Dolph Lundgren became a global icon the moment he stepped onto the screen as Ivan Drago in Rocky IV—ice-cold, intimidating, and unforgettable. But behind that legendary image is a man who has weathered some brutal experiences with other stars. After decades in Hollywood, Lundgren, now 68, quietly carries a blacklist of five actors he refuses to work with again.

They weren’t random rivals.

They were co-stars… colleagues… even friends.

Until they revealed sides of themselves he would never forget.

These are the five names—massive, unexpected Hollywood names—who pushed Dolph Lundgren to his breaking point.

1. Jean-Claude Van Damme: The Legendary Feud That Turned Real

Jean-Claude Van Damme isn’t just on Dolph Lundgren’s blacklist—he sits at the very top of it.

Their rivalry started in 1992 on Universal Soldier, a movie the studio believed would unite two action megastars. Instead, the set became a battleground.

Lundgren arrived prepared: lines tight, uniform crisp, scene work locked in.

Van Damme arrived like royalty—demanding retakes, rewriting moments to highlight his kicks, asking lighting crews to adjust angles so he looked more heroic on screen.

A crew member famously said: “Every day felt like watching two lions stare across a field.”

But the breaking point came at the Cannes Film Festival.

In front of journalists, Van Damme stepped toward Dolph and uttered the now-legendary challenge: “Come outside and finish it.”

Fans assumed it was marketing.

It wasn’t.

Lundgren later admitted privately: “If I’d said yes, it wouldn’t have ended well for anybody.”

Their hostility lingered for decades.

Even when reunited for The Expendables 2, they never shared a casual conversation. Not a greeting. Not a laugh. Nothing.

In 2018, when asked if he’d work with Van Damme again, Lundgren answered with a cold, perfect line: “Why? What’s left to prove?”

And that was that. Two icons. Zero reconciliation.

2. Steven Seagal: The Ego Clash That Ended Before It Began

If the Van Damme feud was explosive, the Steven Seagal incident was something else entirely—strange, surreal, and unforgettable.

Their conflict happened not on set, but in a private meeting for a potential action film. Everyone expected a routine table read.

Instead, Seagal walked in wearing sunglasses, flanked by a bodyguard, projecting the aura of a man who believed he invented martial arts.

His first words to Dolph?

“You should know I’m the top fighter here.”

That was his greeting.

Minutes later he added: “I don’t take hits on camera. Ever.”

Seagal demanded script rewrites where his character never struggled, never bled, never lost. Producers tried to stay polite, but Dolph could feel the discomfort spreading around the room.

A producer whispered: “He wants to be bulletproof.”

Stunt performers later warned Lundgren that Seagal often “demonstrated” techniques that actually injured people. One stuntman reportedly walked away with a swollen wrist after Seagal told him, “It builds character.”

Dolph walked out of that meeting and delivered his verdict: “Discipline impresses me. Pretending doesn’t.”

From that day forward, he refused every project featuring Steven Seagal’s name.

3. Mickey Rourke: The Moment Respect Turned Into Resentment

Unlike the others, Mickey Rourke wasn’t initially an enemy. Lundgren respected him—right up until the moment Rourke turned that respect into humiliation.

Their tension unfolded during the production of an early-2000s action thriller shot in Eastern Europe during a freezing winter.

Rourke arrived on set with pages of handwritten monologues he insisted on inserting into scenes—rambling additions about childhood trauma, guilt, religion, war memories. None of it was in the script. Actors froze mid-take, unsure how to respond.

One night, Lundgren waited in full costume for nearly three hours for a nighttime scene. Rourke finally showed at 1:47 a.m., cigarette in hand, saying: “I needed to walk the city to get into character.”

But the breaking point came during a blocking rehearsal.

Rourke shoved the script supervisor aside and declared: “Don’t tell me how to feel a scene. I feel it when it hits me.”

Then he turned to Dolph, smirked, and added: “Some guys act from instinct. Others just flex.”

That line ended everything.

After filming wrapped, Rourke skipped the entire promotional tour, leaving Lundgren to field awkward questions alone.

Dolph stayed diplomatic: “We won’t share a set again.”

But the message was clear.

4. Tom Berenger: The Actor Who Tried to Erase Dolph from His Own Film

Tom Berenger didn’t insult Dolph Lundgren.

He did something worse.

He tried to erase him.

Their conflict began on the set of a 2002 war movie filmed in Slovakia. Berenger quickly began rewriting scenes—always adding more speeches for himself, always trimming down Dolph’s lines.

At first, Dolph stayed quiet. But the pattern became impossible to ignore.

During a major confrontation scene shot in an old steel factory, Berenger refused to film unless he delivered a two-minute emotional monologue he wrote himself—one that destroyed the tension of the original script.

Dolph finally stepped forward and said: “He’s hijacking the film.”

The crew said Berenger walked away without a word.

The worst blow came in post-production. An editor privately told Lundgren’s team that Berenger requested:

removal of several of Lundgren’s medium shots

reduction of his reaction close-ups

extra inserts of Berenger during their shared dialogue

It was a quiet, calculated attempt to make the movie his movie.

After finishing his ADR session, Dolph left the studio and instructed his agent:

“If Berenger signs a project, I’m not interested.”

He has never broken that rule.

5. Brian Thompson: The Quiet Rival Who Became a Lifelong Resentment

The final name on Dolph Lundgren’s blacklist isn’t tied to a single scandal. It’s tied to decades of subtle digs, snide comments, and quiet antagonism.

Brian Thompson and Lundgren first crossed paths during Rocky IV. While Dolph was rocketing to global fame as Ivan Drago, Thompson reportedly told casting agents he too had been considered for the role—and would have brought “more depth” to it.

Dolph brushed it off.

But Thompson didn’t stop.

At industry events, he slipped in small jabs.

At one mixer, after a discussion about iconic villains, he said within clear earshot: “Some roles are written flat. The actor can only do so much.”

Everyone knew who he meant.

Their tension peaked during a table read for a ’90s action film. Thompson repeatedly interrupted Dolph to argue about blocking, then smirked and said: “Let’s not make this look like a weightlifting contest.”

It wasn’t just petty—it was personal.

But the final straw came in the 2010s at a Las Vegas fan expo. During a Q&A, Thompson mocked Dolph’s iconic line: “I must break you.”

He added: “I’d have delivered it with actual feeling.”

The crowd laughed. Dolph heard about it minutes later. He skipped his panel and did private signings instead—something he’d never done.

From that day on, Thompson wasn’t just a rival. He was erased.