Dolph Lundgren: "Britain's Olympians Are Remarkable"
The Rocky and Expendables star on Mo Farah, action movies and chemical engineering.
So, Dolph, how was your London 2012?
It was great thanks, man. And didn't you guys do well? I'm not just taking about hosting the games, which was clearly a huge success, but the way you competed. People in the US forget that the UK's such a small country – 60 million compared to our 300 million-plus. To win more than 60 medals is an incredible achievement. And the dignity that people like Mo Farah showed, that's something that sportsmen the world over could learn from. They're remarkable people, Britain's Olympians.
They do seem humble and affable, for the most part...
And that's rare in sportspeople today. There was none of this 'we're number one' crap. They competed, they gave it their all and, when they won, they were quick to thank those people who'd made their success possible and to commiserate with the loser. And as for the guys who didn't win medals, they were just so gracious.
As a sportsman yourself [Dolph was a heavyweight karate champion in both Australia and his native Sweden], were you a good loser?
Karate's all about discipline, so when you lose you have to show respect to the victor, just as you don't gloat when you win. But if I was dignified on the outside, I was tearing myself apart inside when I lost.
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