VOA常速英语2008年-Lundgren Offers Western-Style Action in 'Missio

By Mike O'Sullivan
Los Angeles
20 February 2008

The Swedish actor-turned-director Dolph Lundgren is offering fans a modern action film with an old-time Western theme in Missionary¹ Man. VOA's Mike O'Sullivan spoke² with the veteran tough guy about his latest shoot-'em-up movie.

Lundgren directed and stars in the film, which he says offers plenty of action.

"We shot in Dallas, south of Dallas in a small town, and the picture is kind of 'anywhere USA.' Instead of horses we've got motorcycles, but there are plenty of cowboy hats and guns and native Americans, so it has that kind of feel of an old Western," he explained.

Lundgren has appeared in more than 30 films, but got into movies almost by accident. An engineering student, he had a series of scholarships to universities in Australia and the United States. Awarded a prestigious³ Fulbright scholarship to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, he was dating a girl in New York who was a singer. She introduced him to the world of entertainment, and he began to study modeling and acting⁴.

Lundgren was a karate⁵ expert. That and his Nordic looks helped him land a part in Rocky IV in the 1985 installment⁶ of Sylvester Stallone's boxing saga⁷. Lundgren played the evil Russian fighter Ivan Drago

"Before I knew it, I was a well recognized face all over the world. I'm just a Swedish kid. I didn't even know what happened to me. One day I'm hitting a bag in the gym and the next day I'm traveling around the world being asked questions about the Cold War and such. So it was quite a change for me," he said.

Then came more action films. He played the warrior⁸ called He-Man in Masters of the Universe, based on a character from a popular cartoon show. In the 1989 film Red Scorpion⁹, he played a Soviet¹⁰ agent, and was a high tech killer¹¹ in Universal Soldier in 1992.

Lundgren has played Russians in several films, and says that forged a special bond with fans in Russia. "I've been there quite a bit in the last couple of years. They do look at me a little bit like their own. They're a little surprised when they realize I don't speak Russian that well, but it's a very warm relationship," he said.

Lundgren has directed three films, including The Mechanik in 2005, in which he played a former Russian agent caught in a gang war. He enjoys the action genre¹² and says that, like it or not, action roles are what he is offered.

"You know, it's called show business, and if you make money playing one kind of role, then people want to put you back in that role, whether it's playing a priest or playing a bad guy or playing a cowboy or a cop, whatever it could be. In my case, I ended up doing a lot of action movies, a lot of physical roles," he said.

He enjoys directing, but says that role of overseeing a project, with its budgets and timetables, is very different from acting, which involves opening up emotionally in front of the camera.

Lundgren has remained active in martial¹³ arts, and made an appearance at the recent U.S. karate championships in Los Angeles. "And I was standing¹⁴ there and looking at these kids up on the podium, and it really struck me how much it meant to me in my life, the fact that I was fortunate enough when I was a kid to get that discipline and to have those role models instead of getting in trouble like I could have, like so many other kids. I do it for myself, for my physique, but also more so for my spirit, and trying to stay sane¹⁵ in a crazy business that show business can be," he said.

Lundgren says the movie business is crazy but rewarding, and he expects to star in more action films, and do some more directing, in the future.

1 missionary   

adj.教会的，传教(士)的；n.传教士

参考例句：

• She taught in a missionary school for a couple of years.她在一所教会学校教了两年书。
• I hope every member understands the value of missionary work. 我希望教友都了解传教工作的价值。

2 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

3 prestigious   

adj.有威望的，有声望的，受尊敬的

参考例句：

• The young man graduated from a prestigious university.这个年轻人毕业于一所名牌大学。
• You may even join a prestigious magazine as a contributing editor.甚至可能会加入一个知名杂志做编辑。

4 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。

5 karate   

n.空手道(日本的一种徒手武术)

参考例句：

• Alice's boyfriend knew a little karate.艾丽斯的男朋友懂一点儿空手道。
• The black belt is the highest level in karate.黑腰带级是空手道的最高级别。

6 installment   

n.(instalment)分期付款；(连载的)一期

参考例句：

• I shall soon pay the last installment of my debt.不久我将偿付我的最后一期债款。
• He likes to buy things on the installment plan.他喜欢用分期付款法购买货物。

7 saga   

n.(尤指中世纪北欧海盗的)故事，英雄传奇

参考例句：

• The saga of Flight 19 is probably the most repeated story about the Bermuda Triangle.飞行19中队的传说或许是有关百慕大三角最重复的故事。
• The novel depicts the saga of a family.小说描绘了一个家族的传奇故事。

8 warrior   

n.勇士，武士，斗士

参考例句：

• The young man is a bold warrior.这个年轻人是个很英勇的武士。
• A true warrior values glory and honor above life.一个真正的勇士珍视荣誉胜过生命。

9 scorpion   

n.蝎子，心黑的人，蝎子鞭

参考例句：

• The scorpion has a sting that can be deadly.蝎子有可以致命的螫针。
• The scorpion has a sting that can be deadly.蝎子有可以致命的螫针。

10 Soviet   

adj.苏联的，苏维埃的；n.苏维埃

参考例句：

• Zhukov was a marshal of the former Soviet Union.朱可夫是前苏联的一位元帅。
• Germany began to attack the Soviet Union in 1941.德国在1941年开始进攻苏联。

11 killer   

n.杀人者，杀人犯，杀手，屠杀者

参考例句：

• Heart attacks have become Britain's No.1 killer disease.心脏病已成为英国的头号致命疾病。
• The bulk of the evidence points to him as her killer.大量证据证明是他杀死她的。

12 genre   

n.(文学、艺术等的)类型，体裁，风格

参考例句：

• My favorite music genre is blues.我最喜欢的音乐种类是布鲁斯音乐。
• Superficially,this Shakespeare's work seems to fit into the same genre.从表面上看， 莎士比亚的这个剧本似乎属于同一类型。

13 martial   

adj.战争的，军事的，尚武的，威武的

参考例句：

• The sound of martial music is always inspiring.军乐声总是鼓舞人心的。
• The officer was convicted of desertion at a court martial.这名军官在军事法庭上被判犯了擅离职守罪。

14 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

15 sane   

adj.心智健全的，神志清醒的，明智的，稳健的

参考例句：

• He was sane at the time of the murder.在凶杀案发生时他的神志是清醒的。
• He is a very sane person.他是一个很有头脑的人。