# Sven-Ole Thorsen

Sven-Ole Thorsen (born 24 September 1944) is a Danish former actor, stuntman, bodybuilder and strongman competitor. Thorsen won Denmark's Strongest Man in 1983.
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.

## Career

He is known for his frequent appearances in movies featuring close friend Arnold Schwarzenegger, like Conan the Barbarian, as the hammer-wielding Thorgrim; The Running Man, as the ultimately-sympathetic bodyguard Sven; and in Predator as a Soviet advisor that executes a hostage. His other characters have included the boater-wearing security guard La Fours in Mallrats, the fighter Tigris of Gaul in Gladiator, Lt. Michael 'Tank' Ellis in Captain Power, and the alien villain Secundus in Abraxas, Guardian of the Universe.
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 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

Thorsen is 193 centimetres (6 feet, 4 inches) tall and while appearing in Conan the Barbarian (1982) he weighed 138 kilograms (304 lbs), according to his autobiography (page 24 & 110).
Thorsen lives in Santa Monica, California and had two dogs, a Jack Russell Terrier named Jake and an American Bull Terrier named Cleo (now deceased). He won the Danish "Show of Winners" Award of the Year 2006, honouring people who have a special affiliation with dogs.

## 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) |
| 1984 | Conan the Destroyer | Togra | (as Sven Ole Thorsen) |
| 1985 | Red Sonja | Stuntman | Stunts (uncredited) |
| 1986 | Raw Deal a.k.a. Triple Identity | Patrovita's Bearded Bodyguard (uncredited) | Stunts |
| 1987 | Lethal Weapon | Mercenary | (as Sven Thorsen) |
| 1987 | Predator | Russian Officer (uncredited) | |
| 1987 | The Running Man | Sven | (as Sven Thorsen) |
| 1987 | Overboard | Olaf, Stayton Flunky (uncredited) | |
| 1988 | Red Heat | Nikolai, Georgian Mafia | |
| 1988 | Twins | Sam Klane | |
| 1989 | Pink Cadillac | Birthright Thug | |
| 1989 | Ghostbusters II | Stuntman | Stunts |
| 1990 | The Hunt for Red October | Russian Chief of The Red October | |
| 1990 | Total Recall | Trainer | Trainer |
| 1991 | Abraxas, Guardian of the Universe | Secundus | (as Sven Ole-Thorsen) |
| 1991 | Harley Davidson and the Marlboro Man | David | |
| 1991 | Terminator 2: Judgment Day | Galleria Security Guard | |
| 1992 | Death Becomes Her | Stuntman | Stunts (uncredited) |
| 1992 | Dead On: Relentless II a.k.a. Relentless II: Dead On | Patrick Vergano, Mechanic | Stunts |
| 1992 | Lethal Weapon 3 | Henchman #2 | |
| 1992 | Bram Stoker's Dracula | Stuntman | Stunts (as Sven Thorsen) |
| 1993 | Cyborg 2 | Doorman | (as Sven Thorsen) |
| 1993 | Nowhere to Run | Prisoner | |
| 1993 | Nemesis | Cyborg Interrogating Old Woman (uncredited) | Stunts |
| 1993 | Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story | The Demon | |
| 1993 | Last Action Hero | Gunman | |
| 1993 | Hard Target | Stephan | |
| 1994 | A Little Tailor's Christmas Story | Schultz | |
| 1994 | The Dangerous | Sven | |
| 1994 | On Deadly Ground | Otto | (as Swen-Ole Thorsen) |
| 1994 | A Low Down Dirty Shame a.k.a. Mister Cool | Mob Boss' Bodyguard (uncredited) | Stunts (as Sven Thorsen) |
| 1995 | The Viking Sagas a.k.a. The Icelandic Sagas | Gunnar | |
| 1995 | No Exit a.k.a. Fatal Combat | Darcona | |
| 1995 | The Quick and the Dead | "Swede" Gutzon | |
| 1995 | Mallrats | La Fours | Stunts (as Sven Thorsen) |
| 1995 | Heat | Stuntman | Stunts (uncredited) |
| 1996 | The Undercover Kid a.k.a. How I Saved the President | Terrorist #1 | |
| 1996 | Fox Hunt | Huge Man | |
| 1996 | Eraser | Russian Gunman (uncredited) | Stunts |
| 1996 | Bulletproof | Gunman At Motel (uncredited) | Stunts |
| 1996 | Jingle All the Way | Stuntman | Stunts (as Sven Thorsen) |
| 1997 | Breakdown | Stuntman | Stunts Only |
| 1997 | Back in Business a.k.a. Heart of Stone | Stuntman | Stunts Only |
| 1997 | Batman & Robin | Stuntman | Stunts Only |
| 1997 | George of the Jungle | Mercenary | (as Sven-Ole-Thorsen) |
| 1997 | Kull the Conqueror | King Borna | |
| 1998 | The Bad Pack | Sven | |
| 1998 | Best of the Best 4: Without Warning | Boris | |
| 1998 | Soldier | Stuntman | Stunts Only |
| 1998 | Winchell | German Man | |
| 1999 | Foolish | Paris | |
| 1999 | The 13th Warrior | Would-Be King | |
| 1999 | End of Days | Thug (uncredited) | also Utility Stunts |
| 2000 | Ready to Rumble | Stuntman | Stunts Only |
| 2000 | Façade a.k.a. Death Valley | General Schweinkopf | (as Sven Ole-Thorsen) |
| 2000 | Gladiator | Tigris of Gaul (Tiger) | Won Stunt Award |
| 2000 | The Alternate a.k.a. Agent of Death | Secret Service Agent (uncredited) | |
| 2001 | The Gristle | Butcher Boy | |
| 2001 | Bandits (2001 film) | Oregon State Prison Guard On Watchtower (uncredited) | |
| 2001 | Route 666 | Sergei, Russian Hitman | |
| 2001 | Extreme Honor a.k.a. Last Line of Defence 2 | Baker's Bodyguard | |
| 2002 | Hollywood Next 8 Exits | The Landlord | |
| 2002 | Collateral Damage | Bomb Victim (uncredited) | |
| 2002 | The Sum of All Fears | Haft | |
| 2003 | Masked and Anonymous | Stuntman | Stunts (as Sven Thorsen) |
| 2003 | Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle | Machine Gun Mongol (uncredited) | |
| 2003 | The Rundown a.k.a. Welcome to the Jungle | Goon (uncredited) | |
| 2003 | Timecop 2: The Berlin Decision | SS Bodyguard | (as Sven Ole Thorson) |
| 2004 | In Enemy Hands a.k.a. U-Boat | U-429: Hans | |
| 2004 | Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story | Lumberjack Hit By Ball (uncredited) | Stunts (uncredited) |
| 2004 | Collateral | Stuntman | Stunt Driver Only |
| 2004 | Hidalgo | The Laughing Raider (uncredited) | |
| 2005 | Hostage | Hooded Thug Guarding Hostages (uncredited) | |
| 2011 | Ronal Barbaren (Ronald the Barbarian) | The General (voice only) | Animated feature |
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 | Lieutenant Michael 'Tank' Ellis | Entire series |
| 11 May 1991 | The Flash | Cyborg Omega | "Alpha" (episode # 1.19) |
| 13 May 1996 | Nowhere Man | Phone Repairman/Assassin | "Marathon" (episode # 1.24) |
| 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 | |