Ralf Möller

Early life

Möller was born in Recklinghausen, Germany in 1959. He was born to a German mother, and an American father, who was also of German descent. He used to work as a lifeguard in a public swimming pool in his hometown.

Bodybuilding years (1976–1991)

He began bodybuilding at age 17 and was the German Champion by 1984. He competed in the 1988 Mr. Olympia alongside Lee Haney, Shawn Ray and other notable champions. He is one of the tallest bodybuilding champions to date standing at 1.97 m (6 ft 6 in), weighing 131 kilos (288 lbs) in 1988.

In June 1991, Möller announced his retirement as a bodybuilder in order to focus on his acting career. He has since stated that he has thoughts about having another go as a bodybuilder.

1987–2002

Möller began a film career in 1987 with the film Cyborg. In 1992, he appeared in Universal Soldier with Dolph Lundgren and Jean-Claude Van Damme. In 1993 he played the villain Brakus opposite Phillip Rhee and Eric Roberts in Best of the Best 2. Also in 1990, Möller was considered for the role of the T-1000 in James Cameron's Terminator 2: Judgment Day opposite Arnold Schwarzenegger, but producers believed that the role needed a performer with a much more slender build, opposed to Möller's muscular build and so the role was eventually given to Robert Patrick.

His two biggest mainstream film roles to date are Ridley Scott's Gladiator, appearing alongside his friend Russell Crowe, and in 2002's The Scorpion King. Besides these two movies, he has played the leading character in The Viking Sagas, and also played Conan the Barbarian in the TV-series Conan. The show aired in 1997–1998, and the premise was that Conan, accompanied by his three sidekicks, was chosen by the god Crom to fight and vanquish the evil Hissah Zul and to become king.

Also in both The Bad Pack (1997) and Gladiator (2000), Möller appeared alongside fellow bodybuilder Sven-Ole Thorsen.

2003–present

He went on to appear in El padrino (2004), sequel to The Bad Pack, once again playing Special Agent Kurt Mayers. He also played Hammacher in the 2006 film Beerfest.

He appeared in a music video of German techno music band Scooter "Maria (I Like It Loud)". He collaborated in the recording disc with the German group techno / trance E Nomine.

Musical work

He has also collaborated with the German trance/techno-band E Nomine on a number of their albums.

Personal life

Ralf lives in Los Angeles with his wife Annette and two daughters. He leads an active, healthy lifestyle and is a strong proponent of fitness and good nutrition. When he's not on location, he enjoys motorcycle riding, scuba diving, tennis and horseback riding. He is a friend of Arnold Schwarzenegger and is often seen and photographed with him.

Awards and Honours

In 2008, Möller was honored as Grand Marshal of the German-American Steuben Parade in New York City. This is the largest German-American event in the country, and tens of thousands of fans celebrated Möller as one of only a few German actors with success in Hollywood.