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 which did averagely in box office terms, but he tried to give his fans the best, his acting in those movies got better, more emotional and each movie was basically in different action tones.
His fight scenes are so intense that he wont film them in the U.S. for fear of being sued.
In 1989, he was sued for willfully gouging the eye of an extra in a sword fight while filming Cyborg .
Won a court case filed against him by martial arts legend Frank Dux , who claimed he collaborated with Van Damme on his 1996 directorial debut The Quest , only for Van Damme to deny him any share of the profits. His evidence was lost in an earthquake. Coincidentally, Van Damme played Dux in his debut Bloodsport .
On July 10, 2000, Van Damme was sentenced to an anti-drunk driving class, a $1,200 fine, 3 years probation and a 90 day revocation of his license after pleading no contest for a September 23, 1999 DUI arrest in Beverly Hills.
Once said he learned to speak English by watching the cartoon "The Flintstones" .
Studied classical ballet for five years
In his late teens he opened a gym called California Fitness Center.
Was student of Dominique Valera.
Although Jean-Claude Van Damme failed to place in either the 1978 or 1979 WAKO World Championships, he was a member of the 1979 Belgium Team when it won the European Team Championships and a European middleweight Karate champion in his late teens. He won at the Hope Cup, the Cup of Antwerp, The Gala International, and The Forest Nationals.
Can bench press 166 kg.
Formerly, had his own production companies - Long Road Productions / 777 Films Corp.
Related to Screenwriter Adam Burnett through marriage.
One-time sparring partner of Chuck Norris during the early 80s. Norris eventually cast him in Missing in Action .
Children: Kris Van Damme and Bianca Brigitte VanDamme with Gladys Portugues ; son Nicolas Van Varenberg with Darcy LaPier.
He was the inspiration for the character Johnny Cage from Mortal Kombat , which was initially envisioned as a gaming vehicle for Van Damme, but he and Midway could not come to terms on the costs for using his likeness. One of Johnny Cages special moves is doing a split while punching his opponent in the groin, as seen when Van Dammes character, Frank Dux , punches his large sumo opponent in Bloodsport .
Van Damme was the original choice to play the title character in Predator and was part of the production until he was let go. According to Jesse Ventura s book, Van Damme played the Predator alien until he was replaced replaced by Kevin Peter Hall. During the movies production, Van Damme reportedly was not happy that his face would not be shown on camera and that he would only receive an uncredited special effects role. He was also not comfortable in the original alien suit and passed out due to heat exhaustion. When Stan Winston s new Predator design came in, Kevin Peter Hall replaced Van Damme in the title role. Supposedly, Van Damme has no regrets on backing out of the Predator project.
Often states Charles Chaplin as the first great action star.
Adopted Van Damme as his stage name from one of his friends father name. He considered it punchy, short and clear than his birth name of Van Varenberg.
Has one older sister Veronique Van Varenberg by 18 months.
Films often contain injuries to the groin area. Examples include Bloodsport , Double Impact , Hard Target and Timecop .
Van Damme has an impressive kickboxing record of 18-1-0, with 18 wins by knockout. For most of these fights, he fought under his birth name of Jean-Claude Van Varenberg. Van Dammes only defeat in kickboxing was to Frances Etienne Aubry on March 7, 1977 in Marseille, France. Van Damme lost by disqualification when he accidentally kicked Aubry when he was on the canvas.
Lives in Hong Kong and Knokke-Heist, Belgium.
When Van Damme first arrived in Hollywood in the 1980s, his jobs consisted of waiting tables, delivering pizza, driving a taxi, and acting as a bouncer at Woodys Wharf, a bar owned by Chuck Norris in Newport Beach.
(February 2007) Started filming The Shepherd in Bulgaria.
(September 2005) At the Eurasia Film Festival in Almaty, Kazakhstan.
Started filming The Eagle Path (aka "Full Love") in Thailand.
Suffered from mood swings and depressions for years, causing him to seek his refuge in martial arts and drugs. Finally, after several attempts at rehab, he visited a neurologist who diagnosed him with rapid cycling bipolar disorder. With appropriate medication, he has managed to stay off drugs ever since, and he has even remarried his former wife Gladys Portugues.
His very brief work on the production of Predator unexpectedly helped him to become an action star. While working as a waiter, van Damme spotted producer Menahem Golan in his restaurant, and did a roundhouse kick for him without spilling a drop from the bowl of soup he had in his hands. Golan was sufficiently fascinated to invite van Damme on an official audition. During the audition, van Damme did his trademark split while balancing on two chairs, which did not impress Golan. While he dismissed him, a friend who had come along mentioned that van Damme had just done Predator with Arnold Schwarzenegger. Golan went out to check, and as luck would have it, van Dammes name had not yet been removed from the cast sheet. Golan decided to offer him the lead role in Bloodsport which became van Dammes big break.
Refused a three-picture deal that would have earned him 12 million dollar per movie, stating that he wanted 20 million, equal to Jim Carrey s salary at the time.
He understands Spanish very well because he had a Spanish nanny when he was a boy. He cant speak the language properly as he never studied it. On one occasion he had a interview in Chile and all the questions were asked in Spanish, he understood but replied in English.
His older sister Veronique wrote a book My brother Jean-Claude.
I took his (Alex Van Damme) name, in fact from his father because his,father sent me for the first time in Hong Kong to be a picture model.
I also use it for concentration before acting scenes.
I love playing the villain, but a villain with class.
[circa 1992] You have to have a dream, the passion to make it, to make,it, to really, really make it.
Hard Target (1993) was a bad script, but we had some great action,scenes, and John Woo made me look like a samurai with greasy hair.
I am very proud of that film. I am persuaded that here, in the United,States, it would have been a great success in theaters. And if you ask,me why I am so proud of Replicant, it is because we succeeded in making,a big film with very reduced budgets.
You know, I looked at my face in the mirror this morning, and I like being old. My face has more content and when I train in the gym now, I am not training to be strong or handsome - just better than I was yesterday. These days the race is just against myself.
Because no matter what you say in life, the truth will always be the truth. You know when someone is telling the truth, you look in the eyes. I have a tendency to believe people.
I came to America with a dream and I made it. The dream became reality. America is built for success.
The action films I will make in the future will be more believable and character-based. I am now on my second cycle of fame, and I want to make films that smell real and are truthful. .
