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Bo Svenson
Bo Svenson
	Svenson in 2023
Born	13 February 1941 (age 83); Gothenburg, Sweden
Occupation(s)	Actor, film director, film producer, screenwriter
Years active	1965–present
Spouse	Lise Svenson (m. 1966)
Children	3
Website	bosvenson.com

Bo Svenson (born 13 February 1941) is a Swedish-American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter, known for his roles in American genre films of the 1970s and 1980s.

Early life

Svenson was born in Sweden, the son of Birger Ragnar Svensson (1917–?), an athlete and the personal driver and bodyguard for the King of Sweden, and musician/big band leader Iris Viola "Lola" Svensson (1912–1998).

Svenson emigrated to the United States when he was 17, joined the United States Marine Corps, and served until his honorable discharge six years later.^[2] After his military service, Svenson settled in Florida, where he earned his living in various jobs, including professional race car driver.^[3]^[4] His first state of residence in the United States was Georgia, where he became familiar with the rural Southern accent he later employed in some of his roles.^[4] He has since become a naturalized United States citizen.^[5]

He also holds a fourth degree (Yondan) black belt in judo. He earned his first degree (Shodan) belt at Kodokan in Japan, the home dojo of Judo, while stationed in Japan in 1961 as a Marine.^[6] He was the 1961 Far East Judo Champion in the Heavyweight Division.^[4]

Career

In the late 1960s, Svenson had a recurring role in the TV series Here Come the Brides as Lumberjack Olaf "Big Swede" Gustavsen. He appeared in the 1973 made-for-TV movie Frankenstein, in which he plays the "Creature".

One of his first big-screen movie roles was opposite Robert Redford in The Great Waldo Pepper, where Redford and Svenson play rival ex-WWI U.S. Army Air Service pilots who are now employed in the hard and dangerous but wildly adventurous lives of 1920s barnstorming pilots, touring the Midwest.

In his next pursuit, Svenson took over the role of lawman Buford Pusser from Joe Don Baker in both sequels to the hit 1973 film Walking Tall, after Pusser himself, who had originally agreed to take over the role, died in an automobile crash. He reprised the role again for the short-lived 1981 television series of the same name.^[7]

One of his most famous roles in films was as murder-witness-turned-vigilante Michael McBain in the 1976 cult classic Breaking Point. He played the Soviet agent Ivan in the Magnum, P.I. episode "Did You See the Sunrise?" (1982) and many years later had a cameo as an American colonel in Inglourious Basterds, as a tribute to his role in The Inglorious Bastards; he is the only actor to appear in both films.^[7]

Svenson got name-checked by Breaking Bad's Mike Ehrmantraut.^[8]

Work with Fred Williamson

Svenson has co-starred in a number of films with Fred Williamson. They include, The Inglorious Bastards (1978),^[9] Deadly Impact (1984),^[10] Delta Force Commando (1987),^[11] The Kill Reflex (1989),^[12] Three Days to a Kill (1991),^[13] and Steele's Law (1991)^[14]

Outside acting

Svenson maintains an active role in the entertainment industry and is the Founder and CEO of MagicQuest Entertainment, a Hollywood production company since 1975, and Founder and CEO of CanAm Film Corp., a British Columbia corporation since 1992.^[15]

Filmography

Actor

Film
Year	Title	Role
1973	Maurie	Jack Twyman
1974	The Great Waldo Pepper	Axel Olsson
1975	Walking Tall Part 2	Buford Pusser
1976	Breaking Point	Michael McBain
1976	Special Delivery	Jack Murdock
1977	The Son of the Sheik	Hamilton Burger
1977	Walking Tall: Final Chapter	Buford Pusser
1978	The Inglorious Bastards	Lieutenant Robert Yeager
1979	Portrait of a Hitman	Dr. Bob Michaels
1979	North Dallas Forty	Jo Bob Priddy
1980	Virus	Major Carter
1982	Night Warning	Detective Joe Carlson
1983	Thunder	Sheriff Bill Cook
1984	Deadly Impact	George Ryan
1984	The Manhunt	Sheriff
1985	Wizards of the Lost Kingdom	Kor
1986	The Delta Force	Captain Campbell
	Choke Canyon	Captain Oliver Parkside
	Armour of God	Monk
	Heartbreak Ridge	Roy Jennings, Palace Bar Owner
1987	Maniac Killer	Count Silvano
	Movie in Action	The Director
	Thunder II	Sheriff Roger
	Double Target	Colonel Galckin
	White Phantom	The Colonel
	Brothers in Blood	Steven Elliott Logan / Steel
	Delta Force Commando	Colonel Keitel
1988	Andy Colby's Incredible Adventure	Kor The Conqueror
	Deep Space	Captain Robertson
	Primal Rage	Ethridge
1989	Soda Cracker	Ivan Moss
	Curse II: The Bite	The Sheriff
	Beyond the Door III	Professor Andromolek
1990	Tides of War	SS Colonel
1990	Laser Mission	Colonel
1991	Critical Action	Ex-Con
1991	Steele's Law	Sheriff Barnes
1992	Three Days to a Kill	Rick
1994	Savage Land	Jeb
1995	Private Obsession	Sam Weston
1995	Steel Frontier	Colonel Roy Ackett
1996	Cheyenne	Captain Starrett
1997	Speed 2: Cruise Control	Captain Pollard
1998	Yukie	Richard
2000	Crackerjack 3	Jack Thorn
2001	Outlaw	Detective Maize
2004	Legacy	Purse Snatcher
2004	Kill Bill: Volume 2	Reverend Harmony
2005	Hell to Pay	Del Shannon
2006	Raising Jeffrey Dahmer	Detective John Amos
2008	I Am Somebody: No Chance in Hell	Bo Foreman
2009	Inglourious Basterds	American Colonel
2010	The 7 Adventures of Sinbad	Simon Magnusson
	Angry	Bill
	Icarus	Vadim
2014	The Dependables	Mick Skinner
2014	Jersey Justice	W.W. Tolliver
2019	Finding Grace	Dr. Nelson

