Physical Address
304 North Cardinal St.
Dorchester Center, MA 02124
Dolph Lundgrento play He-Man
Cannon Films he had the rights to Masters of the Universe and decided: “Let’s get this new guy. I decided to do it but reluctantly – I didn’t want to play a puppet. There was a lot of fun and a lot of anxiety. I was the Soviet villain Ivan Drago in Rocky IV and now I’m going to be an American hero. I was scared and afraid that people wouldn’t like it.”
It was hard work. If you play a Soviet fighter, you can watch them on TV but who do you learn to play He-Man? Art? I can find common ground. I was very innocent then, vulnerable and boyish. It was difficult trying to find this because I had never done it on camera before. I talked to Gary Goddard, the director, but he was also busy with the results and the budget. I felt a little lost myself. I was also concerned about my accent – could I sound Swedish again? I did a lot of ADR (Automated Dialogue Replacement), not only because of my accent but also because we had sounds because of the loudness generators.
I had a say in my clothes. The studio wanted me not to wear it. I think they think: “The more we see his muscles, the better he is.” I wanted the armor to complement my body. I learned from Sylvester Stallone about what looks good on film. But I really didn’t care. We shot outside in the winter and I remember being very cold. I had to wear Vaseline to keep my body warm. I did most of my retreats on my own. There were a lot of events set up – at the time of the sporting goods store my watches were on fire!
Frank Langella looked great as Skeletor. I looked at him and he gave me instructions. The thick face paint took hours to apply. I don’t know how he managed to obey. I am very happy to be the first person to participate in this game. He-Man’s compassion combined with the brutal strength of a warrior – I am that. It’s part of me.
Robert Duncan McNeill, played Kevin
Everyone knew these toys and cartoons. It was huge. When I met Gary Goddard, he said that he wanted to make an ET story: the characters of the Masters of the Universe come to Earth and these children have to save them. I was very happy.
It sounded like it was going to be the biggest movie of all time, but very quickly it became clear that they were trying to scale it down. Cannon’s films had a very tight budget and shooting schedule. Gary had never directed a movie before – his interest was great but he didn’t have much experience. We fell behind very quickly. At one point I didn’t know if we were going to finish.
Billy Barty – who played Gwildor – he was fun and drunk most of the time. He was a veteran actor and storyteller. He always has a small glass of something and you can smell the alcohol.
Frank Langella got off to a late start and canceled his contract. We were so late that we went on that day before they had to work. He said he would keep doing it as long as he agreed to his lines – he also wrote many of Skeletor’s speeches. And she had her makeup too. The original versions were a full chapter but they were reduced until Frank’s face and voice came out. He pushed the makeup team to be as good as it was.
Dolph wasn’t part of the crowd. He exploded as a celebrity after Rocky. He felt that he should be larger than life physically. He had a truck that transported his gym so he could do dumbbells before he did it. It was a make or break film for him and you could see he was feeling the pressure. In between shots, the rest of us were being silly but he took it seriously. There was no small matter.
When we see Skeletor’s train there is a fire that blows up the car. The explosion was much bigger than anyone expected and the blast blew out windows all over the street. Alarms went off everywhere.
I was very disappointed when it came out. It didn’t do well at the box office or live up to ET’s promise. However, perhaps because of its imperfection and innocence, it has become a beloved, beautiful mess of a movie. People think we’re young, and as we get older and life gets messy, it’s refreshing to see things that remind us of the simplicity of youth.
