Dolph Lundgren
Considering himself a “runt” as a boy, Dolph Lundgren took up karate at age 10. He eventually became the European Karate Champion. He kept up martial arts, even while getting his master’s in chemical engineering.
He got into MIT on a Fulbright Scholarship—but while working as a bouncer at a nightclub, model Grace Jones noticed him. She hired him to be her bodyguard (and lover) and set the brilliant Lundgren on the path to tough-guy glory.