Television
Year	Title	Role	Notes
1965	Flipper	Harry Hobson	Episode: "Coral Fever"
1967	N.Y.P.D.	Actor	Episode: "Shakedown"
1968	Premiere	Milovan Drumm	Episode: "The Freebooters"
	Mission Impossible	Karl	Episode: "The Mercenaries"
	Here Comes the Brides	Big Swede	10 episodes
	The Outcasts	Pardee	Episode: "The Heroes"
1969	Lancer	Josh	Episode: "The Wedding"
	The Name of the Game	G.B. Mosbie	Episode: "Love-In at Ground Zero"
	Daniel Boone	Haskins	Episode: "A Pinch of Salt"
	The High Chaparral	Bennett	Episode: "Trail to Nevermore"
	Ironside	Baron Lars Von Gyllenskjold	Episode: "Love My Enemy"
1970	The Virginian	Lonnie	Episode: "The Price of the Hanging"
1970	The Mod Squad	Bubba	Episode: "Welcome to the Human Race, Levi Frazee!"
1971	The Chicago Teddy Bears	Georgi	Episode: "Billy the Kid"
1971	McCloud	Charles 'Bubba' White	Episode: "Top of the World, Ma"
1972	The Bravos	Raeder	TV movie
	The Rookies	Bud Reeves	Episode: "The Commitment"
	Banyon	Carlo	Episode: "Meal Ticket"
1973	You'll Never See Me Again	Sam	TV movie
1973	Kung Fu	Pike	Episode: "The Spirit-Helper"
1974	The Snoop Sisters	Chet Marion	Episode: "Fear Is a Free-Throw"
1975	Target Risk	Lee Driscoll	TV movie
1977	Snowbeast	Gar Seberg	TV movie
1979	Gold of the Amazon Women	Tom Jensen	TV movie
1979	The Spirit of Adventure: Night Flight	Fabien	TV movie
1981	Walking Tall	Sheriff Buford Pusser	7 episodes
1982	Magnum, P.I.	Ivan	Episode: "Did You See the Sun Rise?"
1983	The Fall Guy	Colonel Baker	2 episodes
1984	Jealousy	Ho Hutton	TV movie
1984	Hunter	Sheriff Jake Cutter	Episode: "A Long Way from L.A."
1985	Crazy like a Fox	Unknown	Episode: "Motor Homicide"
1987	The Dirty Dozen: The Deadly Mission	Maurice Fontenac	TV movie
1988	Murder, She Wrote	Karl Anderson	2 episodes
1993	Neon Rider	Maitland	Episode: "Walking Tall"
	Street Justice	Captain Stryker	Episode: "Countdown"
	The Commish	George Hayes	Episode: "Hero"
1994	Lonesome Dove: The Series	Colonel Jeb Quintano	Episode: "Last Stand"
	Cobra	Frank McLory	Episode: "Death Dive"
	Kung Fu: The Legend Continues	Ben Kinasay	Episode: "Only the Strong Survive"
1995	Pointman	Uncle Nick	Episode: "Going Home"
1997	Heartless	Sheriff Sam	TV movie
1998	Dead Man's Gun	Colonel Horace Buckthorn	Episode: "The Mimsers"
1998	Due South	Holloway Muldoon	2 episodes
2002	JAG	Captain Mikhail Yerastov	2 episodes
2004	I'll Be Seeing You	Philip Carter	TV movie
2004	Proof of the Man	Ken Shuftan	TV mini-series
2012	Arne Dahl: Bad Blood	Daniel Brink	TV movie