Connection
Sven-Ole Thorsen is a Actor and Stunts Danois born on 24 september 1944 at Copenhagen (Danemark)
Sven-Ole Thorsen (born 24 September 1944) is a Danish actor, stuntman, bodybuilder and strongman competitor. Sven 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 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 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.
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.
(1996)
(Stunts)
(1992)
(Stunts)
(1999)
(Utility Stunts)
(1997)
(Stunts)
(1996)
(Actor)
Source : Wikidata
Sven-Ole Thorsen
- Infos
- Photos
- Best films
- Family
- Characters
- Awards
Sven-Ole Thorsen (born 24 September 1944) is a Danish actor, stuntman, bodybuilder and strongman competitor. Sven 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.
Biography
CareerHe is known for his frequent appearances in Arnold Schwarzenegger movies, like Conan the Barbarian, as the hammer-wielding Thorgrim; The Running Man, as the 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 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.
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.
Best films
(1996)(Stunts)
(1992)(Stunts)
(1999)(Utility Stunts)
(1997)(Stunts)
(1996)(Actor)
Usually with
Filmography of Sven-Ole Thorsen (58 films)
Actor
Add to a movie list
Ronal the Barbarian (2011)
, 1h29Origin Danemark
Genres Comedy, Fantasy, Adventure, Animation
Themes Films about magic and magicians
Actors Lars Mikkelsen, Lars Bom (Olesen), Preben Kristensen, Brigitte Nielsen, Bodil Jørgensen, Sven-Ole Thorsen
Roles Generalen (voice)
Rating65%
Welcome to the world of Metalonia, where we meet the Barbarians - a fierce and ever battle-hungry tribe of muscle-worshipping warriors with strict codes for epilation, chaps and piercings. And then there is Ronal, the tribe weakling and laughing stock. Ronal is more or less hopeless - he even knows how to read, but serious barbarian business like yilding (or even lifting) a sword, kicking orcs around or toning the muscles with oil is completely lost on him, and everybody but his uncle has given up on him - even himself.
Hostage (2005)
, 1h53Directed by Florent-Emilio Siri
Origin USA
Genres Drama, Thriller, Action, Crime
Actors Bruce Willis, Kevin Pollak, Ben Foster, Jonathan Tucker, Michelle Horn, Jimmy Bennett
Rating64%
Former SWAT officer Jeff Talley is a hostage negotiator in Los Angeles. Talley is negotiating with a man who has taken his wife and son hostage after learning she has been cheating on him. Talley denies a SWAT commander's request to give snipers the green light to take out the suspect. There are three gunshots in the house. Talley runs through the barricaded door and finds the man and his wife dead. In the boy's room he finds the son, who passes away in Talley's arms. This leaves Talley emotionally scarred. He moves with his family to become police chief in Bristo Camino, a peaceful suburban hamlet in Ventura County, California.
In Enemy Hands (2005)
, 1h34Origin USA
Genres Drama, War, Thriller, Action
Themes Seafaring films, Transport films, Submarine films, Political films, United States Armed Forces in films
Actors Til Schweiger, Thomas Kretschmann, William H. Macy, Lauren Holly, Jeremy Sisto, Scott Caan
Roles Hans
Rating59%
Macy stars as the COB (chief of the boat) on a fictitious US Navy submarine, the USS Swordfish (although there were two actual submarines named USS Swordfish that served the US Navy during and after World War II, neither are represented by the sub in this film). While on patrol in the North Atlantic, the ship is ambushed by two German U-boats. Swordfish destroys one of them, but is critically damaged by a torpedo fired from the second one, the fictitious U-boat U-429 (again, there was a real WWII German submarine U-429, not actually represented in the film). Eight members of the American crew escape and are held prisoner on board U-429. However, the American executive officer had previously contracted meningitis and given it to his captain, who brought it aboard the U-429. Within days, over half the German crew, as well as some of the Americans, contract the disease and die. Although the Germans and Americans begin to work together to keep the boat operational, not all the U-boat crew is willing to go along with this arrangement. Also, another U-boat and an American destroyer (the fictional USS Logan, not related to the actual attack transport of that name) threaten to overwhelm their tentative truce.
