Sven-Ole Thorsen (born 24 September 1944) is a Danish 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.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'). His other most 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[update]) (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.
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.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'). His other most 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[update]) (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.
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