 Lundgren received his first lead role as the mighty He @-@ Man in Masters of the Universe ( 1987 ) , based on the popular children 's toyline and cartoon . He starred alongside Frank Langella , Meg Foster , Chelsea Field , Billy Barty and Courteney Cox . Lundgren weighed his all time heaviest during the filming at 250 pounds ( 110 kg ) . The film was a critical failure and viewed as far too violent for a family picture . It is referred to as a " flop " by Variety magazine , and has a 13 % " rotten " rating at Rotten Tomatoes . Lundgren was criticized for being too wooden as a leading man , and it was dismissed as " a glossy fantasy starring monosyllabic Dolph Lundgren . " Citing the reason Lundgren would never successfully make it as a top leading actor in Hollywood , one author said , " Lundgren is limited by his size and dead pan delivery : though often compared to Arnold , he has less range . " Lundgren released a workout video on VHS in 1987 called Maximum Potential . 
