Jean-Claude Van Damme: filmography, biography, best films of an American actor

American actor, screenwriter, director Jean-Claude Van Damme, whose filmography is unique and contains many films about martial arts, is considered one of the best bodybuilders in the world ranking. The athlete is a laureate of numerous contests and nominations.

Van Damme: Biography

An athlete was born in the small Belgian town of Berkem-Sainte-Agat on October 18, 1960. Father Jean-Claude was the owner of a flower shop, his mother led a household. When the boy was ten years old, his parents identified him in the karate school, and later the young athlete began to study with the professor in martial arts of Claude Goetz.

When young Van Damme completed his studies, he also owned, in addition to karate, four more martial arts: Taekwondo, Muay Thai, Kung Fu and Kickboxing.

At the age of 16, Van Damme joined the Belgian national team in martial arts and began to perform in the category "Karate". At the first competitions he took the prize-winning place and became the champion of Europe, having received a black belt. In 1979 he met on the tatami with the American Sherman Bergman and won the fight at the end of the first minute, sending the opponent a knockout. In the next match, defeated the Englishman Michael Heming, titled champion. In total, Van Damme has twenty victories and two losses, the ratio is impressive, especially since 13 fights ended in a knockout, and the rest he won on points.

Early Career in Cinematography

Engaging in martial arts, Jean-Claude dreamed of applying his art to the cinema. In the end, he managed to star in the film "Do not give up and not give up" director Cory Yuen. Van Damme played the lead role, his character was a hired killer, the Russian karate player Ivan Krashinsky. Debut was successful, and in Hollywood, a new name - Van Damme. The filmography of the actor at first was modest, but soon he began to receive invitations from leading film studios.

In 1988, Van Damme had a real breakthrough, he was awarded the role in the film "Bloody Sport". Many doubted the success of the picture with an unintelligible script and an unknown actor in the title role. The motion picture was launched in Malaysia, then the rental copies were cautiously taken by France, and only then did the US risk. Contrary to expectations, the low-budget film made a real sensation all over the world, and the muscular character instantly became a movie star. Cash success was a record, revenue exceeded $ 30 million.

Success

Van Damme, whose filmography was regularly replenished with new films, took the matter seriously. He trained a lot, studied the history of martial arts, got acquainted with teachers, watched films with Bruce Lee. As a result, the actor managed to create a whole direction in American cinema, connected with fight stories, fights, criminal totalizator and bloody contests in the ring.

Jean Claude Van Damme, films with which participation became more and more popular, successfully blended into the already existing cluster of "militants of American cinema", in which they set the tone for Schwarzenegger Arnold and Sylvester Stallone. In the early nineties a series of films with Van Damme was shot. "Universal Soldier", "Time Patrol", "Nowhere to Run" - these pictures brought the actor worldwide fame.

Decline

However, soon in the genre of the militant there was a decline, the action films began to bring less and less income. The last successful film, which starred Van Damme - "Double Impact" (1991) - showed good box office. In the same period, the actor decided to try his hand at the director's profession and shot the film "In Search of Adventures," for which he himself wrote the script.

Directorial debut took place, but the film had no success, the rental barely paid back the costs. Several of the following films - "Blower", "Maximum Risk", "Colony" - also went unnoticed.

And again success

The period of stagnation for militants lasted for several years, then the public's interest in this genre began to increase. In 2009, the movie "Universal Soldier: Revival" was released. The main roles were made by Van Damme and popular actor Dolph Lundgren. High box office showed that the action-packed science fiction has regained its position in the cinema.

Two years later, Jean Claude Van Damme, whose films once again became popular, starred in the sequel "The Expendables-2" by Sylvester Stallone. The film has collected at the box office about three hundred million dollars.

Currently, the popular actor Jean-Claude Van Damme, whose filmography regularly replenishes with new paintings, is preparing to shoot another movie project.