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Bo Svenson

Bo Svenson’s screen career has often made use of his physical authority, but there is more behind that presence than casting shorthand. Born in Gothenburg in 1941, the Swedish-American actor moved to the United States at 17 and served six years in the United States Marine Corps. While stationed in Japan, he earned his first-degree black belt at the Kodokan and became the 1961 Far East Judo Champion in the heavyweight division. He later attained a fourth-degree black belt. After leaving the Marines, Svenson settled in Florida and worked various jobs, including as a professional race car driver. Acting eventually provided the lasting direction. In the late 1960s, he appeared regularly as lumberjack Olaf “Big Swede” Gustavsen in Here Come the Brides, a role that immediately suited his stature and direct, grounded manner. He later played the Creature in the 1973 television film Frankenstein. His early film work included The Great Waldo Pepper, opposite Robert Redford, with the two playing rival former First World War pilots drawn into the perilous world of 1920s barnstorming. Svenson then inherited the role of lawman Buford Pusser for two Walking Tall sequels and returned to the part in the short-lived 1981 television series. As murder witness turned vigilante Michael McBain in the 1976 cult film Breaking Point, he found another role built around resolve under pressure. Svenson also developed a recurring screen partnership with Fred Williamson, appearing alongside him in films including The Inglorious Bastards, Deadly Impact, Delta Force Commando, The Kill Reflex, Three Days to a Kill and Steele’s Law. Decades after The Inglorious Bastards, he made a cameo as an American colonel in Inglourious Basterds, becoming the only actor to appear in both films. Alongside film and television acting, Svenson has also worked as a screenwriter, director and producer—a career extending beyond the formidable figures he has so often been asked to play.