Is it time for another crazy Jean-Claude Van Damme story? Of course it is! At this point, we should probably gather all of these anecdotes and release a book.
Before Bloodsport turned Van Damme into one of the hottest action stars in the world, he appeared in Corey Yuen’s No Retreat, No Surrender. It’s a low-budget martial arts affair about a teenager, Jason Stillwell (Kurt McKinney), who finds the confidence after meeting Bruce Lee’s ghost (Kim Tai-chung) to defend himself and his father’s dojo’s honor. JCVD plays the bad guy Ivan “the Russian” Kraschinsky in the movie, showing off hints of what would turn him into one of the most well-known actors in the world a few years later.
It so happens that Van Damme has a wild behind-the-scenes story about No Retreat, No Surrender as well. According to the Muscles from Brussels, the casting for the movie turned into “American Idol type of stuff,” and he wasn’t about to be shown up by anybody.
“The karate school was full of people, and one guy was showing off to everybody,” Van Damme told The A.V. Club. “Was trying to scare people. He was doing some punches near us. He was warming up. Imagine you’re standing up, and a guy come next to you and he starts to punch toward your face, stopping maybe two inches from you. So people were scared of him.”
JCVD didn’t like that, and he received his chance at revenge when the casting directors decided to have a sparring session between Van Damme and the show-off. “He had such a big mouth, that poor guy, but I knocked him out in front of everybody,” Van Damme said. “And that’s when I received the part. They took my picture, they took my phone number.”
Van Damme received a call six months later, offering him the part for $250. The money didn’t matter, though, since he “was so happy to be in that film.”
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Funnily enough, No Retreat, No Surrender received two sequels. Not a single one of them had any real connection to the original movie, as it turned into a case of the film industry milking the brand name to get more viewers to watch them. Naturally, Van Damme didn’t return for either of these films.
Sequels of his movies without him are something that Van Damme couldn’t understand. “They made sequels to all my movies, to be honest with you,” he said. “Bloodsport 2, Cyborg 2, Kickboxer 2, Timecop 2. And all the sequels were so sad, because Bloodsport 2 with me in it would be great.”
Hey, at least Bloodsport 2 helped to catapult the career of Daniel Bernhardt, who himself had been inspired by Jean-Claude Van Damme.
No Retreat, No Surrender isn’t available on any major streaming service.
RELATED: “I Just Want to Do Karate”: Jean-Claude Van Damme’s Excuse for Breaking Into Stallone’s House
No Retreat, No Surrender |
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Jason, a Bruce Lee fan, sees his karate instructor/dad beaten by martial art thugs. They move to Seattle where, after humiliations, he trains with Bruce Lee's ghost so he can defend himself and others against thugs. |
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| Studio: New World Pictures, Seasonal Film Corporation |
| Running Time: 98 minutes (international cut) / 83 minutes (U.S. cut) |
| Release Date: May 2, 1986 (U.S.) |
| Cast: Kurt McKinney, J.W. Fails, Ron Pohnel, Kathie Sileno, Kim Tai-chung, Peter "Sugarfoot" Cunningham, Kent Lipham, Jean-Claude Van Damme |
| Director: Corey Yuen |
| Writers: Keith W. Strandberg |
| Genre: Comedy, Crime, Drama, Martial Arts |
| Box Office: $4.6 million |
