Before he became an action star playing Rocky IV’s reviled Soviet boxer Ivan Drago, Dolph Lundgren left his native Sweden and traveled the world to study chemical engineering.
He grew up in a family of engineers, and his brother owned a petrochemical company. “He’s living a different life,” Lundgren says of his sibling. “He certainly doesn’t get punched by Sly Stallone or drive armored vehicles with .50 caliber machine guns on them. So, I think I lucked out. I think I had a very interesting life this way.”
Lundgren brings his passions for science and storytelling together as executive producer, host, and narrator of History’s Greatest Machines With Dolph Lundgren, an eight-part series exploring the biggest, fastest, most powerful, and most complex inventions that changed the course of world events.
While the printing press, the steam engine, the Ford Model T, and the transistor would help to build modern society, many of the most significant devices created by humans came from conflict, where humanity’s darker impulses often sparked its brightest innovations.
“I’m interested in rocket technology because of the way it came out of World War II and came out of wartime use from the German side,” Lundgren says. “World War II turned into the Cold War, and these guys were brought over from Germany and developed the Saturn V rocket, which then became the Apollo missions.”
That tension between destruction and progress runs throughout human history with machines, from the atomic bomb to the nuclear reactor. “It can be turned into something positive, which is great that at least things can be used to help humanity,” Lundgren says.
The premiere episode, “Aerial Attackers,” explores flying objects from ancient catapults to stealthy drones, revealing how controlling the skies has led to controlling the battlefield throughout history.
Future episodes include “Mission Critical,” “Monster Machines,” “Devices of Deception,” and “Breakthrough Boats.”
History’s Greatest Machines With Dolph Lundgren, Series Premiere, Monday, June 1, 10/9c, History Channel
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