Jean Claude Van Damme

He also started lifting weight to improve his physique, which eventually led to a Mr. Belgium bodybuilding title ‘Playboy interview’, Lawrence Grobel, Playboy, 1 January 1995. At the age of 16 he took up ballet, which he was to study 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."‘Van Damme gets his kicks from acting now, not karate’, Jae-Ha Kim, Chicago Sun-Times, 14 April 1989 In Los Angeles Van Damme has an "american nickname" of: JC, (Jean Claude).

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 favour of acting. He left for America in the early 1980s (having first tried Hong Kong), initially sleeping in a rented car doing odd jobs until he broke into film. His first major role came in 1985, when he played Ivan Krushensky in No Retreat, No Surrender, which also starred Kurt McKinney. He 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 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 worked his way up to Hollywood mainstream in the 1990s, often working with acclaimed foreign directors. Notable movies include Double Impact (1991), Universal Soldier (1992), Nowhere to Run (1993), Hard Target (1993),Sudden Death (1995) and his most critically slammed work, Timecop (1994). Many of these roles included doppelgänger or Lazarus themes involving Van Damme's characters, an aspect unusual for the action movie genre.

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. His movies have earned over $650 million worldwide, earning him a place in the action movie world along with others like Steven Seagal and Chuck Norris.

He has had troubles with cocaine, spending a month in rehab in 1996, and is also reported to have experienced bipolar disorder. He has been married five times, including two marriages with his current wife, bodybuilder and fitness competitor Gladys Portugues.

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. Allegedly, Van Damme had said something negative about Zito while drunk, and when Zito confronted Van Damme about this Van Damme prepared himself for a fight and Zito began punching Van Damme. This event became notorious in the news and somewhat of a scandal for Van Damme.

Bipolar Disorder

The former action hero says he had bipolar disorder, but didn't know it until he became suicidal. He was diagnosed with rapid-cycling bipolar disorder and was placed on sodium valproate, which he calls "that simple salt"

On-Screen Nudity

Van Damme has gained a reputation for numerous nude appearances in his films and has become a definite favorite for fans for his on-screen nudity. He first appeared nude in Bloodsport, with numerous such appearances in his subsequent films, including a lengthy one in Universal Soldier. Though only showing rear nudity, the athletic quality of Van Damme's posterior has heightened his appeal. 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, flirts with a main character by announcing that he can "crack a walnut with [his] butt."

An \"abstract thinker\"

Marriage history

• Gladys Portugues (25 June 1999 - present)
• Darcy LaPier (3 February 1994 - November 1997) (divorced) 1 child
• Gladys Portugues (1986 - 1992) (divorced) 2 children
• Cynthia Derderian (1985 - 1985) (divorced)

Salary

• Legionnaire (1998) $3,000
• Street Fighter (1994) $6,200,000
• Sudden Death (1995) $5,000,000
• Timecop (1994) $3,000,000
• Hard Target (1993) $3,000,000
• Universal Soldier (1992) $1,000,000
• Death Warrant (1990) $70,000
• Lionheart (1990) $70,000
• Kickboxer (1989/I) $70,000
• Cyborg (1989) $70,000
• Bloodsport (1988) $70,000
• Black Eagle (1988) $70,000
• The Average Joe Fishing (1987) - non-profit
• No Retreat, No Surrender (1985) - salary unknown

Filmography

Year	Title	Role	Other notes
2007	Rush Hour 3	Bruno Cavalier	(Rumored)
		Victor Latour
	Astérix aux jeux olympiques	Cornerdurus
	Til Death	Anthony Lowe
2006	The Hard Corps	Phillip Sauvage
	Second in Command	Sam Keenan
2004	Wake of Death	Ben Archer
	Narco	Jean's Ghost by Lenny
2003	In Hell	''Kyle LeBlanc
	Derailed	Jacques Kristoff
2001	The Order	Rudy Cafmeyer/Charles Le Vaillant
	Replicant	Edward "The Torch" Garrotte/Replicant
1999	Inferno	Eddie Lomax
		Luc Deveraux
1998	Legionnaire	Alain Lefevre
	Knock Off	Marcus Ray
1997	Double Team	Jack Quinn
1996	Maximun Risk	Alain Moreau/Mikhail Suverov
	The Quest	Christopher Dubois
1995	Sudden Death	Darren McCord
1994	Street Fighter	Colonel William F. Guile
	Timecop	Max Walker
1993	Hard Target	Chance Boudreaux
	Last Action Hero	Cameo Appearance
	Nowhere to Run	Sam Gillen
1992	Universal Soldier	Luc Deveraux/GR44
1991	Double Impact	Alex Wagner/Chad Wagner
1990	Death Warrant	Louis Burke
	Lionheart	Lyon Gaultier
1989	Kickboxer	''Kurt Sloane
	Cyborg	Gibson Rickenbacker
1988	Black Eagle	Andrei
	Bloodsport	Frank Dux
1986	No Retreat, No Surrender	Ivan Krushensky
1984	Monaco Fever	Gay Karate Man

Footnotes

External links

• http://www.jc-vandamme.net Le site français de Jean-Claude Van Damme
• http://www.jeanclaudevandamme.us Le site officiel de Jean-Claude Van Damme

• http://www.vandamme.ru (site russe)
• http://www.usuarios.lycos.es/jcvdraulweb/index.html (site espagnol)
• http://home.earthlink.net/~kaseycorrea/index.html (site anglais)
• http://massi.tchatcheblog.com/ Le vrai visage de jcvd (blog)
• http://fandamme.vandammefan.net (site anglais)

• http://jc-vandamme.bbfr.net (forum français)
• http://newforum.vandammefan.net (forum anglais)

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