He is known for his frequent appearances in movies featuring close friend
Arnold Schwarzenegger, like
Conan the Barbarian, as the hammer-wielding Thorgrim;
The Running Man, as the ultimately-sympathetic bodyguard Sven; and in
Predator as a Soviet advisor that executes a hostage. His other characters have included the
boater-wearing security guard La Fours in
Mallrats, the fighter Tigris of Gaul in
Gladiator, Lt. Michael "Tank" Ellis in
Captain Power, and the alien villain Secundus in
Abraxas, Guardian of the Universe. Thorsen has been credited in fifteen Arnold Schwarzenegger movies () (twelve as actor, three as stuntman or trainer), making him Schwarzenegger's most frequent collaborator. It began with
Conan the Barbarian, when Schwarzenegger brought Thorsen and other of his bodybuilder friends (like
Franco Columbu) with him to shoot the movie. Later, when Thorsen moved to the United States, he met Schwarzenegger again while he was acting in the movie
Commando. Thorsen helped with some of the stuntwork in that movie, and quickly found work in many of the subsequent Schwarzenegger films. In spite of Thorsen's thick Danish accent, his voice is almost never dubbed (an exception being
Hard Target). Thorsen pursued his role as Tigris (of Gaul) in
Gladiator for over a year, beating
Lou Ferrigno for the part. The part won him two
TAURUS World Stunt Awards in the ceremony's inaugural year. Thorsen has founded various federations, including The Danish Bodybuilding Federation in 1979 and
Cigar Night at Schatzi in
Santa Monica,
California along with Schwarzenegger. He has a black belt in
Shotokan karate and holds championship titles. ==Personal life==