“I Only Dislike Two People in This Business”: Roger Moore’s Brutal Verdict on Jean-Claude Van Damme After The Quest

Not a lot of people talk about Jean-Claude Van Damme’s The Quest. It was billed to be the magnum opus of his career, the one true martial arts film to define him and his legacy as an action icon. In the end, it turned out to be one of his less memorable films, as well as the project that made James Bond actor Sir Roger Moore dislike him.

The ambition was there. Not only did Van Damme star in The Quest, but he also co-conceptualized the story and directed it. He also scored a massive coup in securing the services of Moore as Lord Edgar Dobbs. However, the experience didn’t turn Moore into a fan of the Muscles from Brussels.

“I only dislike, and I mean really dislike two people in this business,” Moore wrote in his memoir My Word Is My Bond. “Both were involved with my next film, The Quest, on either side of the camera.”

Who are the two people? Producer Moshe Diamant and Van Damme.

In terms of the former, Moore briefly touched upon an incident in which Diamant tried to get everybody to work overtime without pay. From the story told, it doesn’t sound like Moore was the only person to have had issues with the producer on The Quest set. “I have nothing nice, or even anything vaguely redeeming to say about him, I’m afraid,” Moore wrote. “So, in the best tradition, I’ll say nothing.”

According to Moore, the only reason The Quest turned into anything resembling a watchable movie was because of second-unit director Peter MacDonald and his crew working miracles with what they had. Not due to Van Damme’s influence or direction.

Yet there was something else that JCVD did that irked Moore the most. “When release-publicity for the film finally emerged though, I was rather disappointed to see that my promised ‘above-the-title’ billing had changed,” Moore stated. “I’ve never been overly bothered about billing, but Van Damme had made such a fuss about having me in the movie and told me that I’d be up there above the title with him, so I expected it. Now I saw my name was in small text below the title. It was a bit of a snub to be honest.”

In closing about his sentiments toward Van Damme and Diamant, Moore didn’t leave any doubt about what he thought of them. “Thankfully I didn’t have any more dealings with Mr. Van Damme or his producer friend, and won’t waste any more printers’ ink on writing about them,” Moore wrote.

RELATED: Revisiting Van Damme’s The Quest And 9 Other Well-Known Martial Art Stars Who Directed Their First Movies

The Quest is currently streaming on Netflix, and available to rent or buy on Prime Video, Apple TV, and YouTube.