Jean-Claude Van Damme

Early life

Van Damme began martial arts at the age of 10, enrolled by his father in a shotokan karate school. He eventually earned his black belt in karate (see ), later winning the European Professional Karate Association's middleweight championship (although he has claimed that he was "twice world champion"). He also started lifting weights to improve his physique, which eventually led to a Mr. Belgium bodybuilding title. At the age of 16 he took up ballet, which he studied for five years. He says of ballet that it "is an art, but it's also one of the most difficult sports. If you can survive a ballet workout, you can survive a workout in any other sport."

At the age of 18, Van Damme opened up the California Gym in Brussels, which one article claimed brought in $15,000 a month. Van Damme was first seen on screen in the French-made Rue Barbare, released in 1984, followed in the same year with Monaco Forever, where he was credited as ('Gay Karate Man').

This gave Van Damme the impetus to give up his profitable fitness business in favor of acting. He left for America in the early 1980s (having first tried Hong Kong), initially sleeping in a rented car and doing odd jobs until he broke into film.

Van Damme has studied Taekwondo and Muay Thai, along with Shotokan Karate.

Acting career

Early films

He appeared as an extra in Breakin during one of the breakdance scenes.

In 1985, he played Ivan Krushensky in No Retreat, No Surrender, which starred Kurt McKinney in the starring role.

Van Damme was scheduled to play the part of the camouflaged extraterrestrial monster in the Arnold Schwarzenegger action film Predator, but wearing the heavy alien costume in the jungle was too difficult, and Van Damme, unhappy with his role, left the production. How he left the picture is disputed: some sources say he quit, others say he was replaced when the character was revised. Van Damme claims he intentionally got fired so he could move on to other movies.

Van Damme's breakthrough role came in Bloodsport, a film that earned him a nomination as "Worst New Star" in the 1988 Golden Raspberry Awards. The critics were unimpressed, but Bloodsport proved to be Van Damme's stepping stone to more lucrative roles. The movie became a cult classic and is seen as one of the major contributors to the rise in popularity of Mixed Martial Arts.

Van Damme became well known for his ability to do full splits while performing stunts, and his better than average flexibility, even for a martial arts practitioner. Many of his movies feature scenes showcasing him performing such splits.

Mainstream movies

Van Damme worked his way up to Hollywood mainstream in the 1990s, often working with acclaimed foreign directors. Notable movies include Kickboxer (1989), Double Impact (1991), Universal Soldier (1992), Nowhere to Run (1993), Hard Target (1993),Sudden Death (1995) and his most critically acclaimed work, Timecop (1994). Many of these roles included doppelgi¤nger or Lazarus themes involving Van Damme's characters, an aspect unusual for the action movie genre.

Later career

By the end of the 1990s, Van Damme's high-profile career had faded but he continues to star in smaller, often direct-to-video movies. One of the main reasons for the downfall was his film Double Team which co-starred Dennis Rodman. After that Van Damme's films began to tank at the box office. Knock Off and Legionnaire were two of these unsuccessful films. He tried to jump start his falling career by doing a sequel to one of his more successful films, Universal Soldier. Universal Soldier: The Return did not do well at the box office or with his fans. After the failure of Universal Soldier: The Return, he started to star in direct to video films, such as Replicant and Derailed. Fans and critics do say that Van Damme's acting has improved recently with films like Wake of Death and In Hell. Van Damme's more recent films, Second in Command and The Hard Corps have featured less action and more drama, which bothers fans. His movies have earned over $ 1 billion worldwide, earning him a place in the action movie world along with others like Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger.In 2007 he stars in the gritty thriller Until Death (formely knows as Til Death).

In 1998, Van Damme and his former bodyguard Chuck Zito were involved in a fist-fight at a New York strip-tease bar called Scores. The event became notorious in the news and a scandal for Van Damme.

Health issues

He had troubles with cocaine during 1993, entering a month-long rehab program in 1996, but leaving it only after a week. He is also reported to have experienced bipolar disorder. A turning point in his health issues came in late 1997, after having signed divorce papers charging him with spousal abuse and drug addiction.

Bipolar disorder

Quoted in the January 30, 2006 edition of the Australian Woman's Day magazine:

On-screen nudity

Van Damme has had nude appearances in many of his films, though his nudity has only been shown from the rear. He first appeared nude in Bloodsport, with numerous such appearances in his subsequent films, including a lengthy one in Universal Soldier.

Van Damme has expressed pride in his body and especially his posterior, often citing the appeal of his body. Van Damme is on record as saying, "If you have a decent body why not show it? I'm very proud of my butt." This was the subject of parody in the television show Friends, where Van Damme, guest-starring as himself, tells Rachel and Monica that "I can crush a walnut with my butt."

An "abstract thinker"

In the French-speaking world, Van Damme is well-known for the picturesque aphorisms that he delivers on a wide range of topics (personal well-being, ecology, etc.) in a strange mixture of French and English. He is especially well-known for his use of the English word aware when speaking French. While delivering an interview for a French channel, he used the English word "aware" in order to introduce the notion of self-awareness as a key of success.

Marriages

Van Damme has been married four times, including two marriages with his current wife, bodybuilder and fitness competitor Gladys Portugues.

Filmography