Jean-Claude Van Damme

Biography

Van Damme was born Jean-Claude Camille François van Varenberg in Berchem-Sainte-Agathe, Brussels, Belgium, to Eliana and Eugène van Varenberg, an accountant. “The Muscles from Brussels” started martial arts at the age of eleven. His father introduced him to martial arts when he saw his son was physically weak. At the age of 12, van Damme began his martial arts training at Centre National De Karate (National Center of Karate) under the guidance of Master Claude Goetz in Ixelles, Belgium. Van Damme trained for 4 years and earned a spot on the Belgium Karate Team. He won the European professional karate association's middleweight championship as a teenager, and also beat the 2nd best karate fighter in the world. His goal was to be number one but got sidetracked when he left his hometown of Brussels. In 1976 at the age of sixteen, Jean-Claude started his Martial Arts fight career. Jean-Claude retired from martial arts in 1982, following a knockout over Nedjad Gharbi in Brussels, Belgium. Jean-Claude posted a 18-1 (18 knockouts) kickboxing record, and a semi-contact record of 41-4. He came to Hong Kong at the age of 19 for the first time and felt insured to do action movies in Hong Kong. In 1981, van Damme moved to Los Angeles. He took English classes while working as carpet layer, pizza delivery man, limo driver, and thanks to Chuck Norris he got a job as a bouncer at a club. Norris gave van Damme a small role in the movie Missing in Action (1984), but it wasn't good enough to get anybody's attention. In 1984, he got his first significant role as a villain named Ivan in the low-budget movie, No Retreat, No Surrender (1986). Then one day, while walking on the streets, Jean-Claude spotted a producer for Cannon Pictures and showed some of his martial arts abilities which led to a role in Bloodsport (1988). The movie, filmed in Hong Kong, was so bad when it was completed, it was shelved for almost two years. It might have never been released if van Damme did not help them to re-cut the film and begged producers to release it. They finally released the film, first in Malaysia and France and then into the US shot on a meager 1.5 million dollar budget, it became a US box-office hit in the spring of 1988. It made about 30 million worldwide and audiences supported this film for its new sensational action star, Jean-Claude van Damme. His good looks led to starring roles in higher budgeted movies like Cyborg (1989), AWOL: Absent Without Leave (1990), Double Impact (1991) and Universal Soldier (1992). In 1994, he scored with his big breakthrough $100 million worldwide hit Timecop (1994). But in the meantime, his personal life was coming apart. A divorce, followed by a new marriage, followed by another divorce. It began to show up in his career when his projects began to tank at the box office: The Quest (1996), which he directed; Maximum Risk (1996) and Double Team (1997). The three films made less than $50 million combined. In 1999, he remarried his ex-wife, Gladys Portugues, and restarted his lost career to attain new goals. With help from his family, he faced his problems and made movies like Replicant (2001), Derailed (2002), and In Hell (2003).

Known For

Gibson Rickenbacker

Cyborg

Kurt Sloane

Kickboxer

Replicant / Garrotte

Replicant

Alain Lefevre

Legionnaire

Luc Deveraux

Universal Soldier: The Return

Chance Boudreaux

Hard Target

Sam Gillen

Nowhere to Run

Eddie Lomax

Inferno

Alain Moreau / Mikhail Suverov

Maximum Risk

Anthony Stowe

Until Death

Frank Dux

Bloodsport

Colonel Guile

Street Fighter

Jack Robideaux

The Shepherd: Border Patrol

Max Walker

Timecop

Darren Francis Thomas McCord

Sudden Death

Christopher Dubois

The Quest

Alex / Chad Wagner

Double Impact

Luc Deveraux / GR44

Universal Soldier

Leon Gaultier

Lionheart

Jack Quinn

Double Team

Ivan Kraschinsky "The Russian"

No Retreat, No Surrender

Phillippe Sauvage

The Hard Corps

J.C.V.D.

JCVD

Self - Portait Subject & Interviewee (archive)

Jean-Claude Van Damme, coup sur coup

Luc Deveraux

Universal Soldier: Regeneration

Ben Archer

Wake of Death

Jean-Claude Van Damme

Haters

Rudy Cafmeyer

The Order

Marcus Ray

Knock Off

Self

Dolph: Fights Worth Fighting

Louis Burke

Death Warrant

Jacques Kristoff

Derailed

Andrei

Black Eagle

Master Croc (voice)

Kung Fu Panda 2

Cmdr. Samuel 'Sam' Keenan

Second in Command

Kyle LeBlanc

In Hell

Vincent Brazil

Assassination Games

Frenchy

Full Love

Himself

Ржевский против Наполеона

Jean Vilain

The Expendables 2

Gay Karate Man

Monaco Forever

What's My Name?

Tiano

Dragon Eyes

Luc Deveraux

Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning

Samson Gaul

6 Bullets

George

U.F.O.

Storm

Welcome to the Jungle

Xander

Enemies Closer

Stillman

Swelter

Philip

Kill 'em All 2

(archive footage)

Top Fighter

Dans la peau de Jean-Claude Van Damme

Master Durand

Kickboxer: Vengeance

Deacon

Pound of Flesh

Silent Kill

Russell Hatch

Darkness of Man

Léo

Le Jardinier

Self (archive footage)

The Best of the Martial Arts Films

Self

Days of Reckoning: The Making of Universal Soldier 4

Master Croc (voice)

Kung Fu Panda 3

Spectator in First Dance Sequence (uncredited)

Breakin'

Jean-Claude Van Damme fantasmé par Lenny

Narco

Self

Albert Pyun: King of Cult Movies

Colonel Merot

Beur sur la ville

Charles

Sınav

Master Durand

Kickboxer: Retaliation

Movie Goer / Man in Garden (uncredited)

Een vrouw tussen hond en wolf

Extra in Police Arrival Sequence (uncredited)

Rue Barbare

Gibson Rickenbacker (archive footage) (uncredited)

Electric Boogaloo: The Wild, Untold Story of Cannon Films

Philip

Kill 'em All

Wheeler

Black Water

Self

The Go-Go Boys: The Inside Story of Cannon Films

Jean-Claude Van Damme

煎饼侠

Lukas

Lukas

Daniel

We Die Young

Jean-Claude Van Damme (uncredited)

Last Action Hero

The Making of Double Impact, Parts 1 & 2

Jean Clawed (voice)

Minions: The Rise of Gru

Himself

Universal Soldier: A Tale of Two Titans

Himself

Guns, Genes & Fighting Machines: The Making of 'Universal Soldier'

In Search of the Last Action Heroes

Richard Brumére

Le Dernier Mercenaire

(uncredited)

Monsieur Jean-Claude

Soldier (uncredited)

Missing in Action

Self

All the Love You Cannes!

Van Damme

Spaten

Gibson Rickenbacker

Slinger