'The Best Man' Interview: Dolph Lundgren

Moviefone speaks with Dolph Lundgren about 'The Best Man.' "He's a bit of a drunk but he is still sharp enough to do his job," he said of his character.

The new action movie ‘The Best Man,’ which opens in theaters, On Demand and digital April 21st, was written and directed by Shane Dax Taylor (‘Bloodworth’).

What is the plot of ‘The Best Man?’

In ‘The Best Man,’ when a team of ruthless mercenaries violently seize control of a remote resort hotel looking for revenge, former Special Ops soldiers Bradley (Brendan Fehr) and Anders (Dolph Lundgren), who are attending their best friend Cal's (Luke Wilson) wedding to Brook (Nicky Whelen), along with the bride's sister Hailey (Scout Taylor-Compton), must rely only on their wits and training to combat the terrorists and save the hostages held for ransom.

The Best Man

R1 hr 33 minApr 21st, 2023

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Who is in the cast of ‘The Best Man?’

‘The Best Man’ stars Brendan Fehr ('X-Men: First Class,' ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’), Nicky Whelan (‘Hall Pass’), Scout Taylor-Compton (‘The Runaways’), Scott Martin (‘Big Kill’), Dolph Lundgren (‘Rocky IV,’ ‘The Expendables,’ 'Aquaman'), and Luke Wilson (‘The Royal Tenenbaums,’ ‘Old School’).

Moviefone recently had the pleasure of speaking with Dolph Lundgren about his work on ‘The Best Man,’ his character, his approach to his work now, the ‘Die Hard’ type plot, working with Luke Wilson, playing the piano, and even teased the upcoming ‘The Expendables 4.’

Dolph Lundgren as Anders in the action film, 'The Best Man,' a Saban Films release. Photo courtesy of Saban Films.

You can read the full interview below or click on the video player above to watch the interview.

Moviefone: To begin with, your character has been to war and its changed him. Where is he at mentally when the film begins?

Dolph Lundgren: Well, the way it was written was this slightly lighthearted character who drinks and he is a bit of a rogue, he's a bit of a drunk, but he is still sharp enough to do his job. So, I sort of focused on that part of him, not the military side of it because that I could do in my sleep and so many people play that. So I was trying to have fun with the character and make him a little irresponsible, and I thought it came across fairly well, at least in the first half of the movie.

MF: Can you expand on your approach as an actor when you are playing a role like this and the idea of “not playing the military side” of the character?

DL: Well, yes. I started that when I got older. When I was younger, you played a tough guy because it's in your DNA and you're trying to impress people or impress yourself. I don't know. But I sort of started doing that. I think it started with ‘The Expendables’ franchise where I had this character in the first ‘Expendables.’ He was supposed to be killed off actually, but he was kind of a bit of a drunk, crazy and certainly didn't care that he looked tough and he didn't care what he looked like. He didn't dress all cool and his hair was all hanging around. So I think it started there and I realized that people seem to enjoy that, and they kind of set me apart a little bit. There's an ‘Expendables 4’ coming out, and I enjoyed going back and having fun with that unpredictability and also because I'm such a big guy. If you're bigger than everybody else, you have to play something else. You can't play tough because then it's tough upon tough and it doesn't really work. I mean, unless you're a villain or somebody who's totally over the top.

Dolph Lundgren as Anders in the action film, 'The Best Man,' a Saban Films release. Photo courtesy of Saban Films.

Related Article: Brendan Fehr Talks 'The Best Man' with Luke Wilson and Dolph Lundgren

MF: You have a few scenes in the movie where your character plays the piano. Was that improvised, and is that an example of you choosing to focus on another aspect of the character?

DL: Yes, I enjoyed that. That was in the script and I was afraid that it was going to be covered more in detail and I was going to have to practice. But I kind of spoke to the pianist a little bit about how to do it, but you'd only see me play and it was more the playfulness of that moment. I used to play trombone and I used to play drums in a couple of different bands, so I like music and I thought it was an interesting little departure.

MF: The movie is sort of ‘Die Hard’ at a wedding, and if terrorists were going to attack at your wedding, these are the guys you want there. Can you talk about how your character springs into action when the trouble starts?

DL: Yeah, you're right. I mean, everybody's armed for some reason. I was trying to figure that out, but I guess it's in America. It could be in a state where everybody’s got a carry license, which they seem to have because everybody's got a concealed weapon. Yeah, it's like trying to rob a sheriff's convention, bad idea, and I think here Anders and the other guys are ex-military. It was just a bad idea for these guys to try what they were trying to do.

Luke Wilson as Cal in the action film, 'The Best Man,' a Saban Films release. Photo courtesy of Saban Films.

MF: Finally, have a great scene at the bar with Luke Wilson, what was it like working with him?

DL: I loved working with Luke. He is a lot of fun, very easy, easygoing guy, relaxed, and he improvised a lot of that scene. We ended up improvising and he started it, so he started improvising and I enjoyed it. I enjoyed working with him. I wish he would've had more scenes. Maybe next time.

(L to R) Luke Wilson as Cal, Nicky Whelan as Brooke and Dolph Lundgren as Anders in the action film,'The Best Man,' a Saban Films release. Photo courtesy of Saban Films.