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

HD

Cyborg

1989 Movie
HD

Kickboxer

1989 Movie
HD

Replicant

2001 Movie
HD

Legionnaire

1998 Movie
HD

Hard Target

1993 Movie
HD

Nowhere to Run

1993 Movie
HD

Inferno

1999 Movie
HD

Maximum Risk

1996 Movie
HD

Until Death

2007 Movie
HD

Bloodsport

1988 Movie
HD

Street Fighter

1994 Movie
HD

Timecop

1994 Movie
HD

Sudden Death

1995 Movie
HD

The Quest

1996 Movie
HD

Double Impact

1991 Movie
HD

Universal Soldier

1992 Movie
HD

Lionheart

1990 Movie
HD

Double Team

1997 Movie
HD

The Hard Corps

2005 Movie
HD

JCVD

2008 Movie
HD

Wake of Death

2004 Movie
HD

Haters

2021 Movie
HD

The Order

2001 Movie
HD

Knock Off

1998 Movie
HD

Death Warrant

1990 Movie
HD

Derailed

2002 Movie
HD

Black Eagle

1988 Movie
HD

Kung Fu Panda 2

2011 Movie
HD

Second in Command

2006 Movie
HD

In Hell

2003 Movie
HD

Assassination Games

2011 Movie
HD

Full Love

2010 Movie
HD

Corporal vs. Napoleon

2012 Movie
HD

The Expendables 2

2012 Movie
HD

Monaco Forever

1984 Movie
HD

Dragon Eyes

2012 Movie
HD

6 Bullets

2012 Movie
HD

U.F.O.

2012 Movie
HD

Welcome to the Jungle

2013 Movie
HD

Enemies Closer

2013 Movie
HD

Swelter

2014 Movie
HD

Kill 'em All 2

2024 Movie
HD

Top Fighter

1995 Movie
HD

Kickboxer: Vengeance

2016 Movie
HD

Pound of Flesh

2015 Movie
HD

Silent Kill

Movie
HD

Darkness of Man

2024 Movie
HD

Le Jardinier

Movie
HD

Kung Fu Panda 3

2016 Movie
HD

Breakin'

1984 Movie
HD

Narco

2004 Movie
HD

Beur sur la ville

2011 Movie
HD

Heist School

2006 Movie
HD

Halloween Ends

2022 Movie
HD

Street of the Damned

1984 Movie
HD

Kill 'em All

2017 Movie
HD

Black Water

2018 Movie
HD

Jian Bing Man

2015 Movie
HD

The Bouncer

2018 Movie
HD

We Die Young

2019 Movie
HD

Last Action Hero

1993 Movie
HD

JCVD's Day Out

2020 Movie
HD

The Last Mercenary

2021 Movie
HD

Monsieur Jean-Claude

2021 Movie
HD

Missing in Action

1984 Movie
HD

Spaten

2024 Movie