Known for his impressive stature – he stood at 2m and 120kg in his youth – and karate skills, Dolph Lundgren can inflict serious pain to whoever crosses him. This was precisely the only thought that ran through three burglars’ mind when they discovered they had broken into the actor’s Marbella home over the weekend, and they made their escape as quickly as possible, as the Telegraph can confirm.

Lundgren, who came to be the epitome of the action movie hero in the ‘90s, along with stars like Sylvester Stallone, Jean Claude Van Damme and Arnold Schwarzenegger, was not at home when the thieves broke in but, according to reports, his wife of 15 years was. The burglars tied Anette Qviberg, Dolph’s wife, and terrorized her to tell them where the money and jewelry was.

As they roamed the house in search of hidden treasures, the three saw a photo of Lundgren and his children, and they immediately realized who he was, and how none of them would have wanted to be in a fight with such a strong man. Consequently, reports say, they fled the house in fear, leaving the star’s wife still tied up. “Things might have turned out very differently if Dolph had been at home. The criminals fled as soon as they realized the owner of the house they had raided was someone they wouldn’t want to come up against in a fight.” an unnamed source told the Spanish media, as quoted by the Telegraph.

Dolph was away when the incident happened, but returned home shortly after he learned of it. Unfortunately, police are said to have little to go on in their investigation, since all three thieves wore masks and there was close to nothing they could be identified by. “Police have got very few leads. All three burglars wore balaclavas and they’ve no real description to go on. They’re looking at CCTV footage to see if they can advance the inquiry.” the same source explains.

The actor has already beefed up security at his home to prevent further occurrences like this one, as also have other stars with residences in the neighborhood, such as Simon Cowell, Antonio Banderas and Alan Sugar. Lundgren even convinced Annette that this had been a one-time thing, and made her change her mind about moving to another place, although she’s still reportedly pretty “traumatized.”