I think.

My sensei was a British karate champion named Brian Fitkin. He was my mentor and because I had a hard relationship with my dad, he became a father figure to me.

Jackie Chan, I've known him, he's a great guy. I know he's very watchable and fun. He's perfect, actually.

My problem is that people get intimidated by someone big and beautiful like me. They hate to think I can be smart as well.

Hollywood is great for entertaining people, it's a wonderful business but it's make-believe, you must remember that. That's one of the most important things to remember and the distinction in your own life, otherwise people get lost in their own fame, and it makes them unhappy.

When I started studying acting in New York, I didn't plan to be an action hero. I just wanted to learn acting because I felt it was something I needed to try to do for myself, to express something, my inner pain, or something I couldn't get out.

There are a lot of great athletes who stop working out, and they get out of shape like everybody else in their 30s and 40s.

You know which guys are doing steroids and which ones aren't. I don't judge anybody. Everybody has their own life and people do what they want. It's like smoking pot. If you experiment with it, it doesn't mean you're the devil, and it doesn't mean you've ruined your body. It just means you tried it.

When you're directing you're kind of interested in the movie and the story and the characters. I just sort of prefer the really tough fighting and some of the other street fighting type moves. You know, where it's not just show. It's not dressing it up for the cameras too much. It's pretty down and dirty, the way it should be. That's something I like to do. I do that.

I'm not going to freeze my body. One life is enough for me. Some people take this gamble. That someone will be able to bring them back in the future. I'm not going to do it.

I was this Swedish kid who came over here to study engineering, but I got into movies, and suddenly I'm in this 'Rocky' picture with Sylvester Stallone. And then the movie comes out, and it's a big hit, and I'm famous. Like, world famous. I wasn't thinking of ruling Hollywood; I was thinking of just trying to make it to the next day, trying to figure out what the hell happened.