Dolph Lundgren, 68, made a rare public appearance with his wife, Emma Krokdal, 30, at the All-Stars for Change charity event in Beverly Hills on Thursday, two years after the action star announced he was in remission following a nine-year battle with kidney cancer.
The Swedish-American star looked fit and healthy at the event, held at Novikov Beverly Hills, which raised money for After-School All-Stars, a nonprofit founded in 1992 by Lundgren's friend Arnold Schwarzenegger that provides free after-school and summer programs for children.
Lundgren wore a black suit with a white dress shirt and beige sneakers, while Krokdal, a personal trainer who married him in 2023 after the pair met at their gym, chose a black off-the-shoulder dress with buff-colored peep-toe heels. Lundgren did more than mingle with guests; he stepped behind the bar to mix cocktails for attendees.
Dolph Lundgren, 68, made a rare appearance with his wife Emma Krokdal, 30, at the All-Stars for Change charity event in Beverly Hills on Thursday.
Dolph Lundgren's Cancer Battle
Lundgren was first diagnosed with cancer in 2015, when doctors removed a tumor from his left kidney. He remained symptom-free for five years until 2020, when acid reflux led to scans that revealed new tumors in his abdominal area, according to People.
Lundgren said the doctor told him he "should probably take a break and spend more time with your family." He recalled asking how much time he had left. "So I kind of asked him, 'How long do you think I got left?' I think he said two or three years, but I could tell in his voice that he probably thought it was less," Lundgren said.
After getting a second opinion that identified a specific mutation in his tumors, Lundgren received targeted therapy that successfully shrank them. He announced he was cancer-free in an Instagram video shared from a hospital bed.
Thursday's appearance came four months after Lundgren, Krokdal and his daughter Greta, 24, whom he shares with ex-wife Anette Qviberg, attended the Los Angeles premiere of the new Masters of the Universe film.
Masters of the Universe Cameo
Lundgren played Prince Adam and He-Man in the original 1987 Masters of the Universe film. In this year's reboot, he made a cameo as a "Macho Man" gym-goer who encounters the new Prince Adam, played by Nicholas Galitzine, 31.
Lundgren said passing the sword over to Galitzine was "a great feeling for me." "It's great that he's such a great He-Man, and I think it's a great production, and I was really honored to be part of it," he told People. "It was fun for me to show up in a movie and give him some advice when he needs it the most."
The He-Man character debuted as an action figure in 1982 and became widely popular through the 1983 animated series He-Man and the Masters of the Universe. Lundgren said there is "still something special about this franchise." "There's something about what they created back in 1983, I think it was, the series came out, the little cartoon came out and the toys, and there's something about it that people respond to," he said.
Galitzine's Transformation
Galitzine, who takes over the role from Lundgren, said he felt like a "complete fraud" the first time he tried on the He-Man costume. "To be candid, when I first tried on the costume, you know, when I hadn't fully made my transformation, I felt like a complete fraud. You know, I felt undeserving. I felt like, 'How am I gonna get to this point?'" he told Extra.
Galitzine said he did not have enough time to get into the shape he needed. "I come from a sporting background… I've been in gyms, but I think to transform my body from a state which was definitely not ready to play He-Man to adorn this mini skirt and chest plate is obviously incredibly trepidatious… It was five months… not enough time really to do it in a comfortable way," he said.
He said filming began while he was still cutting weight. "We even had to start shooting while I was cutting, which was a challenge in and of itself, you know, because you're acting in a scene and the first AD goes, 'Oh, we got 10 minutes. We're going to change the setup.' And you run outside to the assault bike, and you're just pedaling away," Galitzine said.
He said he realized the work had paid off the first day he wore the finished costume on set. "It wasn't really until that first day as He-Man on set when I put the costume on, I had the tan, I had the hair, and I went to set," he said. "You're trying to like catch people's eyes to see their reaction to you, and so the feeling was very good, and Travis and Jason and Todd, our producers, you know, they saw me." He added that the producers had worked on the franchise for 18 years, and seeing their reaction told him "the last five months haven't been in vain."
