Jean-Claude Van Damme from A to Z
Over the last decade it feels like we have covered Jean-Claude Van Damme from A to Z. Countless movie reviews, trivia, special features, memorable fight scenes, and even the music from some of JCVD’s classic films has been spotlighted.
But today I introduce a brand new feature here on Bulletproof Action, where I will LITERALLY cover the career of Jean-Claude Van Damme from A to Z…
2011’s Assassination Games was not the first time that Jean-Claude Van Damme and Scott Adkins appeared in a film together, but it was their first (and to date) only team up!
How beloved is Jean-Claude Van Damme in his native Belgium? Not one, but two statues have been erected honoring the “Muscles from Brussels” in Belgium.
Looking to capitalize on the success of Bloodsport, Menahem Golan sent Jean-Claude Van Damme into the Pyuniverse for 1989’s Cyborg… a film that helped recoup some of the investment that Cannon had made in their never realized Spider-Man movie and Masters of the Universe sequel.
Opting not to reprise the role of Kurt Sloane in Kickboxer 2, Jean-Clade Van Damme instead decided to make the film, Double Impact, with his friend Sheldon Lettich. It was the first movie where JCVD had a dual role, playing BOTH Chad and Alex Wagner, twin brothers who were separated as infants and reunited 25 years later in Hong Kong to avenge the deaths of their parents.
Jean-Claude Van Damme was bound and determined to get in with Cannon films. In 1984, JCVD would get his foot in the door getting to work on two of Cannon’s most successful films… Missing in Action and Breakin’. It was in Breakin’ where Van Damme was one of the most extra extras in motion picture history as he boogied down on the beach (alongside his future Kickboxer nemesis) and making a spectacle of himself in the process.
After paying his dues in Hollywood, Van Damme finally got his big break with 1988’s Bloodsport. The film based on the “true story” of Frank Dux would be the coming out party for Jean-Claude Van Damme and an action star was born!
1993’s Nowhere to Run was unlike any of the JCVD movies that came before it. Van Damme plays an escaped convict, Sam Gillen, who ends up falling in love with a widow (played by Rosanna Arquette) and helping her and her children fend off a greedy land developer looking to force the family from their home… by any means necessary!
Later in 1993, Jean-Claude Van Damme would star in John Woo’s first American movie, Hard Target! “The Most Dangerous Game” formula is a proven winner, but it was elevated thanks to the amazing cast and the direction of John Woo. JCVD’s awesome mullet also contributed to the success of the film.
Jean-Claude Van Damme is one of the most beloved action heroes of all-time, but his first major role was as the villainous Ivan “The Russian” Kraschinsky in 1985’s No Retreat, No Surrender. Ivan was an absolute menace, hospitalizing Jason Stillwell’s sad sack of a father in the first few minutes of the film! Ivan probably would have put Jason in the hospital too if it wasn’t for that meddling Ghost of Bruce Lee!
Jean-Claude Van Johnson was a clever piece of business that showcased Jean-Claude Van Damme’s sense of humor and ability to poke fun at himself. Jean-Claude Van Damme leading a double life as the action movie star we all grew up with, PLUS being a secret agent?!?! That’s interesting writing! Sadly, the series was short lived, with only one six episode season to its credit.
I have often said that Jean-Claude Van Damme’s star was born in Bloodsport, but he was a made man thanks to Kickboxer. The 1989 film is an absolute classic with so many iconic moments and a fantastic soundtrack. The movie proved that Van Damme was no one hit wonder and that he was a damn good dancer too!
It is the JCVD movie with the most aliases and coincidentally it is the JCVD movie that gets the most love from me. Lionheart (or A.W.O.L or Leon or Full Contact) is my favorite Jean-Claude Van Damme movie of all-time and that is saying something. No pun intended here, but the story had a lot of heart, with Leon risking everything to help his family. The movie also benefitted greatly from a rousing score, that helped make the movie feel bigger, and the performance of Harrison Page as Joshua.
Jean-Claude Van Damme proved he was not afraid to take risks in order to grow as an actor. In 1996, Van Damme would deviate from the formula that made him a star and delve into the world of intrigue in the action thriller, Maximum Risk. The movie was directed by Ringo Lam and co-starred the lovely Natasha Henstridge.
