In action movies, there’s no shortage of knockouts and annihilations. Yet even amid all the chaos, bloodshed, and destruction, Jean-Claude Van Damme had one strict rule: only one action star would be allowed to kill him in a film.
“We ended up discussing this,” writer-director Sheldon Lettich revealed (as per Nick de Semlyen’s The Last Action Heroes: The Triumphs, Flops, and Feuds of Hollywood’s Kings of Carnage). “He said, ‘Bruce Willis? No. Wesley Snipes? Forget about it. Even Arnold Schwarzenegger is not good enough to kill me. But Stallone? I worship Stallone. He can do it.’”
Lettich worked with Van Damme on films like Bloodsport, Double Impact, and The Order; needless to say, he understood the Belgian actor better than most. However, there was a ’90s movie where Van Damme considered breaking this rule: 1992’s Universal Soldier.
As it turns out, Van Damme loved both the roles of Luc Deveraux and Andrew Scott. He could envision himself as both the hero and the villain of the story, so he pondered which part he liked the most. In the end, it came down to his rule: he didn’t want to be killed by Dolph Lundgren onscreen, so he played Deveraux.
“It wouldn’t have worked if Jean-Claude was the bad guy and I was the good guy; the size and everything,” Lundgren said. “I thought it was good casting. And it was fun, like those old serial pictures where they paired two stars together. We got equal billing and there was a little bit of rivalry.”
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Decades later, Van Damme would fall to Sylvester Stallone onscreen. In 2012’s The Expendables 2, JCVD played the bad-guy merc Jean Vilain who fought Stallone’s Barney Ross. Vilain would be killed by Ross after a particularly memorable and brutal battle that paired two of the greatest action stars of all time against each other.
Fans have Van Damme to thank for this all-action ending, however, since he didn’t like the original one in the script and approached Stallone with his suggestions. Speaking to WENN, Van Damme revealed the following: “I say, ‘Stallone, I think people want to see Muhammad Ali against Frazier. It’s a metaphor. Look at your arms, you’re strong. We need to do a fight. I need to give you myself to punch and kick the s**t out of me. And hopefully I will do some damage to you.’ He said, ‘I tell you what. Go and design the fight!'”
It’s funny how life comes full circle, isn’t it? Jean-Claude Van Damme versus Sylvester Stallone was certainly worth the wait.
RELATED: Jean-Claude Van Damme, 66, Is Making a New Movie Where He Fights the Yakuza to Save His Daughter — Think Bloodsport Meets Taken
The Expendables 2 is available to rent or buy digitally on Prime Video, Apple TV and Fandango at Home.
The Expendables 2 |
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Mr. Church reunites the Expendables for what should be an easy paycheck, but when one of their men is murdered on the job, their quest for revenge puts them deep in enemy territory and up against an unexpected threat. |
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| Studio: Millennium Films, Nu Image, Distributed by Lionsgate |
| Running Time: 103 minutes |
| Release Date: August 17, 2012 (United States) |
| Cast: Sylvester Stallone, Jason Statham, Jet Li, Dolph Lundgren, Chuck Norris, Jean-Claude Van Damme, Bruce Willis, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Terry Crews, Randy Couture, Liam Hemsworth, Scott Adkins, Amanda Ooms, Charisma Carpenter |
| Director: Simon West |
| Writers: Sylvester Stallone, Richard Wenk |
| Genre: Action, Martial Arts, Adventure |
| Box Office: $315 million |
