Whatever Happened To Jean-Claude Van Damme?

Whatever Happened To Jean-Claude Van Damme?

Jean-Claude Van Damme began his world life equally a teenager inwards the 1970s—a Belgian-born martial arts prodigy who became a champion inwards both karate as well as kickboxing. In the 1980s as well as 1990s, the charismatic as well as photogenic "Muscles from Brussels" became an international film star amongst starring roles inwards fight-focused activity hits similar Bloodsport, Kickboxer, Hard Target, as well as Timecop. (He fifty-fifty had a cameo equally himself on Friends.) And then, merely equally fast as well as unlikely equally his rise, came the fall. Here's how the human being born Jean-Claude Camille François Van Varenberg has occupied himself inwards recent years.


He returned to the Universal Soldier franchise

One of the biggest hits of Van Damme's early on career, the 1992 science-fiction activity thriller Universal Soldier paired him upward amongst Dolph Lundgren to tell the even of Luc Deveraux, a deceased Vietnam War veteran resurrected past times an experimental military machine computer program equally a technologically enhanced super-soldier.

While it wasn't a blockbuster sensation, the cinema performed respectably, bringing inwards $36 million—enough to inspire plans for a slowly '90s Universal Soldier TV serial which was teased amongst a couplet of direct-to-video movies inwards 1998. Neither of those sequels starred Van Damme or Lundgren, as well as when the franchise returned to theaters for 1999's Universal Soldier: The Return, both of the '98 features were bumped out of the serial canon.

Van Damme came dorsum for The Return, as well as although his presence was no longer plenty to choose inwards large box office, the serial has proven impressively resilient: both Van Damme as well as Lundgren signed on for 2009's Universal Soldier: Regeneration—which ignored the TV movies also equally The Return—and the duo reunited in i trial again for the franchise-closing Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning inwards 2012.

He's nevertheless making Kickboxer movies

Before he expanded his make amongst science-fiction activity movies laced amongst martial arts, such equally Universal Soldier as well as Timecop, Van Damme played to his background amongst a string of martial arts-based movies. One of his earliest was 1989's Kickboxer, inwards which he played, well, a kickboxer.

Van Damme didn't provide for the sequel, but that didn't halt Kickboxer from becoming a full-fledged straight-to-video franchise; for activity enthusiasts of the '90s, the serial became a Fri nighttime mainstay, expanding to an impressive 5 installments past times 1995 spell serving upward loads of chop-socky activity amongst replacement leading men similar Step past times Step veteran Sasha Mitchell as well as hereafter Iron Chef America star Mark Dacascos.

After laying dormant for to a greater extent than than twenty years, the Kickboxer franchise made a surprising provide amongst 2016's Kickboxer: Vengeance—and Van Damme was in i trial to a greater extent than constituent of the cast, this fourth dimension playing a supporting purpose equally a grapheme named Master Durand. If it wasn't quite the starring vehicle the start Kickboxer had been, it must choose been a adept fourth dimension for Van Damme—he returned for the the 7th installment, Kickboxer: Retaliation.


He got greedy as well as it wound his career

Jean-Claude Van Damme reached his commercial peak amongst Timecop. The 1994 time-travel thriller earned $44 1000000 at the domestic box office—the virtually of whatsoever live-action film he's toplined. While the stars of other large 1994 hits remain major draws—Tom Hanks (Forrest Gump), Sandra Bullock (Speed), as well as Jim Carrey (The Mask)—Van Damme's profile cruel far faster. Why? Partly because he miscalculated his clout as well as marketability at a telephone substitution moment.

After the success of Timecop, Van Damme was reportedly offered a three-movie bargain that would choose paid him an astounding $12 1000000 per film. Around the same time, Carrey made headlines past times becoming the start $20 1000000 man, so Van Damme rejected the $12 1000000 as well as asked for the same fee Carrey had negotiated. The three-movie offering was rescinded, as well as Van Damme ended upward on what he afterwards described equally a Hollywood "blacklist," effectively ending his blockbuster career.

"Jim Carrey was beingness paid a fortune. And I wanted to play amongst the system," Van Damme told The Guardian inwards 2012. "Like an idiot. Ridiculous."


There's a statue of him inwards Belgium

Van Damme is famously nicknamed "The Muscles from Brussels," equally he was indeed a ripped guy born inwards the majuscule metropolis of Belgium. In 2012, Brussels paid tribute to i of its favorite sons amongst a life-sized bronze statue, forever posed inwards a fight-ready opinion inwards front end of the Westland Shopping Center. H5N1 visibly touched Van Damme unveiled the statue himself at a exceptional ceremony inwards 2012 as well as spoke at the event, proverb the monument "represented the dream of a Brussels kid" as well as hoping it could serve equally a source of inspiration for troubled youth. "If y'all believe inwards something strongly enough," he told the crowd, "it tin post away come upward true."

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