Sven-Ole Thorsen
| Sven-Ole Thorsen | |
|---|---|
| Born |
24 September 1944 Copenhagen, Denmark |
| Occupation | Actor, bodybuilder, stuntman, strongman |
| Years active | 1977-2011 |
| Height | 6 ft 5 in (196 cm) |
| Spouse(s) | Birgitta Sunding |
| Children | Michael and Martin |
| Competition record | ||
|---|---|---|
| Strongman | ||
Representing  Denmark
| ||
| Denmark's Strongest Man | ||
| 1st | 1983 | |
| Europe's Strongest Man | ||
| 10th | 1982 | |
Sven-Ole Thorsen (born 24 September 1944) is a Danish actor, stuntman, bodybuilder and strongman competitor. Sven won Denmark's Strongest Man in 1983.[1]
Using his stature he often plays imposing giants and villains in his films who are somehow beaten by smaller opponents in a David and Goliath manner, but he has also played heroic characters such as Gunnar the legendary warrior in The Viking Sagas. His autobiography Stærk mand i Hollywood (Strong Man in Hollywood) was published on 26 October 2007, and was very well reviewed. The first printing of the book reportedly sold out in 24 hours.[2][3]
Biography
Career
He is known for his frequent appearances in Arnold Schwarzenegger movies, like Conan the Barbarian, as the hammer-wielding Thorgrim; The Running Man, as the ultimately sympathetic bodyguard Sven; and in Predator, where he played a one-second role as a Russian military advisor ('Knock Knock'). Some of his other most memorable characters have varied widely, from the gritty boater wearing security guard La Fours in Mallrats, to the unbeaten fighting legend Tigris of Gaul in Gladiator, and the witty Lt. Michael 'Tank' Ellis, Ground Assault Unit in Captain Power, to the menacing alien villain Secundus in Abraxas, Guardian of the Universe, who is always hunting for the Anti-Life Equation without any success.
Thorsen has been credited in fifteen Arnold Schwarzenegger movies (as of 2006) (twelve as actor, three as stuntman or trainer), making him Schwarzenegger's most frequent collaborator. It began with Conan the Barbarian, when Schwarzenegger brought Thorsen and other of his bodybuilder friends (like Franco Columbu) with him to shoot the movie. Later, when Thorsen moved to the United States, he met Schwarzenegger again while he was acting in the movie Commando. Thorsen helped with some of the stuntwork in that movie, and quickly found work in many of the subsequent Schwarzenegger films.
In spite of Thorsen's thick Danish accent, his voice is almost never dubbed (an exception being Hard Target). Thorsen pursued his role as Tigris (of Gaul) in Gladiator for over a year, beating Lou Ferrigno for the part. The part won him two TAURUS World Stunt Awards[4] in the ceremony's inaugural year.
Thorsen has founded various federations, including The Danish Bodybuilding Federation in 1979 and Cigar Night at Schatzi in Santa Monica, California along with Schwarzenegger. He has a black belt in Shotokan karate and holds championship titles.
Personal life
Sven-Ole Thorsen is 196 centimetres (6 feet, 5 inches) tall and while appearing in Conan the Barbarian (1982) he weighed 138 kilograms (304 lbs), according to his autobiography (page 24 & 110) from which most of the following information is taken.
He has two sons, Michael and Martin, from his first marriage.
Thorsen met his second wife, the Swedish circus-artist, snake-charmer, pop-singer and athlete Anniqa (born Anniqa Järle) in the 1970s, when she married his close friend, boxing champion Hans Jørgen Jacobsen; Anniqa and Sven-Ole Thorsen were married in 1982.
On his fortieth birthday, Anniqa and Sven-Ole Thorsen decided to move from Denmark to the USA, which they did in April 1985. The couple divorced in 1991.
Thorsen started dating Grace Jones in 1990, and as of 2007 they have maintained an open relationship. According to his autobiography, all his romantic relationships, marriages included, have been open relationships since the late 1970s.
