Jean-Claude Van Damme
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
Credits
- 2024 · Kill 'em All 2 as Philip
- 2024 · Darkness of Man as Russell Hatch
- 2023 · Albert Pyun: King of Cult Movies as Self
- 2023 · Jean-Claude van Damme: Karate King as Self - Portait Subject & Interviewee (archive)
- 2022 · Halloween Ends as (archive footage) (uncredited)
- 2022 · Minions: The Rise of Gru as Jean Clawed (voice)
- 2022 · Ramez Movie Star as
- 2021 · Haters as Jean-Claude Van Damme
- 2021 · The Last Mercenary as Richard Brumére
- 2021 · Monsieur Jean-Claude as (uncredited)
- 2020 · JCVD's Day Out as JCVD
- 2019 · In Search of the Last Action Heroes as
- 2019 · The UnXplained as Self
- 2019 · The Making of Double Impact, Parts 1 & 2 as
- 2019 · We Die Young as Daniel
- 2018 · The Bouncer as Lukas
- 2018 · Black Water as Wheeler
- 2018 · Kickboxer: Retaliation as Master Durand
- 2017 · Kill 'em All as Philip
- 2016 · Jean-Claude Van Johnson as Johnson
- 2016 · Kickboxer: Vengeance as Master Durand
- 2016 · Kung Fu Panda 3 as Master Croc (voice)
- 2015 · Jian Bing Man as Jean-Claude Van Damme
- 2015 · Pound of Flesh as Deacon
- 2014 · The Go-Go Boys: The Inside Story of Cannon Films as Self
- 2014 · Electric Boogaloo: The Wild, Untold Story of Cannon Films as Gibson Rickenbacker (archive footage) (uncredited)
- 2014 · Swelter as Stillman
- 2013 · Enemies Closer as Xander
- 2013 · Welcome to the Jungle as Storm
- 2013 · Days of Reckoning: The Making of Universal Soldier 4 as Self
- 2012 · U.F.O. as George
- 2012 · Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning as Luc Deveraux
- 2012 · 6 Bullets as Samson Gaul
- 2012 · The Expendables 2 as Jean Vilain
- 2012 · Dragon Eyes as Tiano
- 2012 · Corporal vs. Napoleon as Himself
- 2011 · Beur sur la ville as Colonel Merot
- 2011 · Assassination Games as Vincent Brazil
- 2011 · Kung Fu Panda 2 as Master Croc (voice)
- 2011 · Jean-Claude Van Damme: Behind Closed Doors as
- 2010 · Conan as Self
- 2010 · Full Love as Frenchy
- 2009 · Universal Soldier: Regeneration as Luc Deveraux
- 2008 · JCVD as J.C.V.D.
- 2008 · The Shepherd: Border Patrol as Jack Robideaux
- 2007 · Until Death as Anthony Stowe
- 2006 · Heist School as Charles
- 2006 · Second in Command as Cmdr. Samuel 'Sam' Keenan
- 2005 · The Hard Corps as Phillippe Sauvage
- 2004 · Wake of Death as Ben Archer
- 2004 · Narco as Jean-Claude Van Damme fantasmé par Lenny
- 2004 · Universal Soldier: A Tale of Two Titans as Himself
- 2004 · Guns, Genes & Fighting Machines: The Making of 'Universal Soldier' as Himself
- 2003 · In Hell as Kyle LeBlanc
- 2003 · Las Vegas as Self
- 2003 · Celebrities Uncensored as Self
- 2003 · Dans la peau de Jean-Claude Van Damme as
- 2002 · Derailed as Jacques Kristoff
- 2002 · All the Love You Cannes! as Self
- 2001 · Replicant as Replicant / Garrotte
- 2001 · The Order as Rudy Cafmeyer
- 1999 · Inferno as Eddie Lomax
- 1999 · Universal Soldier: The Return as Luc Devereux
- 1999 · Beckmann as Self
- 1998 · Legionnaire as Alain Lefevre
- 1998 · Vivement dimanche as Self
- 1998 · Knock Off as Marcus Ray
- 1997 · Double Team as Jack Quinn
- 1996 · Maximum Risk as Alain Moreau / Mikhail Suverov
- 1996 · E! True Hollywood Story as
- 1996 · The Quest as Christopher Dubois
- 1995 · Sudden Death as Darren Francis Thomas McCord
- 1995 · Viva el lunes as Self
- 1995 · WCW Monday Nitro as
- 1995 · Top Fighter as (archive footage)
- 1994 · Street Fighter as Colonel William Guile
- 1994 · Friends as Jean-Claude Van Damme
- 1994 · Timecop as Max Walker
- 1993 · Last Action Hero as Jean-Claude Van Damme (uncredited)
- 1993 · Hard Target as Chance Boudreaux
- 1993 · Nowhere to Run as Sam Gillen
- 1992 · Universal Soldier as Luc Deveraux / GR44
- 1992 · The Tonight Show with Jay Leno as
- 1991 · Double Impact as Alex / Chad Wagner
- 1990 · Death Warrant as Louis Burke
- 1990 · Lionheart as Leon Gaultier
- 1990 · The Best of the Martial Arts Films as Self (archive footage)
- 1989 · Kickboxer as Kurt Sloane
- 1989 · Cyborg as Gibson Rickenbacker
- 1988 · Black Eagle as Andrei
- 1988 · Bloodsport as Frank Dux
- 1986 · No Retreat, No Surrender as Ivan Kraschinsky "The Russian"
- 1984 · Missing in Action as Soldier (uncredited)
- 1984 · Breakin' as Spectator in First Dance Sequence (uncredited)
- 1984 · Street of the Damned as Extra in Police Arrival Sequence (uncredited)
- 1984 · Monaco Forever as Gay Karate Man
- 1979 · Woman Between Wolf and Dog as Movie Goer / Man in Garden (uncredited)
- 1962 · The Late Late Show as Self
- 2024 · Dolph as Self
- 2024 · What's My Name? as
- 2024 · Silent Kill as
- 2024 · Le Jardinier as Léo