, 1h18Directed by Steve Boyum
Origin USA
Genres Science fiction, Action, Crime
Themes Time travel films, Films set in the future
Actors Jason Scott Lee, Thomas Ian Griffith, Mary Page Keller, Robert Carradine, John Beck, Kenneth Choi
Roles SS Bodyguard
Rating48%
En 2025, à Washington. Alors que les voyages dans le passé sont possibles depuis plus d'une vingtaine d'années, la Commission d'Application du Temps (C.A.T.) veille à ce que personne ne les utilise pour modifier l'Histoire.
, 1h46Directed by McG
Origin USA
Genres Martial arts, Comedy, Action, Adventure, Crime, Martial arts
Themes Feminist films, Sports films, Martial arts films, Political films, Buddy films
Actors Cameron Diaz, Drew Barrymore, Lucy Liu, Crispin Glover, Bernie Mac, Justin Theroux
Roles Machine Gun Mongol (uncredited)
Rating49%
After rescuing U.S. Marshal Ray Carter (Robert Patrick) in Mongolia, the Angels, Dylan (Drew Barrymore), Natalie (Cameron Diaz), and Alex (Lucy Liu) are hired to locate a set of titanium rings called H.A.L.O. (Hidden Alias List Operation) stolen from the Department of Justice that, when put together in a machine, will display a list of all individuals in the witness protection program. Many people, including Justice Department official William Rose Bailey (Bruce Willis), who possessed one of the rings, were murdered in the process. Having discovered that one of the protected witnesses, Alan Caulfield (Eric Bogosian), was murdered in his house in San Bernardino, the Angels investigate the scene and discover evidence suggesting that Caulfield was smothered with a bag and the killer is a surfer with a scar on his left leg. Meanwhile, Natalie and her now boyfriend Peter Kominsky (Luke Wilson) are moving in together, with some help from Alex's boyfriend Jason Gibbons (Matt LeBlanc), whose relationship with Alex is on a "time out".
The Rundown (2003)
, 1h44Directed by Peter Berg
Origin USA
Genres Thriller, Comedy, Action, Adventure
Themes Buddy films
Actors Dwayne Johnson, Seann William Scott, Christopher Walken, Rosario Dawson, Ewen Bremner, Stephen Bishop
Roles Goon (uncredited)
Rating66%
Beck (Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson) is a "retrieval expert", a bounty hunter who collects debts for a man named Walker (William Lucking). He is dispatched to a nightclub to retrieve a championship ring from a football player, and after doing so is assaulted by one of Walker's other collectors. Angry, he confronts Walker and tells him that he wants out of the business. Walker talks him into one last bounty - retrieve Walker's son Travis (Seann William Scott) from a small mining town in Brazil and Walker will give him enough money to open his own restaurant. Beck accepts and leaves for Brazil. When Beck arrives in the town of El Dorado he meets with the man running the mining operation, Mr. Hatcher (Christopher Walken). Hatcher gives Beck his blessing to grab Travis, but reneges when he finds out that Travis has discovered a missing golden artifact called "El Gato do Diabo". Beck confronts Hatcher and his men in the local bar and leaves with Travis. On the way back to the airfield, Travis forces their Jeep off the road and into the jungle. There he tries to escape but is re-captured by Beck. After an unfortunate encounter with some local monkeys, the two find themselves in the camp of the local resistance movement.
, 1h21Directed by Steve Boyum
Origin USA
Genres Science fiction, Thriller, Action
Themes Sports films, Time travel films, Films set in the future, Martial arts films, Superhero films
Actors Jason Scott Lee, Thomas Ian Griffith, Mary Page Keller, John Beck, Tava Michelle Smiley, Kenneth Choi
Roles SS Bodyguard
Rating48%
In 2025, the Time Enforcement Commission (TEC), the agency that monitors time travel, and still keeping the past safe. However, as a check and balance to TEC, a "Society for Historical Authenticity" (SHA) is established to ensure that TEC personnel do not alter history. But the Society's leader, Brandon Miller, believes he has the responsibility to change history based on a "moral obligation to right the wrongs of the past" and plans to do so by traveling back to Berlin in 1940 and killing Adolf Hitler (a scenario mentioned in the original film). TEC agent Ryan Chan is sent back to stop him, but in the resulting fight, Miller's wife Sasha, also part of the SHA, ends up dead. Miller is imprisoned in the World Penitentiary for trying to change history, and Ryan Chan begins arresting Miller's close Society friends. In Atlantic City in 1895, Ryan prevents SHA member Frank Knight from robbing Andrew Carnegie. Knight accuses the TEC of being murderers when they execute him. Ryan is haunted by memories of when his father, Josh, died of a brain aneurysm in 2002. Josh was lecturing about time travel at the University of Southern California, and had a heated debate on the morals of altering history.