Jean-Claude Van Damme was not the first action star to go bare ass in a movie and he certainly wasn’t the last. BUTT, no other action star showed off with the frequency of Jean-Claude Van Damme in his prime. It had to be written into his contracts at one point.
Jean-Claude Van Damme was born Jean-Claude Camille François Van Varenberg in Brussels, Belgium on October 18, 1960. As far as I am concerned, October 18th should be declared Van Damme Day around the world! Schools should close, non-essential workers should get a paid day off and there should be parades held in JCVD’s honor.
Jean-Claude Van Damme’s Darren McCord had a brief stint as goalie for the Pittsburgh Penguins in 1995’s Sudden Death. McCord, who donned the goalie’s uniform to help evade his terrorist pursuers, ends up successfully defending a shot on goal in the all important Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals!
You can’t talk about the career of Jean-Claude Van Damme without mentioning the Qissi Brothers. The offscreen friends/onscreen rivals appeared in numerous JCVD movies over the years. Michel Qissi (aka Mohamed Qissi) appeared in Bloodsport, Lionheart and most famously as Tong Po in Kickboxer. Abdel Qissi battled Van Damme in The Order and was the final foe in Lionheart and The Quest.
One of my favorite Jean-Claude Van Damme movies of the past decade is the Netflix film, The Last Mercenary! The French produced action comedy, reminded me a great deal of the Jean-Claude Van Johnson series, with JCVD playing Special Agent Richard Brumere. After his estranged son is falsely accused of arms and drug trafficking, Brumere must save the day and patch things up with his son along the way.
If there is one move that can be associated with Jean-Claude Van Damme it would have to be the splits. Van Damme busted out the splits time and time again… sometimes more than once in a single movie!
1994’s Timecop was the pinnacle of Jean-Claude Van Damme’s career, raking in more than $100 million dollars worldwide. The time traveling adventure saw JCVD’s Max Walker battle the power hungry Senator McComb (Ron Silver), who was using the time travel technology for his own personal gain. It is also the movie that taught us that the same matter can not occupy the same space.
As a fan of both Jean-Claude Van Damme and Dolph Lundgren heading into 1992’s Universal Soldier, I could not wait to see the two action titans clash and was at the earliest screening possible on opening day! The action packed film was capped off with an epic rain soaked battle between the two UniSols on the farm that JCVD’s Luc Deveraux grew up on. Universal Soldier lived up to my own personal hype and then some.
2012’s The Expendables 2 is my favorite film in the franchise and a big reason for that is Jean-Claude Van Damme. JCVD returned to his bad guy roots, playing the villainous Vilain! When Vilain kills the youngest member of The Expendables, Billy the Kid, it sets up the big showdown between Vilain and Barney Ross. Van Damme vs. Stallone!?! Yes please!
It’s Jean-Claude Van Damme against the Triads in what I believe is one of his more underappreciated movies, 2004’s Wake of Death. Before quitting the picture, Ringo Lam was the director of the film. Lam previously worked with JCVD in the aforementioned Maximum Risk, plus Replicant and In Hell.
2013’s Enemies Closer features what I believe was JCVD’s most over the top performance as the maniacal Xander. It is also the only chance to see Van Damme in a Royal Canadian Mounted Police uniform. The movie would reunite Jean-Claude Van Damme and Director Peter Hyams, who previously worked with Van Damme on Timecop and Sudden Death.
A villain as dangerous as Mickey Rourke’s Stavros in 1997’s Double Team requires not one, but two heroes to take him down. And who better to assist JCVD’s counter-terrorist agent Jack Quinn, than the flamboyant arms dealer known as Yaz!? Former Chicago Bull and 90’s pop culture icon, Dennis Rodman played the role of Yaz as only he could.
Video game characters, Zangief, Chun-Li Zang, General M. Bison, Balrog, Ken, Ryu and more all came to life in 1994’s live action Street Fighter. And headlining the movie was our man of the hour, Jean-Claude Van Damme as Colonel William F. Guile! Unlike Van Damme’s previous films, Street Fighter was marketed to kids, which meant plenty of Street Fighter merchandise… and non-kid super fans like me buying Col. Guile figures even though they looked nothing like JCVD.
