Jean-Claude Van Damme

Acting • Born 1960-10-18

Acting10Berchem-Sainte-Agathe, Brussels, Belgium

Biography

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).

Filmography

107 credits

Cyborg

Movie • 1989

Gibson Rickenbacker

Kickboxer

Movie • 1989

Kurt Sloane

Replicant

Movie • 2001

Replicant / Garrotte

Legionnaire

Movie • 1998

Alain Lefevre

Universal Soldier: The Return

Movie • 1999

Luc Deveraux

Hard Target

Movie • 1993

Chance Boudreaux

Nowhere to Run

Movie • 1993

Sam Gillen

Inferno

Movie • 1999

Eddie Lomax

Maximum Risk

Movie • 1996

Alain Moreau / Mikhail Suverov

Until Death

Movie • 2007

Anthony Stowe

Bloodsport

Movie • 1988

Frank

Street Fighter

Movie • 1994

Colonel Guile

The Shepherd: Border Patrol

Movie • 2008

Jack Robideaux

Timecop

Movie • 1994

Max Walker

Sudden Death

Movie • 1995

Darren Francis Thomas McCord

The Quest

Movie • 1996

Christopher Dubois

Double Impact

Movie • 1991

Alex / Chad Wagner

Universal Soldier

Movie • 1992

Luc Deveraux / GR44

Lionheart

Movie • 1990

Lyon Gaultier

Double Team

Movie • 1997

Jack Quinn

No Retreat, No Surrender

Movie • 1986

Ivan Kraschinsky "The Russian"

The Hard Corps

Movie • 2005

Phillippe Sauvage

JCVD

Movie • 2008

J.C.V.D.

Universal Soldier: Regeneration

Movie • 2010

Luc Deveraux

Wake of Death

Movie • 2004

Ben Archer

Haters

Movie • 2021

Jean-Claude Van Damme

The Order

Movie • 2001

Rudy Cafmeyer

Knock Off

Movie • 1998

Marcus Ray

Dolph: Unbreakable

Movie • 2025

Self

Death Warrant

Movie • 1990

Louis Burke

Derailed

Movie • 2002

Jacques Kristoff

Black Eagle

Movie • 1988

Andrei

Kung Fu Panda 2

Movie • 2011

Master Croc (voice)

Second in Command

Movie • 2006

Cmdr. Samuel 'Sam' Keenan

In Hell

Movie • 2003

Kyle LeBlanc

Assassination Games

Movie • 2011

Vincent Brazil

Full Love

Movie • 2010

Frenchy

Corporal vs. Napoleon

Movie • 2012

Himself

The Expendables 2

Movie • 2012

Jean Vilain

Monaco Forever

Movie • 1984

Gay Karate Man

What's My Name?

Movie

Dragon Eyes

Movie • 2012

Tiano

Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning

Movie • 2012

Luc Deveraux

6 Bullets

Movie • 2012

Samson Gaul

U.F.O.

Movie • 2012

George

Welcome to the Jungle

Movie • 2013

Storm

Enemies Closer

Movie • 2013

Xander

Swelter

Movie • 2014

Stillman

Kill 'em All 2

Movie • 2024

Philip

Dans la peau de Jean-Claude Van Damme

Movie • 2003

Kickboxer: Vengeance

Movie • 2016

Master Durand

Pound of Flesh

Movie • 2015

Deacon

Silent Kill

Movie

Darkness of Man

Movie • 2025

Russell Hatch

The Gardener

Movie • 2025

Léo

Days of Reckoning: The Making of Universal Soldier 4

Movie • 2013

Self

Kung Fu Panda 3

Movie • 2016

Master Croc (voice)

Breakin'

Movie • 1984

Spectator in First Dance Sequence (uncredited)

Narco

Movie • 2004

Jean-Claude Van Damme fantasmé par Lenny

Albert Pyun: King of Cult Movies

Movie • 2023

Self

Beur sur la ville

Movie • 2011

Colonel Merot

Heist School

Movie • 2006

Charles

Kickboxer: Retaliation

Movie • 2018

Master Durand

Woman Between Wolf and Dog

Movie • 1979

Movie Goer / Man in Garden (uncredited)

Street of the Damned

Movie • 1984

Extra in Police Arrival Sequence (uncredited)

Kill 'em All

Movie • 2017

Philip

Black Water

Movie • 2018

Wheeler

The Go-Go Boys: The Inside Story of Cannon Films

Movie • 2014

Self

Jian Bing Man

Movie • 2015

Jean-Claude Van Damme

The Bouncer

Movie • 2018

Lukas

We Die Young

Movie • 2019

Daniel

Last Action Hero

Movie • 1993

Jean-Claude Van Damme (uncredited)

The Making of Double Impact, Parts 1 & 2

Movie • 2019

Minions: The Rise of Gru

Movie • 2022

Jean Clawed (voice)

Universal Soldier: A Tale of Two Titans

Movie • 2004

Himself

Guns, Genes & Fighting Machines: The Making of 'Universal Soldier'

Movie • 2004

Himself

In Search of the Last Action Heroes

Movie • 2019

Self

The Last Mercenary

Movie • 2021

Richard Brumére

Monsieur Jean-Claude

Movie • 2021

(uncredited)

Missing in Action

Movie • 1984

Soldier (uncredited)

All the Love You Cannes!

Movie • 2002

Self

Spaten

Movie • 2024

Van Damme

Slinger

Movie • 2011

Gibson Rickenbacker

Bloodsport

Movie

Sensation: Cruise

Movie • 2025

Kyle LeBlanc (archival footage from 'In Hell')

Ultrarêve

Movie • 2020

Self

Chinese Hercules: The Bolo Yeung Story

Movie

Self

Bon Voyage

Movie • 2017

Self (archive footage)

Jean-Claude Van Damage

Movie • 2014

Las Vegas

TV • 2003

Jean-Claude Van Damme

E! True Hollywood Story

TV • 1996

Celebrities Uncensored

TV • 2003

Self

Viva el lunes

TV • 1995

Self