In 1995, Thorsen started dating Erica Huff, daughter of the soul-singer Leon Huff. Sven-Ole Thorsen lives in Santa Monica in California and had two dogs, a Jack Russell Terrier named Jake and an American Bull Terrier named Cleo ( now dead ) he won the Danish "Show of Winners" Award of the Year 2006, honouring people who have a special affiliation with dogs.[5]
In his spare time, Thorsen creates wooden sculptures and enjoys art, which he showed in Danish magazine Euroman. He is also famously fond of cigars.
Filmography
| Year | Film | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1977 | Pas på ryggen, professor (Mind Your Back, Professor) | Russisk Håndlanger (Russian Henchman) | |
| 1982 | Conan the Barbarian | Thorgrim | (as Sven Ole Thorsen) [1] |
| 1984 | Conan the Destroyer | Togra | (as Sven Ole Thorsen) [1] |
| 1986 | Red Sonja | - | Stunts (uncredited) [1] |
| Raw Deal aka Triple Identity | Patrovita's Bearded Bodyguard (uncredited) | Stunts [1] | |
| 1987 | Lethal Weapon | Mercenary | (as Sven Thorsen) |
| Predator | Russian Officer (uncredited) | [1] | |
| The Running Man | Sven | (as Sven Thorsen) [1] | |
| Overboard | Olaf, Stayton Flunky (uncredited) | ||
| 1988 | Red Heat | Nikolai | [1] |
| Twins | Sam Klane | [1] | |
| 1989 | Pink Cadillac | Birthright Thug | |
| Ghostbusters II | - | Stunts | |
| 1990 | The Hunt for Red October | Russian Chief of the Red October | |
| Total Recall | - | Trainer [1] | |
| 1991 | Abraxas, Guardian of the Universe | Secundus | (as Sven Ole-Thorsen) |
| Harley Davidson and the Marlboro Man | David | ||
| Terminator 2: Judgment Day | Galleria Security Guard | [1] | |
| 1992 | Death Becomes Her | - | Stunts (uncredited) |
| Dead On: Relentless II aka Relentless II: Dead On | Mechanic (Patrick Vergano) | Stunts | |
| Lethal Weapon 3 | Henchman #2 | ||
| Bram Stoker's Dracula | - | Stunts (as Sven Thorsen) | |
| 1993 | Cyborg 2 | Doorman | (as Sven Thorsen) |
| Nowhere to Run | Prisoner | ||
| Nemesis | Cyborg Interrogating Old Woman (uncredited) | Stunts | |
| Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story | The Demon | ||
| Last Action Hero | Gunman | [1] | |
| Hard Target | Stephan | ||
| 1994 | A Little Tailor's Christmas Story | Schultz | |
| The Dangerous | Sven | ||
| On Deadly Ground | Otto | (as Swen-Ole Thorsen) | |
| A Low Down Dirty Shame aka Mister Cool | Mob Boss' Bodyguard (uncredited) | Stunts (as Sven Thorsen) | |
| 1995 | The Viking Sagas aka The Icelandic Sagas | Gunnar | |
| No Exit aka Fatal Combat | Darcona | ||
| The Quick and the Dead | Gutzon | ||
| Mallrats | La Fours | Stunts (as Sven Thorsen) | |
| Heat | - | Stunts (uncredited) | |
| 1996 | The Undercover Kid aka How I Saved the President | Terrorist #1 | |
| Fox Hunt | Huge Man | ||
| Eraser | Russian Gunman (uncredited) | Stunts [1] | |
| Bulletproof | Gunman at Motel (uncredited) | Stunts | |
| Jingle All the Way | - | Stunts (as Sven Thorsen) [1] | |
| 1997 | Breakdown | - | Stunts Only |
| Back in Business aka Heart of Stone | - | Stunts Only | |
| Batman & Robin | - | Stunts Only [1] | |
| George of the Jungle | Mercenary (Gunther) | (as Sven-Ole-Thorsen) | |
| Kull the Conqueror | King Borna | ||
| 1998 | The Bad Pack | Sven | |