Collateral Damage (2002)
, 1h48Directed by Andrew Davis
Origin USA
Genres Drama, Thriller, Action, Adventure
Themes Films about terrorism, Films about the labor movement, Disaster films
Actors Arnold Schwarzenegger, Elias Koteas, Francesca Neri, Cliff Curtis, John Leguizamo, John Turturro
Rating55%
A bomb detonates in the plaza of the Colombian Consulate building in Los Angeles, killing nine people, including a caravan of Colombian officials and American intelligence agents. Among the civilians killed are the wife and son of LAFD firefighter, Captain Gordon "Gordy" Brewer, who was injured in the explosion. A tape is sent to the U.S. State Department, in which a masked man calling himself "El Lobo" (The Wolf) claims responsibility, explaining it was in retaliation for the oppression of Colombia by the United States. The FBI believes El Lobo is a Colombian terrorist named Claudio Perrini. CIA Special Agent Peter Brandt, the Colombia Station Chief, is harshly reprimanded for the incident by a Senate Oversight Committee, who promptly terminate all CIA operations in Colombia. Brandt angrily returns to Mompós and meets with his paramilitary allies to plan a major offensive to take down Claudio.
The Sum of All Fears (2002)
, 2h4Directed by Phil Alden Robinson
Origin USA
Genres Drama, Thriller, Action, Politic
Themes Spy films, Post-apocalyptic films, Films about religion, Films about terrorism, Films set in the future, Political films, Dystopian films, Arme nucléaire, Disaster films
Actors Ben Affleck, Morgan Freeman, James Cromwell, Philip Baker Hall, Alan Bates, Michael Byrne
Roles Haft
Rating63%
In 2002, a Syrian scrap collector uncovers a large unexploded bomb buried in a field within the Golan Heights, and sells it to a South African arms dealer named Olson (Feore). Olson recognizes it as an Israeli nuclear weapon that was lost when the A-4 Skyhawk carrying it was shot down during the 1973 Yom Kippur War. He later sells it to a secretive far-right cabal seeking to impose a white supremacist world order, led by Austrian billionaire and neo-Nazi Richard Dressler (Bates). Dressler's aim is to transform Europe into a united fascist superstate. He intends to start a nuclear war between the United States and Russia that will devastate them both.
Extreme Honor (2001)
, 1h33Origin USA
Genres Thriller, Action
Actors Michael Ironside, Olivier Gruner, Sarah Shahi, Michael Madsen, Edward Albert, Deanna Lund
Roles Baker's Bodyguard #1
Rating35%
Poussé à la démission de son métier de marines par la faute d'un collègue, John Brasco se reconvertit dans le civil, mais c'est pour découvrir que son fils est atteint d'une leucémie. Des médecins proposent de lancer un programme médical spécial, à condition de trouver le financement... John connaît justement un milliardaire... qui ne semble pas très coopérant...
Bandits (2001)
, 2h3Directed by Barry Levinson
Origin USA
Genres Drama, Thriller, Comedy, Comedy-drama, Romantic comedy, Action, Crime, Romance
Themes Psychologie, Films about sexuality, Buddy films, Heist films, Gangster films, Escroquerie
Actors Bruce Willis, Billy Bob Thornton, Cate Blanchett, Troy Garity, Brían F. O'Byrne, Stacey Travis
Rating64%
Two friends and convicts, Joe (Bruce Willis) and Terry (Billy Bob Thornton), break out of Oregon State Penitentiary in a concrete mixing truck and start a bank robbing spree, hoping to fund a dream they share. They become known as the "Sleepover Bandits" because of their modus operandi: they kidnap the manager of a target bank the night before a planned robbery, then spend the night with the manager's family; early the next morning, they accompany the manager to the bank to get their money. Using dim-witted would-be stunt man Harvey Pollard (Troy Garity) as their getaway driver and lookout, the three successfully pull off a series of robberies that gets them recognition on the FBI's Ten Most Wanted list.
