Jean-Claude Van Damme Tells Crazy Story About Bloodsport 

Van Damme tells his story like Pulp Fiction. In non chronological order.

Only this man can tell 5 different stories in 1 sentence.

As a kid I rented Bloodsport over and over again. Never got tired of it.

“Aren’t you a little young for full contact?”....”Aren’t you a little old for video games?”

Interviewer: "What is some advice you would give someone wanting to get into this profession?" Van Damme: "There was this guy. You want some milk and cookies? My dad was serious guy. Then I was a bouncer and now I am here with you."

Okay, so since I know a thing or two about his story (Loosely) this is how I will try and translate. "So When I was young I was in great shape in Belgium and had my own Gym and I was a Karate Champion who had it all, the women, the fame and the money. I went to the US, left all that behind to try and make it. I was so poor in trying to be an actor in the US that in order to make a long distance call to my family, I would wait for the women I randomly hooked up with to go have a shower so I can charge the long distance fee to her phone. Then because of my martial arts I got involved with Chuck Norris and started to spar with him and he would practice his moves he would use in the movies on me, so when I went home for a visit I was referred to as Chuck Norris's punching bag and a failure at trying to be an actor and my father was ashamed of what I had given up to NOT become. The I saw the head of Canon Studio (He got his accent down perfectly I should ad) and he told me I will never be a star like Chuck and Michael (The dude from American Ninja) and so we got into a heated exchange where I said I ain't no bodies bitch, so he tried to calm me down and gave me a script called Bloodsport to which no one had faith in and I did some better more realistic things when I made that film but it got chopped down in the editing to be more hokey. So my charisma still shown through and that is how I became a star and not an actor." Hope that cleared things up a little.

JCVD the movie is criminally overlooked even by Van Damme fans. His acting in that film was incredible, that monologue at the end was one of the few times a movie has made me cry, maybe its because I followed his career as a kid & had preconceived notions about what kind of guy he was & they were wrong because his speech was so powerful & raw it felt too real

Acting skills 100. Storytelling skills 2. 😆 Either way, he's one of the goats.

I’ve watched Bloodsport a million times on VHS. A friend told me I should watch it. “It’s good!”. He lent me the tape, but I didn’t watch it because I didn’t believe him. It couldn’t be better then all the fighting movies I’ve seen. A few weeks later I came around to watch it. I’ve watched it at least 5 times that weekend. Bloodsport and Kickboxer are my all time favorites.

The story is like going up on a rollercoaster slowly anticipating a drop that never comes LMAO. Still love JCVD

Bloodsport, Kickboxer, Cyborg, Lion Heart, Double Impact, Universal Soldier, Nowhere to Run, Hard Target, Time Cop and even Street Fighter. The man was a true action STAR.

I love hearing about his life. Like with Arnie and Stallone, his struggles are very human and real. He comes from humble beginnings. He isn't a manufactured star or actor like we see today - he is the real thing.

Lol how did his accent get stronger as he got older lol

As Sylvester Stallone said to Arnold: "You and I are the reason subtitles were invented." He should add John Clawed Van Damme to it! Respect though, everyone's childhood hero, including mine.

I still find his movies inspiring. He reached the apex of fitness & martial arts on screen. In the prime of his career he was the very best.

The whole interview was fun. It made me smile the whole time I was listening to it. You have to have him on again especially knowing now that you'll only be able to ask him only a few questions but will get a lot of content from him. Did anyone else go watch Bloodsport when they got home in honour of this interview?

“What the hell is a dimac?” “Def tuch”

I have no idea what he's saying here but I could listen to JCVD all day. One of the very few genuine good guys. Great to his fans. Humble. I had the Bloodsport poster on my wall forever. 💪❤

Even his story telling is legendary. I don’t have a damn clue what he’s talking about , but still a legend lol

Wow, incredibly inspiring story. Spent much of my teen years also as a chubby kid enamored of Jean watching all of his movies and aspiring toward something more because of his performance. Quite a thing now to get the backdrop of his true story during those years, directly from him. Seems like a humble man, and wise too. Would just be a dream come true to hang with him just for a few hours and listen.

the title says "Van Damme Tells "'CRAZY" story" i didn't know it was literally going to be crazy -- mental institution crazy. Love Van Damme but didn't understand shit lol.

I like how he’s come back finally over the last several years. It’s too bad ego and drugs got in his way for so many years but his career has been pretty good and the movies he’s done good too over the last ten or so.

I grew up watching him. There is always a special place in my heart for Van Damme.

I've always admired Jean Claude Van Damme. This guy is a LEGEND. I watched him growing up as a kid and would try to emulate his moves until I got into boxing and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.

