Jean-Claude Camille François Van Varenberg (born 18 October 1960), professionally known as Jean-Claude Van Damme and abbreviated as JCVD, is a Belgian martial artist, actor, and director best known for his martial arts action films. The most successful of these films include Bloodsport (1988), Kickboxer (1989), Universal Soldier (1992), Hard Target (1993), Street Fighter (1994), Timecop (1994), Sudden Death (1995), JCVD (2008) and The Expendables 2 (2012).
He began martial arts at the age of ten, enrolled by his father in a Shotokan karate school. At the age of 15, Van Damme started his competitive karate career in Belgium. From 1976-1980, Van Damme compiled a record of 44 victories and 4 defeats in tournament and non-tournament semi-contact matches. Van Damme was a member of the Belgium Karate Team when it won the European Karate Championship on 26 December 1979 at La Coupe Francois Persoons Karate Tournament in Brussels.
Van Damme began his full-contact career in 1977, when Claude Goetz promoted the first ever full-contact karate tournament in Belgium. From 1977 to 1982, Van Damme compiled a record of 18 victories (18 knockouts) and 1 defeat.
In 1982, Van Damme and childhood friend, Michel Qissi, moved to America in the hope of becoming action stars. His breakout film was Bloodsport, based on the alleged true story of Frank Dux. Shot on a 1.5 million dollar budget, it became a U.S. box-office hit in the spring of 1988. See 10 best performance and moments of Jean-Claude Van Damme.
(SOURCE: WIKI – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean-Claude_Van_Damme)
10HARD TARGET (1989)
Hard Target is a 1993 American action film directed by Chinese director John Woo. The film stars Jean-Claude Van Damme as Chance Boudreaux, an out-of-work Cajunmerchant seaman who saves a young woman, Natasha Binder (Yancy Butler), from a gang of thugs in New Orleans. Chance learns that Binder is searching for her missing father (Chuck Pfarrer), and agrees to aid Binder in her search. Boudreaux and Binder soon learn that Binder's father has died at the hands of wealthy sportsman Emil Fouchon (Lance Henriksen) who hunts homeless men as a form of recreation. The screenplay was written by Chuck Pfarrer and is based on the 1932 film adaptation of Richard Connell's 1924 short story, The Most Dangerous Game.
09DOUBLE TEAM (1997)
Universal Soldier: The Return is a 1999 American science fiction action film directed by Mic Rodgers his directorial debut, and starring Jean-Claude Van Damme, Michael Jai White, Bill Goldberg, Heidi Schanz, Kiana Tom and Xander Berkeley. The film was released in the United States on August 20, 1999. This was Jean-Claude Van Damme's last theatrical release film until 2008's JCVD.
08DOUBLE IMPACT (1991)
Double Impact is a 1991 American action film written and directed by Sheldon Lettich, and written, produced by and starring Jean-Claude Van Damme in a double role as Chad and Alex Wagner.
07BLACK EAGLE (1988)
Black Eagle is a 1988 American martial arts film set on the Mediterranean island ofMalta. The film takes place with the summoning of a Japanese martial artist Ken Tami (Sho Kosugi) (codenamed the "BLACK EAGLE"), assigned on a U.S. Governmental mission to retrieve a top secret laser tracking device that was on board a shot down F-111 jet. Ken Tami along with the assistance of his brave two young sons and his female CIA aide Patricia Parker (Doran Clark) must track down the tracking device before all ends, as Ken inevitably comes face to face with an unknown skilled enemy in the form of a KGB team leader named Andrei (Jean-Claude Van Damme).
06UNIVERSAL SOLDIER (1999)
Universal Soldier: The Return is a 1999 American science fiction action film directed by Mic Rodgers his directorial debut, and starring Jean-Claude Van Damme, Michael Jai White, Bill Goldberg, Heidi Schanz, Kiana Tom and Xander Berkeley. The film was released in the United States on August 20, 1999. This was Jean-Claude Van Damme's last theatrical release film until 2008's JCVD.
05KICKBOSER (1993)
Kickboxer is a 1989 American martial arts sports action thriller film written and produced by Mark Di Salle, co-directed by Di Salle and David Worth, and starring Jean-Claude Van Damme and former world kickboxing champion, Dennis Alexio. The film is considered to be a cult classic.
04DOMINGO LEGAL
Television Turn On (TV show)
03LION-HEART (1990)
Lion-heart is a 1990 film, directed by Sheldon Lettich, starring Jean-Claude Van Dammeand co-starring Brian Thompson, along with Harrison Page, Deborah Rennard, Lisa Pelikan, and Ashley Johnson. The film stars Van Damme as a paratrooper legionnaire; when his brother is seriously injured he returns to Los Angeles to enter the underground fighting circuit to raise money for his brother's family.
02KICKBOSER (1993)
Van Damme on the dance floor
01BLOOD-SPORT (1987)
Blood-sport is a 1988 American martial arts drama film directed by Newt Arnold, starring Jean-Claude Van Damme, Roy Chiao, Donald Gibb and Leah Ayres. The film is based in part on fiction as well as in part inspired by claims made by American martial artist Frank Dux.[2][3][4] It sold well at the box office, grossing $11,806,119 domestically on a budget of $1,100,000. Blood-sport was one of Van Damme's first starring films and showcased his athletic abilities. He performs numerous physical feats such as helicopter-style, jump spinning heel kicks, and a complete split.
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