Jean-Claude Camille François Van Varenberg, known professionally as Jean-Claude Van Damme, is a Belgian actor, martial artist, filmmaker, and fight choreographer. Born and raised in Brussels, Belgium, at the age of ten his father enrolled him in martial arts classes, which led to Van Damme participating in several competitions. With the desire of becoming an actor, he moved to the United States in 1982, where he did odd jobs and worked on several films, until he got his break as the lead in the martial arts film Bloodsport (1988).
Bloodsport is a 1988 American martial arts action film directed by Newt Arnold and starring Jean-Claude Van Damme, Leah Ayres, Forest Whitaker, Donald Gibb, Roy Chiao, and Bolo Yeung. The film centers on Frank Dux, a United States Army Captain and ninjitsu practitioner, who competes in an underground, full-contact martial arts tournament called the Kumite in Hong Kong. It was one of Van Damme's first starring films and showcased his athletic abilities, launching his career as a mainstream action star.
No Retreat, No Surrender is a 1985 martial arts film directed by Corey Yuen in his American film directorial debut. The film stars Kurt McKinney, with a supporting cast of Jean-Claude Van Damme, J.W. Fails, Kathie Sileno and Tai-chung Kim. The film was released in Italy on October 20, 1985, and the United States on May 2, 1986. McKinney performs as Jason Stillwell, an American teenager who learns martial arts from the spirit of Bruce Lee. Stillwell uses these lessons to defend his martial arts dojo against Soviet martial artist Ivan Kraschinsky. It is the first film in the No Retreat, No Surrender franchise.
Timecop is a 1994 American science fiction action film directed by Peter Hyams and co-written by Mike Richardson and Mark Verheiden. Richardson also served as executive producer. The film is based on Timecop, a story created by Richardson, written by Verheiden, and drawn by Ron Randall, which appeared in the anthology comic Dark Horse Comics, published by Dark Horse Comics. It is the first installment in the Timecop franchise.
Hard Target is a 1993 American action film directed by Hong Kong film director John Woo in his U.S. debut. The film stars Jean-Claude Van Damme as Chance Boudreaux, an out-of-work homeless Cajun merchant seaman and former United States Force Recon Marine who saves a young woman named Natasha Binder from a gang of thugs in New Orleans. Chance learns that Binder is searching for her missing father, and agrees to aid Binder in her search. They soon learn that Binder's father has died at the hands of hunt organisers Emil Fouchon and Pik van Cleef, a pair of a ruthless businessman and his right-hand mercenary, who arrange the hunting of homeless men as a form of recreational sport. The screenplay was written by Pfarrer and is based on the 1932 film adaptation of Richard Connell's 1924 short story "The Most Dangerous Game".
Replicant is a 2001 American science fiction action film directed by Ringo Lam and starring Jean-Claude Van Damme and Michael Rooker. It is the second collaboration between Van Damme and Hong Kong film director Ringo Lam, and the third time that Van Damme has starred in a dual role. The film had a limited theatrical release in many European countries and was released on direct-to-DVD in the United States on September 18, 2001.
Derailed is a 2002 American-Bulgarian action film directed by Bob Misiorowski, and starring Jean-Claude Van Damme, Tomas Arana and Laura Harring. Van Damme's son Kristopher van Varenberg also appears as his fictional son. In the story, a secret agent must escort a thief (Harring)—and the bioweapon she has stolen—from Slovakia to Germany, but the agent's unsuspecting family and a dangerous criminal (Arana) end up on the same train as them.
Sudden Death is a 1995 American action-thriller film directed by Peter Hyams and starring Jean-Claude Van Damme, Powers Boothe, Raymond J. Barry and Dorian Harewood. The film pits a lone fire marshal against extortionists who hold unsuspecting NHL players and fans for ransom during game seven of the Stanley Cup Finals, and set payment milestones to coincide with the game's progress. It was Hyams' second directorial collaboration with Van Damme, after Timecop (1994) and before Enemies Closer (2013).
