Jean-Claude Van Damme

Jean-Claude Van Damme

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 (National Center of Karate) under the guidance of Master Claude Goetz in Ixelles, Belgium. Van Damme trained for 4 years and earned a spot on the Belgium Karate Team. He won the European professional karate association's middleweight championship as a teenager, and also beat the 2nd best karate fighter in the world. His goal was to be number one but got sidetracked when he left his hometown of Brussels. In 1976 at the age of sixteen, Jean-Claude started his Martial Arts fight career. Jean-Claude retired from martial arts in 1982, following a knockout over Nedjad Gharbi in Brussels, Belgium. Jean-Claude posted a 18-1 (18 knockouts) kickboxing record, and a semi-contact record of 41-4. He came to Hong Kong at the age of 19 for the first time and felt insured to do action movies in Hong Kong. In 1981, van Damme moved to Los Angeles. He took English classes while working as carpet layer, pizza delivery man, limo driver, and thanks to Chuck Norris he got a job as a bouncer at a club. Norris gave van Damme a small role in the movie Missing in Action (1984), but it wasn't good enough to get anybody's attention. In 1984, he got his first significant role as a villain named Ivan in the low-budget movie, No Retreat, No Surrender (1986). Then one day, while walking on the streets, Jean-Claude spotted a producer for Cannon Pictures and showed some of his martial arts abilities which led to a role in Bloodsport (1988). The movie, filmed in Hong Kong, was so bad when it was completed, it was shelved for almost two years. It might have never been released if van Damme did not help them to re-cut the film and begged producers to release it. They finally released the film, first in Malaysia and France and then into the US shot on a meager 1.5 million dollar budget, it became a US box-office hit in the spring of 1988. It made about 30 million worldwide and audiences supported this film for its new sensational action star, Jean-Claude van Damme. His good looks led to starring roles in higher budgeted movies like Cyborg (1989), AWOL: Absent Without Leave (1990), Double Impact (1991) and Universal Soldier (1992). In 1994, he scored with his big breakthrough $100 million worldwide hit Timecop (1994). But in the meantime, his personal life was coming apart. A divorce, followed by a new marriage, followed by another divorce. It began to show up in his career when his projects began to tank at the box office: The Quest (1996), which he directed; Maximum Risk (1996) and Double Team (1997). The three films made less than $50 million combined. In 1999, he remarried his ex-wife, Gladys Portugues, and restarted his lost career to attain new goals. With help from his family, he faced his problems and made movies like Replicant (2001), Derailed (2002), and In Hell (2003).
Known For: Acting
Birthday: 1960-10-18
Place of Birth: Berchem-Sainte-Agathe, Brussels, Belgium
Also Known As: JCVD, The Muscles from Brussels, Jean-Claude van Varenbergh, Jean-Claude Camille François van Varenberg, Ζαν-Κλοντ Βαν Νταμ, Ζαν Κλοντ Βαν Νταμ, Βαν Νταμ, 尚格·云顿, 장 끌로드 반담, ژان-کلود ون دام

Movies List of Jean-Claude Van Damme

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Cyborg

1989 Movie
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Kickboxer

1989 Movie
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Replicant

2001 Movie
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Legionnaire

1998 Movie
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Hard Target

1993 Movie
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Nowhere to Run

1993 Movie
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Inferno

1999 Movie
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Maximum Risk

1996 Movie
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Until Death

2007 Movie
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Bloodsport

1988 Movie
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Street Fighter

1994 Movie
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Timecop

1994 Movie
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Sudden Death

1995 Movie
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The Quest

1996 Movie
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Double Impact

1991 Movie
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Universal Soldier

1992 Movie
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Lionheart

1990 Movie
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Double Team

1997 Movie
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The Hard Corps

2005 Movie
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JCVD

2008 Movie
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Wake of Death

2004 Movie
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Haters

2021 Movie
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The Order

2001 Movie
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Knock Off

1998 Movie
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Death Warrant

1990 Movie
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Derailed

2002 Movie
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Black Eagle

1988 Movie
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Kung Fu Panda 2

2011 Movie
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Second in Command

2006 Movie
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In Hell

2003 Movie
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Assassination Games

2011 Movie
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Full Love

2010 Movie
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Corporal vs. Napoleon

2012 Movie
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The Expendables 2

2012 Movie
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Monaco Forever

1984 Movie
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Dragon Eyes

2012 Movie
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6 Bullets

2012 Movie
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U.F.O.

2012 Movie
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Welcome to the Jungle

2013 Movie
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Enemies Closer

2013 Movie
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Swelter

2014 Movie
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Kill 'em All 2

2024 Movie
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Top Fighter

1995 Movie
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Kickboxer: Vengeance

2016 Movie
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Pound of Flesh

2015 Movie
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Silent Kill

Movie
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Darkness of Man

2024 Movie
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The Gardener

2025 Movie
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Kung Fu Panda 3

2016 Movie
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Breakin'

1984 Movie
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Narco

2004 Movie
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Beur sur la ville

2011 Movie
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Heist School

2006 Movie
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Halloween Ends

2022 Movie
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Street of the Damned

1984 Movie
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Kill 'em All

2017 Movie
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Black Water

2018 Movie
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Jian Bing Man

2015 Movie
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The Bouncer

2018 Movie
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We Die Young

2019 Movie
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Last Action Hero

1993 Movie
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JCVD's Day Out

2020 Movie
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The Last Mercenary

2021 Movie
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Monsieur Jean-Claude

2021 Movie
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Missing in Action

1984 Movie
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Spaten

2024 Movie