When I was a kid as well I loved him so much! I practice all the moves from the films. They were over 18 films but they were the best films for a 12 year old.

I remember practicing kicks so much after watching his films I actually was a decent kicker before I even started martial arts, Thank you JCVD, anyone else do martial arts because of him?

Bloodsport is one of the movies I can never get tired of!

It's crazy to hear how flat broke Vam Damme was and then. Bam, Bloodsport is in his lap and he never looked back.

Van damme was the dude all the guys wanted to be back in the day. This man is going to be remembered long past his time.

this man was a big part of my childhood. bloodsport, double impact, universal soldier, kickboxer, lionheart are all classics to me.

I actually got to meet him on a film set in North Carolina when he filmed Time Cop, and my father interviewed him for a radio show. He made quite an impression on me as a boy, and it has been fun to watch his career ever since.

He is a star and always will be, on screen and off and my favourite film is TIMECOP STARRING JEAN-CLAUDE VAN DAMME and HARD TARGET ALSO STARRING JEAN-CLAUDE VAN DAMME,and yes i have excellent taste in movies lol

First Van Damme movie I saw was bloodsport. Was babysitting and i needed a movie to watch. Everytine i babysat for them i watch the movie on repeat, finally the dad gave me the movie. Since then I collected ALL Van Damme movies, vhs and dvds. My favorites are Double Impact and The Quest. JCVd also was very good

“What the hell is a Dim Mak?”

The clarity is truly staggering with this one. Rarely have I ever heard such eloquent and efficient use of a language resembling English by a Belgian martial-arts star.

I was and still am a huge fan of JCVD. When I was six years old I watched Bloodsport. When I saw him jump up and do the splits, I told my family “I can do that.” I dropped to the floor and did them.

Love that dude..such a genuine person.

Cyborg was my number 1 movie. Hes amazing. It sucks you wont see guys like him stallone arnold or bruce willace anymore.

I went to the movies 6 times to watch Bloodsport when it first released. JCVD is amazing!

Love him. That said.. is it just me or did he never answer the guys question ⚰️😂

I don’t care about any of these negative comments on here, this guy is an idol for many people and even me growing up I watched jcvd movies and all of them were inspiring to me, and no matter what anybody says None of the people today could manage to do what he has done in martial arts, THIS MAN IS ONE OF MY IDOLS AND ONE OF THE GREATEST MARTIAL ARTIST OF ALL TIME (STAMPED) ✅

Jean motivated me to do everything growing up. Even helping me to get my black belt in martial arts

I like how he goes, "Y'know I was young like'ah Jean Claude Van Damme", like to say that Jean Claude Van Damme isn't him, it's a persona that he lived and breathed for decades until the debauchery became too much and he was able to shed it and become who he is today.

He's 100% correct about the editing of the movie. The cuts to the audience make no sense for most of the movie. When Ray is fighting Chong Li, they cut to a shot of the crowd and Ray is in the audience watching his own fight 😂 Ray is also visible in the crowd several times towards the end of the movie when his character is in the hospital. Jean-Claude is also visible in the crowd when he's fighting Chong Li. And they ADR'd all of Ken Siu's (RIP) lines while he's in the audience, to give the movie exposition for the audience, but his mouth doesn't move 😂 and for some reason Janice is always smiling and laughing with Forrest Whittaker in the crowd shots, even when Frank is in trouble 😂 Still my favourite western martial arts movie of all time!

I like the humility in the very beginning...

I know he is from Belgium. But his hand movements and the way he repeats the words twice reminds me of Italians and us Hispanics

No more cocaine for that guy!

You can't imagine how many pumps I did because of JCVD movies. I trained my abs and stretched my legs a lot because I was a skinny boy. I needed a model and JCVD was the one I choose ! 40 years later, I'm still a fan of the guy like the teenager I was.

You break my record, I break you, like I broke your friend. Greatest movie ever!!

we all LOVEthis guy but I don't know what he was talking about.On the EDGEof my seat though.

My friend and I seriously almost got into a fight with Van Dame in 2001 at the Sky bar in LA. Glad he has changed.

my childhood hero got old. will be one of my heroes for ever great inspiration that this soft sick world today desperately needs

I think he just 360 spun kicked me with this story

Van Damme was my favorite as a kid. I still couldn't appreciate the crazy Hong Kong flicks. But Van Damme made me want to scream Nu Su Ko! I know I did not spell it right but you get it if you listen to these guys. Especially Uncle Benny.

I love you❤I love your stories and your voice..full of life and frickin cute❤😊

what exactly was the story???

van Damme deserved to be become the legend he is today, genuinely happy for him!