Universal Soldier: The Return is a 1999 American science fiction action film directed by Mic Rodgers in his directorial debut, written by William Malone and John Fasano, and produced by Craig Baumgarten, Allen Shapiro and Jean-Claude Van Damme who also stars in the film reprising his role as Luc Deveraux. The film also stars Michael Jai White, Heidi Schanz, Xander Berkeley, Justin Lazard, Kiana Tom, Daniel von Bargen, James R. Black, Karis Paige Bryant and Bill Goldberg. The film was theatrically released in the United States on August 20, 1999. This was Van Damme's last widely released film in the United States until 2012.
The Hard Corps is a 2006 American action film directed and written by Sheldon Lettich. It stars Jean-Claude Van Damme, Raz Adoti, Vivica A. Fox, and Peter James Bryant. It is the fourth collaboration between Jean-Claude Van Damme and film director Sheldon Lettich. The film was released direct-to-DVD in the United States on August 15, 2006.
Predator is an American science fiction action anthology media franchise centered on the film series depicting humankind's encounters with an intelligent race of extraterrestrial trophy-seeking hunters known as the "Yautja". Produced and distributed by 20th Century Fox, the series began with Predator (1987), directed by John McTiernan, and was followed by three sequels, Predator 2 (1990), Predators (2010), The Predator (2018), and one prequel, Prey (2022). The series has led to numerous novels, comics, and video game spin-offs such as Predator: Concrete Jungle (2005) and Predator: Hunting Grounds (2020). The Alien vs. Predator franchise combines the continuities and universe of the Alien franchise with the Predator franchise and consists of two films as well as varying series of comics, books, and video games.
Inferno is a 1999 American action film directed by John G. Avildsen, and starring Jean-Claude van Damme, Danny Trejo and Pat Morita. This was the last film directed by Avildsen before his death in 2017.
The Expendables is a 2010 American action film written by David Callaham and Sylvester Stallone, and directed by Stallone, who also starred in the lead role. The film co-stars an ensemble cast of mostly action film actors consisting of Jason Statham, Jet Li, Dolph Lundgren, Randy Couture, Terry Crews, Steve Austin, Mickey Rourke, and Bruce Willis. The film was released in the United States on August 13, 2010. It is the first installment in The Expendables film series. This was Dolph Lundgren's first theatrically released film since 1995's cyberpunk film Johnny Mnemonic.
Universal Soldier: Regeneration is a 2009 American science fiction action film directed and co-edited by John Hyams, written by Victor Ostrovsky, and starring Jean-Claude Van Damme and Dolph Lundgren. It is the fifth installment in the Universal Soldier franchise and the alternative sequel to the original Universal Soldier from 1992, ignores the events from the 1999 theatrical sequel Universal Soldier: The Return and the two made for television sequels that were produced in 1998.
Dragon Eyes is a 2012 American martial arts film starring Cung Le and Jean-Claude Van Damme. It was directed by John Hyams. In New Orleans, a mysterious man looks to unite two warring gangs against the lawmen who have been using them to advance their corrupt agenda. The film was the second collaboration between Van Damme and Hyams, after Universal Soldier: Regeneration (2009).
Assassination Games is a 2011 American action thriller film directed by Ernie Barbarash and starring Jean-Claude van Damme and Scott Adkins with Ivan Kaye as their main antagonist. The film was released in the United States on July 29, 2011.
Six Bullets is a 2012 American action film directed by Ernie Barbarash, produced by Brad Krevoy and starring Jean-Claude Van Damme, Joe Flanigan, Anna-Louise Plowman, and Charlotte Beaumont. The film was released on direct-to-video in the United States on September 11, 2012.
Enemies Closer is a 2013 American thriller film directed by Peter Hyams and starring Jean-Claude Van Damme, Tom Everett Scott, Orlando Jones and Linzey Cocker. In it, a former Navy SEAL is marked for death by the mourning brother of a comrade he left behind, only to have to team up with him when they both become targets of a deranged crime lord.
Swelter is a 2014 American action film written and directed by Keith Parmer and starring Jean-Claude Van Damme, Lennie James, Catalina Sandino, Alfred Molina, Grant Bowler and Josh Henderson. James plays a sheriff in a small town who has a dark past that he can not remember, only to have to confront it when his ex-partners show up looking for stolen money they believe he has.
Black Water is an American action thriller film directed by Pasha Patriki. It stars Jean-Claude Van Damme and Dolph Lundgren in their fifth collaboration, specifically the second time they appear as on-screen allies. The film was released direct-to-video in the US on May 25, 2018.
