Don’t worry, Dolph says that he is now cancer-free. But the life-changing drama of when he was told that he had two to three years to live because of kidney cancer completely reshaped the documentary Dolph: Unbreakable.
“They came to me back in 2020 during COVID, and we started shooting footage,” Lundgren told Entertainment Weekly. “At that point I’d done almost a hundred movies, so I felt I had a pretty interesting story. And then I get this cancer diagnosis in 2020, and everything was upended. I didn’t tell the documentary team about it for a while, but it wasn’t looking too good. So, in 2021, I told them that maybe we should focus a little bit on that because I may not be around for the premiere of this thing.”
Dolph Lundgren told Entertainment Weekly, that the diagnosis coming during production forced everyone to refocus. New interviews and footage were recorded, and Lundgren’s wife Emma Krokdal began filming his experiences in hospitals. So even though the focus of the documentary was forced to change, Lundgren said that the final form of Dolph: Unbreakable now symbolizes “the fights I’ve had in my whole life, framed by the big battle I had over four years with kidney cancer.”
Dolph Lundgren’s encounter with cancer happened in 2015. He was in Sweden preparing for a Gumball race when he noticed blood in his urine. He didn’t think much about it because he felt fine otherwise, but he was diagnosed at that time with renal cell carcinoma, a common form of kidney cancer. He had surgery, a tumor was removed, and he appeared to have left cancer behind him.
In 2020, in the midst of COVID, Lundgren was told his cancer had returned. Worse, it had spread. He had to undergo immunotherapy this time, but he was told that it wasn’t working and that he only had a few years to live.
Lundgren went to the U.S. and got a second opinion which is when they discovered a rare mutation in his cancer which wasn’t previously detected. This allowed for a targeted approach that eventually, and with a few complications, worked.
During the process, he was supported by his wife (then his fiancée) Emma Krodkal who kept an optimistic outlook. He told EW that even having the documentary crew there when it was all happening helped: “The interviewers and documentary team were there as well for me, and when I first told them, they got very emotional; they were in shock, and they didn’t know what to think. So I think they’re very happy that things have worked out well.”
He’s not afraid to show his emotional side throughout the Dolph: Unbreakable though. That’s actually one of the things he wants people to see. “That emotional openness has made me feel better and has value for me,” Lundgren told Entertainment Weekly. “And I think for other people. Men aren’t supposed to be emotional; we are supposed to just soldier on, no matter what happens to us, but men are damaged, too. By opening up, it could be a better world, because instead of getting aggressive and hurting other people, you can just get your emotions out in a positive way.”
Dolph: Unbreakable will be released on digital platforms in the U.S. on October 6, 2026. Lundgren also has a memoir, Fights Worth Fighting: Finding Strength in Struggle, which will be released September 22, 2026.
sources:
Entertainment Weekly “Rocky IV star Dolph Lundgren breaks down over cancer battle in emotional trailer for Dolph: Unbreakable” August 19, 2026
Forbes “Dolph Lundgren Opens Up About His Kidney Cancer Journey” July 19, 2026
