Jean-Claude Camille François Van Varenberg, known professionally as Jean-Claude Van Damme, is a Belgian martial artist and actor. Born and raised in Brussels, his father enrolled him in a Shotokan karate school at the age of ten, which led Van Damme to hold the rank of 2nd-dan black belt in karate, and compete in several karate and kickboxing competitions. As a teenager, he won the middleweight championship of the European Professional Karate Association in 1979 and the Mr. Belgium bodybuilding title in 1978. With the desire of becoming an actor in Hollywood, he moved to the United States in 1982, where he worked on several films, until he got his break as the lead in the martial arts film Bloodsport (1988).
Guillaume Canet is a French actor, film director and screenwriter, and show jumper.
Double Impact is a 1991 American action film written and directed by Sheldon Lettich, and written, produced by and starring Jean-Claude Van Damme as Chad and Alex Wagner. The film marks Van Damme's third collaboration with director Sheldon Lettich and second collaboration with Bolo Yeung. Double Impact was released in the United States on August 9, 1991.
Jean-Pierre Cassel was a French actor and dancer. A popular star of French cinema, he was initially known for his comedy film appearances, though he also proved a gifted dramatic actor, and accrued over 200 film and television credits in a career spanning over 50 years.
Maximum Risk is a 1996 American action thriller film directed by Hong Kong director Ringo Lam in his American directorial debut, and starring Jean-Claude Van Damme and Natasha Henstridge. The plot follows French police detective Alain Moreau as he becomes entangled in an international conspiracy encompassing Russian gangsters and corrupt American officials, with various parties after his life because of his uncanny resemblance to a dead mob informant. His only ally appears to be his doppelganger's girlfriend, Alex Bartlett (Henstridge).
Until Death is a 2007 American vigilante action film starring Jean-Claude Van Damme and directed by Simon Fellows. It was released direct-to-DVD on April 24, 2007. Van Damme plays Anthony Stowe, a corrupt police detective addicted to heroin whom everybody hates. After being shot in a gunfight, he falls into a coma. Months later, he recovers and decides to use his second chance at life.
The Killing Dance is a horror/mystery novel by American writer Laurell K. Hamilton, the sixth book in the Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter series.
Guillaume Gallienne is a French actor, screenwriter and film director. He has received two Molière Awards for his stagework and has won two César Awards, one for writing and the other for his performance in his autobiographical comedy film Me, Myself and Mum (2013).
La Soupe aux choux is a 1981 French science fiction comedy film film directed by Jean Girault, based on the 1980 novel by René Fallet. It was the second to last movie made by French comedian Louis de Funès.
The Judge and the Assassin is a 1976 French drama film directed by Bertrand Tavernier that stars Philippe Noiret, Isabelle Huppert, Michel Galabru, and Jean-Claude Brialy. Set in France in the 1890s, it shows the capture after a trail of rapes and murders of a possibly deranged ex-soldier, based on the historical Joseph Vacher, and how he is befriended by an ambitious judge who leads him into incriminating himself. The film won two César Awards in 1977.
The Exam is a 2006 Turkish comedy-drama film directed by Ömer Faruk Sorak, about five Turkish highschool students preparing to sit for the university entry exam, who enlist the services of a professional thief, played by Jean-Claude Van Damme, to steal the papers. The film went on nationwide general release across Turkey on 20 October 2006.
Tell No One is a 2006 French thriller film directed by Guillaume Canet and based on the 2001 novel of the same name by Harlan Coben. Written by Canet and Philippe Lefebvre and starring François Cluzet, the film won four categories at the 2007 César Awards in France: Best Director, Best Actor, Best Editing and Best Music Written for a Film.
Lellouche is a North-African surname; a variant form of Lellouch, Lelouch, Alloush, Allouch and Allouche. It is derived from the early Afroasiatic-Semitic family, where it is seen in the Berber and Arabian Peninsula Arabic cultures as el allouch (alush), meaning "the lamb". It is most-often used to signify a young male lamb, and remains a nickname or term of endearment in some North African and Arabic cultures.
Little White Lies is a 2010 French comedy-drama film written and directed by Guillaume Canet, starring an ensemble cast of François Cluzet, Marion Cotillard, Benoît Magimel, Gilles Lellouche, Jean Dujardin, Laurent Lafitte, Valérie Bonneton and Pascale Arbillot. The original French title is Les Petits Mouchoirs, which means "the small handkerchiefs". The film was released in France on 20 October 2010. A sequel, Nous finirons ensemble was released in 2019 and features a surprise and unwanted visit of the group to Max's house, which he is trying to sell, for his birthday.
JCVD is a 2008 satirical black comedy crime drama film co-written and directed by Mabrouk el Mechri, and starring Jean-Claude Van Damme as a fictionalized version of himself: a down and out action star whose family and career are crumbling around him as he is caught in the middle of a post office heist in his hometown of Brussels, Belgium.
The Connection is a 2014 action crime thriller film directed by Cédric Jimenez and produced by Alain Goldman. The film was inspired by the events of the French Connection in the 1970s, starring Jean Dujardin as police magistrate Pierre Michel (juge) and Gilles Lellouche as Gaëtan "Tany" Zampa, a drug gang ringleader. The film premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival on 10 September 2014.
Whatever You Say is a 2002 French comedy-drama film directed by Guillaume Canet and starring François Berléand, Guillaume Canet, Diane Kruger, Daniel Prévost, and Clotilde Courau.
The Key is a 2007 French thriller film directed by Guillaume Nicloux.
Philippe Lellouche is a French actor, director, screenwriter, television presenter and singer. He was born on 30 March 1966 in Tel HaShomer in Israel. His brother is the actor Gilles Lellouche.
Asterix & Obelix: The Middle Kingdom is a 2023 French live-action adventure comedy film directed and co-written by Guillaume Canet, who also stars as Asterix. It is the fifth installment in the Asterix live-action film series.
