“I Just Want To Do Karate With Stallone.” - Jean-Claude Van Damme Broke into Sylvester Stallone’s House

We all have crazy moments where we do things we arguably shouldn’t do in the hopes of meeting our idol. It seems like actors, no matter how famous they are now, are just the same. When Jean-Claude Van Damme first came to Los Angeles looking for a big break, he broke into Sylvester Stallone’s house just for the chance to meet him.

Starting out life as an actor can be challenging. Some actors are fortunate and catch a big break that sends them into the stratosphere, where they stay in fame for the following decades, but not all start out that way. Many famous actors we know and love have humble beginnings. And many of them aspire to be just like their idols.

For Jean-Claude Van Damme, that idol was none other than Sylvester Stallone. Having starred in some of the most famous action films at the time, Rambo and Rocky (I mean, how much more cult classic can you get?), there was no one in Hollywood that the Belgian martial artist adored more.

When Jean-Claude Van Damme first came to America from Belgium, before he became an action star, he was looking for a big break. Apparently, that big break came in the form of breaking and entering. The idea was that if he could just meet his idol, and convince him to work with him, he would get the kickstart he needed.

This went down about as well as you can expect. Van Damme ignored the risks and set out on his prospective heist.

As he was trying to get over the wall, he was spotted by Stallone’s wife at the time, Sasha Czack, who was understandably terrified and called the authorities.

Van Damme explained the situation from his perspective, saying that he had seen “this blonde lady” coming out of the house with a bicycle while he was trying to get over the wall and that she had called the police, who took no time in responding. Luckily for Jean-Claude Van Damme, the police and Sylvester Stallone, and his wife, didn’t press charges after hearing his Belgian accent.

At the same time, he explained, “I’m a big fan. I just want to do karate with Stallone.”

Sylvester Stallone Jean-Claude Van Damme

According to Van Damme, the authorities looked into his eyes. They saw that he had no bad intentions and told him to keep moving.

It’s unclear whether Sylvester Stallone held a grudge, as Jean-Claude Van Damme only got to work with his idol some 30 years later.

Van Damme got a call regarding working on Expendables in 2010. But somehow, he blew his chances by asking Stallone if he wanted to be in his action movie Tower instead. Luckily, the two managed to patch things up by the time The Expendables 2 came out in 2012. The Belgian action star finally got to work with one of the people he idolized the most, creating a fan-loved movie alongside some of the most well-known action stars in the world.