[2][3] 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.
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.
[citation needed] Thorsen is 193 centimetres (6 feet, 4 inches) tall and while appearing in Conan the Barbarian (1982) he weighed 138 kilograms (304 lbs), according to his autobiography (page 24 & 110).
He won the Danish "Show of Winners" Award of the Year 2006, honouring people who have a special affiliation with dogs.