Jean-Claude Van Damme
Actor · MMA
Jean-Claude Van Damme is a Belgian actor and athlete who became an international action star through films including Bloodsport, Kickboxer, Universal Soldier and Timecop. Before entering film, he trained extensively in karate and kickboxing and competed in martial arts in Belgium. [2][4]
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Career and work
Van Damme began training in karate as a child in Brussels and later competed in martial-arts events before turning his attention to acting. He earned a black belt as a teenager and also trained in ballet, developing the combination of strength and flexibility that later became central to his screen persona. [2]
After moving to the United States, Van Damme worked in small film roles before receiving his breakthrough lead role in Bloodsport (1988). He followed it with a series of commercially successful action films including Kickboxer, Lionheart, Double Impact, Universal Soldier and Timecop, establishing himself as one of the most recognizable action stars of the late 1980s and 1990s. [2][3]
What has been publicly discussed
“All the commotion around me, all the water around me, moving left and right around me, became like a lake.”
— Jean-Claude Van Damme [1]