Route 666 (2001)
, 1h30Origin USA
Genres Thriller, Action, Horror
Themes Medical-themed films, Ghost films, Zombie films, Films about viral outbreaks, Disaster films
Actors Lou Diamond Phillips, Lori Petty, Steven Williams, L. Q. Jones, Dale Midkiff, Alex McArthur
Roles Russian Hitman
Rating44%
Sitting alone at a roadside bar in Arizona, Fred "Rabbit" Smith (Williams) drinks nervously. Two people named Jack La Roca (Phillips) and Stephanie (Petty) enter the bar. Rabbit uses the restroom followed by Jack who handcuffs him. He reveals that he and Steph are Federal Marshals assigned to capture Rabbit and bring him to court in Los Angeles to testify against a mob boss named Benny (Sven-Ole Thorsen) who Rabbit used to work for. He was originally going to testify in exchange for full immunity but ran after learning the mob joined forces with the Russians. They are hunting him, too. Jack calls for a Suburban driven by four other marshals to pick them up before Benny and his mob arrive with heavy firepower. They leave out the back and battle the assassins until marshals; Nick, Mary, PT and Joe arrive between them. They manage to kill all assassins but Benny. Jack and Rabbit use Rabbit's car to escape in the same path as the other marshals (including Steph in the truck). Jack manages to shoot Benny's tires out before leaving.
Gladiator (2000)
, 2h35Directed by Ridley Scott
Origin USA
Genres Drama, Action, Adventure, Peplum
Themes Films set in Africa, Films about slavery, Films about families, Films about sexuality, Sports films
Actors Russell Crowe, Joaquin Phoenix, Connie Nielsen, Oliver Reed, Richard Harris, Derek Jacobi
Roles Tigris
Rating82%
In AD 180, Spanish-Roman General Maximus Decimus Meridius leads the Roman army to a decisive victory against the Germanic tribes near Vindobona, ending a long war on the Roman frontier and winning the favor of the Emperor Marcus Aurelius. Maximus, weary of battle, decides to retire at his Spanish farm estate at the Emperor's behest, but the Emperor tells him that his son and heir to the throne, Commodus, is unfit to rule and thus appoints him as regent to help save Rome from corruption. Before he makes his decision, Commodus is confronted by his father who tells him that he will not be emperor. Burdened by grief and believing he was never valued by his father, Commodus kills him.
The Alternate (2000)
, 1h35Directed by Sam Firstenberg
Origin USA
Genres Drama, Thriller, Action
Actors Eric Roberts, Ice-T, Michael Madsen, John Beck, Brooke Theiss, Larry Manetti
Roles Secret Service Agent
Rating31%
The 13th Warrior (1999)
, 1h42Directed by John McTiernan, Michael Crichton
Origin USA
Genres Science fiction, War, Thriller, Fantasy, Action, Adventure, Historical
Themes Films about magic and magicians, Seafaring films, Films based on mythology, Transport films, Films set in the Viking Age, Films based on Norse mythology
Actors Antonio Banderas, Diane Venora, Vladimir Kulich, Clive Russell, Omar Sharif, Richard Bremmer
Roles Would Be King
Rating66%
Ahmad ibn Fadlan is a court poet to the Caliph of Baghdad, until his amorous encounter with the wife of an influential noble gets him exiled as an "ambassador" to Northern Barbarians. Traveling with Melchisidek, his caravan is saved from Turkic raiders by the appearance of Norsemen (presumably Varangian). Taking refuge at their settlement on the Volga river, communications are established through Melchisidek and Herger, a Norseman who speaks Latin. Ahmad and Melchisidek are in time to witness a fight, which establishes Buliwyf as heir apparent, followed by the Viking funeral of their dead king, cremated together with a young woman who agreed to accompany him to Valhalla.