Van Damme is one of the best actors to ever live, it's sad that his career went down but I hope he gets a second chance like Downey jr did because jc is such a better actor then Downey

I'm not sure if I fully understood the story, but damn, the way he told it had me captivated.

Absolutely Love my childhood Heroes Van Damme is another of those Heroes

I love Van Damme.. man went from zero to a hero.. man literally had no food, no family near him.. on other side of the world trying to accomplish his dream goal... poor guy... those hungry suffering days payed off. GOD blessed Van Damme.. love him forever, we all do.

Loved watching his movies as a lil kid. I would rent his movies all the time! Bloodsport, Lion Heart my favorites!

Did anyone ever catch on to the fact that Van Damme did the same finisher kick in just about every movie he ever did? Bloodsport, the Quest, Cyborg, Street Fighter, Kickboxer, Lionheart, Universal soldier, Replicant, Double Impact etc. I remember trying to practice that kick and nearly tore a groin muscle. Lol

I met him at the premiere in Hollywood. He so cool. Signed a poster for me.

Gets ask advice, he goes full narcissist story telling lol

Bloodsport is the best action movie ever.

Best life advice for podcasters: stop laughing when a guest is telling a personal story.

🍼? 🍪? 😂

No retreat, no Surrender, fist.

I’ve become a bigger fan of his over the years he is really a likable guy...

"Milk and cookies"? Like Harvey Weinstein milk and cookies?

Yeah I love John Claude Van Damme... I learned how to do the split and became very good not at Marshall arts but every movie he made I tried a copy his kicks and at one point I did them just like him flawlessly. My top three action Stars are Jean-Claude Van Damme Vin Diesel Sylvester Stallone.... The Van Damme will always be my number one.... And my top three movies are Bloodsport double impact and universal soldier..

I love every minute but holy shit is this a hard story to follow.

That movie was magic

Why does he never talk about no retreat, no surrender. The first movie I saw him in. He was a KILLER villain.

Van Damme I love you as a actor, fighter, accent and your movies but I tried to listen to your story and didn't understand what you were talking about. If I was there I'd say yeah, yeah, hmm. Pretending I understood lol. Hey Van Damme if you're reading this then look at the picture behind you. Contact Kevin Fergie and ask him to become a Marvel character. There's tonnes of Marvel characters that would fit your expertise. Please, it'll be awesome to see you in Marvel universe

Van Damme feels so comfortable with Mark and Christian that he tells a grueling story of his own life he never told anyone on the record, much less Live, and the new owner of Colider Video decides to fire them months later. Brilliant. I haven't watched a single Colider video since then. BTW, I get how it sounded ironic that Van Damme had to ask Marks name again right as he's saying he liked them. But keep in mind that he's in his 60s, and on top of that was doing cocain for a while (might still be, I don't know). He's not gonna remember anyone's name until he spends like 3 days with them. But he can still tell when he feels comfortable and trusting with someone, and that's why he shared something that I'm sure he felt shameful of for most of his life because it was the most honest answer to the question he could offer.

Absolute legend

Can someone please translate this for me.

i saw blood sport no less than 100 times a.w.o.l. maybe 50 times loved this guy as a kid

I love how high he looks lol hes the best and used to be my idol when I was a kid

I thought he was going to say santa claus when he was talking milk and cookies

Love me some Van Dam!!!!👍🏽🤘🏽💪🏽❤️

I think despite going off track he’s trying to say he worked his arse off and took every opportunity he could to be successful

Cultural icon

Idk what he's talking about. This story is all over the place. But it's JCVD so I listen. Like that old uncle that you know is coo-coo but you still respect him.

Best work IMO-No retreat No surrender

Hey guys. Apparently the dvd and blu ray are two different versions. One is called Lukas and the other The Bouncer. One of these movies are shorter, not having something like 7 minutes of extra footage. Does anyone know which version is the longer version?? Is it Lukas or is it The Bouncer? I want to order the movie, but don't want to get the short version. I would really appreciate a reply. Thank you

A real fucking legend man 👍

Wtf is a Dim Mak?

I am a charming guy....Van Damme..the epitome of humility....lol

Wow, who would've thought... Awesome guy...

JCVD looks great he is still in great shape

Damn Jean Claude. RESPECT

He must have gotten this wisdom before he took the role of Predator, which he quickly quit after learning his face would not be seen.

Damme will always be my favorite badass!

Love bloodsport and universal soldier

No offence to Van Damme but why is his English still so broken? He's been living in America for around 30 years he should be better by now. I'm pretty sure if I lived in Belgium for 30 years I'd speak French or Dutch better than that.

He really should stick to what he does best...whatever that is...oh, that's right, the splits between two chairs. LOL!

After he answered..I was like...what was the question again?