Those who follow this hit from the 80s closely will discover Jean-Claude Van Damme in his first film role

Jean-Claude Van Damme is an indispensable part of the action cinema of the 80s and 90s: Competitors such as Arnold Schwarzenegger or Sylvester Stallone, the native Belgian, had martial arts skills ahead of him, which earned him his first major role in the martial arts film “Karate Tiger” in 1987 (not as a hero at the time, but as an opponent – starring much less nowadays). well-known Kurt McKinney). Movies like “Bloodsport” (1988) or “Cyborg” (1989) catapulted him into the A class of B movie stars, later Van Damme starred in some of the best and craziest action movies of the 90’s (“Sudden Death”, ” Knock out”) to see.

After poking fun at himself and his career in 2008 with the meta-action comedy “JCVD,” the 62-year-old these days only appears irregularly in movies — and when he does, then in relatively cheap DTV actors. But how did his acting career start?

The actor, nicknamed “The Muscles From Brussels”, started karate training at the age of ten. Bodybuilding and ballet training (!) came later. By age 19, Van Damme was European Professional Karate Association middleweight champion, earned a black belt in shotokan karate—and in 1978 was named Mr. Belgium as a bodybuilder!

Only one thing was not yet developed: his acting talent. To change that, he traveled to the US with his childhood friend Michel Qissi and worked there as a handyman for a few years – until Chuck Norris discovered his talent and hired him as a stuntman for the Vietnam War action movie “Mission In Action” (1984 ) engaged. However, his short appearance does not yet qualify as a first film role, after all, he is only a stunt double – and therefore deliberately not recognizable as Van Damme.

What counts more is “Monaco Forever” (1984) by William A. Levey (director of the great disco movie “Skatetown, USA”, which in turn includes Patrick Swayze’s cinema debut), which with a running time of 48 minutes is more of a short film is – and was not seen on the big screen. By the way, his role is listed simply as “Gay Karate Man” in the IMDb. Nevertheless, the action star had his first “real” cinema appearance in 1984 – to discover him you have to concentrate mainly on the background…

Van Damme’s first theater appearance

Before Van Damme’s first film role, his dance training was more in demand than his fighting skills. In Joel Silberg’s brightly colored breakdance movie “hackJean-Claude Van Damme can be seen backing up a dance battle on Venice Beach!

In his shirt and shorts, Van Damme stands on the right side of the screen among numerous other dancers (including Michel Qissi) – and although he usually holds back with great emotion in his action roles, he dances so exuberantly as if he was having the time of his life. !

Unfortunately, “Breakin'” – like the fully independent sequel “Breakin’ 2 – Electric Boogaloo” by “American Fighter” director Sam Firstenberg, which was released the same year – is currently not available on any German streaming service. But if you get your hands on one of the out-of-print DVDs or Blu-rays, we definitely recommend the breakdance double whammy that will immediately put you in a good mood, not only because of Van Damme’s exuberant film debut. In any case, Van Damme could have done worse than starting his career right away with one of the best dance films of the 80s!