MOVIE NEWS – Today, he is one of the defining faces of ’90s action cinema, but as a kid, even his own coach struggled to see any potential in him. Van Damme’s journey from shy, awkward, glasses-wearing boy to Hollywood leading man began the day he stepped onto a karate mat at barely ten years old.
It is hard to imagine ’90s action movies without Jean-Claude Van Damme. The Belgian martial artist may never have reached the superstar heights of Arnold Schwarzenegger or Sylvester Stallone, but he carved out a space for himself in a brutally competitive industry, leaving behind a string of memorable roles, including cult sci-fi classics. But where did it all really start?
The story does not begin with his first Hollywood hit, Bloodsport, nor with his dancing cameo in Breakdance. It goes back to his childhood, when young Van Damme enrolled in karate – a decision that later became the backbone of many of his biggest roles. His natural screen presence and charisma did the rest.
“Everything Was Flawed,” Said His Coach
At first glance, nobody would have guessed that this timid boy would one day become an action hero. In the documentary Jean-Claude Van Damme, coup sur coup, coach Claude Goetz recalls their first meeting, describing the 12-year-old Van Damme as looking “more like a victim” than a future star.
“They brought him to me to make a man out of him. His father thought he was shy. Nothing about him seemed right. He was stiff as a post, nearsighted as a mole, and ugly as sin. Everything about him was flawed. He looked like a victim.”
The documentary also notes: “Van Damme wasn’t what anyone would call handsome.” With his big glasses, lisp, and deep shyness, he was nowhere near the typical popular kid. He was much closer to becoming the butt of the joke.
Michel Qissi, his friend and training partner (whom we also saw in Kickboxer), remembers him as a “skinny guy”. “But over the years, he developed incredible flexibility he inherited from his mother, which allowed him to do things other people simply couldn’t.”
The Shy Boy Who Became A Hollywood Powerhouse
From there, the rest is history. Van Damme pushed through Goetz’s demanding classes and turned his innate martial arts talent into championship-level success in both karate and kickboxing, all while studying ballet for four years and keeping his dream of movie stardom alive.
In the early ’80s he moved to Los Angeles with almost no money and spent years waiting for his big break. Bloodsport finally gave him that chance. He earned just $25,000 for the role, but it was enough to showcase his skills and open the floodgates to future offers.
The documentary Jean-Claude Van Damme, Coup Sur Coup recounts many more anecdotes worth discovering if you have followed the career of “The Muscles from Brussels,” though it is currently unavailable on streaming platforms after a stint on Movistar Plus+.
Source: 3djuegos
