The washed up action superstar, the muscles from Brussels, Jean Claude Van Damme who at one point had difficulty quitting alcohol is trying to make a comeback and it appears to be happening very soon.
For the past… uh…let’s see… decade or so, all he’s ever done were movies that went straight to DVD’s. Movies that not even action movie lovers would be proud to say that they’ve watched ‘em.
But at 47 years old, it’s not impossible for him to bring his career back to the big screen. With all the trend of old actors doing the roles they do best (Bruce Willis, Sly Stallone, Harrison Ford), why not Jean Claude Van Damme?!
He spoke to MTV recently and he spoke about the new movie he just finished filming called J.C.V.D….
“It’s an acting type of film, a dramatic part. It’s funny. It’s got everything.”
“It’s about a guy who was arrested too many times in the US. Being drunk, my [character's] life was from success to failure. And this guy is now leaving the States to refresh himself, to go back to Brussels to see his parents. He’s got no money and he’s looking for any type of movie to pay his lawyers for child custody. And then he shows up in a post office where a heist is happening, and people think I’m part of it. And then it becomes very ‘Dog Day Afternoon.’”
Easy there, cowboy!
I admire your will to resurrect your career, Mr. Damme but comparing yourself to Dog Day Afternoon which is one of my favorite movies ever starring my hero Al Pacino… is quite a bit of a stretch, don’t you think?
In the interview he also said the reason why he turned down the offer to do a cameo in Rush Hour 3…
Yeah, I was approached. But if I do an action movie today I cannot walk through the streets and do karate moves. I would not believe it anymore. It’s hard for me to say that. I cannot go and do three somersaults. I would feel like a monkey. So “Rush Hour,” even though I would have been well paid, would have been difficult for me to accept.
Ya know… when I was a kid growing up, I idolized people like Jean Claude Van Damme, he was awesome!
Universal Soldier, Hard Target, even Lionheart, those movies were cool back then. He had this trademark fight move where he jumped slo-mo and when he was in mid-air, he twist his body around and kick the bad guy in the face.
But as the years passed by, he became more of a laughing stock, for one example you can check out how MAD TV made fun of him by clicking HERE.
I don’t know about his dream trying to be the next Robert DeNiro or the Belgian Al Pacino, but if he wants to give it a shot.. hey, let’s hope no one will stand in the way.
Check out this hilarious J.V.C.D. teaser clip of Jean Claude Van Damme trying to get a part in his own biopic. Let me know what you think.
Questions:
Would you see a new Jean Claude Van Damme movie in the theaters?
He also has a romantic movie that he’s currently working on, what do you think about him acting in some chick flick?
