Stephen Amell Talks Working With Dolph Lundgren on Arrow

In the first for what seems like an eternity, Arrowheld our attention with its flashback plot in “So It Begins.” It’s not too much of a jump to give much of that credit to Dolph Lundgren, the Rocky IVlegend who made his Arrowdebut tonight as Konstantin Kovar, the Russian strongman Oliver has been hunting. 

Lundgren’s addition to the flashbacks storyline began with a creepy story about teamwork and turnips, featuring a neck-snapping, and ended with a introduction to Oliver Queen that felt more like a threat. So it begins, indeed.

Den of Geek was a amongst a group of reporters who had the chance to visit the Arrowset last week and talk to the cast. Here’s what Stephen Amell had to say about Kovar’s addition to the plot:

I do think that it would’ve been a missed opportunity in the last year of these flashbacks to not have a really worthy adversary, and we found that in Dolph, which is why he’ll be around for a while. It’s been a blast to work with him. It’s been awesome.

Amell also spoke fondly specifically about Lundgren’s behind-the-scenes presence, telling reporters:

Yeah, he is [a legend]. It’s interesting watching someone who has sort of cut their in film walk onto a 23-episode-a-year television show with 14-hour days. Because he just moves at his own pace. And it’s not indulgent. When he came to set, he knew his stuff — not that I expected anything less.

He was very respectful. He asked a lot of questions. He’d clearly done his homework. But, you know, it’s like Dolph moves the way that he moves and he’s very thoughtful and contemplates his lines and he’s been great so far. But it’s a real change of pace.

If Lundgren’s contemplative acting style continues to result in performances like his Arrowdebut, I am all for it.