| Best of the Best 4: Without Warning | Boris | ||
| Soldier | - | Stunts Only | |
| Winchell | German Man | ||
| 1999 | Foolish | Paris | |
| The 13th Warrior | Would-Be King | ||
| End of Days | Thug (uncredited) | also Utility Stunts [1] | |
| 2000 | Ready to Rumble | - | Stunts Only |
| Façade aka Death Valley | General Schweinkopf | (as Sven Ole-Thorsen) | |
| Gladiator | Tigris of Gaul (Tiger) | Won Stunt Award | |
| The Alternate aka Agent of Death | Secret Service Agent (uncredited) | ||
| 2001 | The Gristle | Butcher Boy | |
| Bandits (2001 film) | Oregon State Prison Guard on Watchtower (uncredited) | ||
| Route 666 | Russian Hitman | ||
| Extreme Honor aka Last Line of Defence 2 | Baker's Bodyguard | ||
| 2002 | Hollywood Next 8 Exits | The Landlord | |
| Collateral Damage | Bomb Victim (uncredited) | [1] | |
| The Sum of All Fears | Haft | ||
| 2003 | Masked and Anonymous | - | Stunts (as Sven Thorsen) |
| Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle | Machine Gun Mongol (uncredited) | ||
| The Rundown aka Welcome to the Jungle | Goon (uncredited) | [1] | |
| Timecop 2: The Berlin Decision | SS Body Guard | (as Sven Ole Thorson) | |
| 2004 | In Enemy Hands aka U-Boat | U 429: Hans | |
| Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story | Lumberjack hit by ball (uncredited) | Stunts (uncredited) | |
| Collateral | - | Stunt Driver Only | |
| Hidalgo | The Laughing Raider (uncredited) | ||
| 2005 | Hostage | Hooded Thug Guarding Hostages (uncredited) | |
| 2011 | Ronal Barbaren (Ronald the Barbarian) | The General (voice only) | Animated feature |
| 2016 | Mallrats 2: MallBrats | LaFours | Pre-production |
Notes
- 1 ^ Arnold Schwarzenegger also appeared in this movie.
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 17 October 1986 | The A-Team | "Rolf" | "Quarterback Sneak" (episode # 5.4) |
| 1987 | Captain Power and the Soldiers of the Future | Lt. Michael 'Tank' Ellis | Entire series |
| 11 May 1991 | The Flash | "Cyborg Omega" | "Alpha" (episode # 1.19) |
| 8 February 1997 | Baywatch Nights | "Viking" | "Frozen Out of Time" (episode # 2.13) |
| 18 March 1997 | The Guardian | "Baiya" | "Pilot" (episode # 1.1) |
| 1 February 1998 | Mike Hammer, Private Eye | "Rolf" (as Sven Ole Thorsen) | "The Art of Murder" (episode # 2.3) |
| 21 September 1998 | Baywatch | "Hans Ulpan" | "Crash: Part 1" (episode # 9.1) |
| 28 September 1998 | Baywatch | "Hans Ulpan" | "Crash: Part 2" (episode # 9.2) |
| 1999 | Biker-Jens i USA | as Himself | episode "Hos Sven-Ole Thorsen" |
| 1 December 2000 | Helle for Høgsbro | as Himself | "Dovenskab" (episode # 1.13) |
| 27 December 2005 | Go'morgen Danmark | as Himself | |
| 3 February 2006 | Showtime | as Himself | Episode #2.1 |
| 17 February 2006 | 2 Kaffe, Tak | as Himself | |
| 6 February 2006 | Go' Aften Danmark | as Himself | |
| 15 March 2007 | Andy Barker, P.I. | Thug #1 | Pilot (episode # 1.1) |
| October 2009 | Vild med dans (Strictly Come Dancing) | first two programs as Himself | |
| 14 December 2009 | Kristian | as Sven Ole | "Sekten" (episode # 1.5) |
| 13 December 2010 | Go' Aften Danmark | as Himself | |
References
External links
- Official website (Danish)
- Sven-Ole Thorsen at the Internet Movie Database