Of course we mainly know Jean-Claude Van Damme as an action hero and martial arts hero from films such as ‘Bloodsport’, ‘Universal Soldier’ and ‘Sudden Death’. Unlike colleagues such as Arnold Schwarzenegger or Sylvester Stallone, who also appeared in comedies or thrillers, the Belgian-born artist never looked far beyond his genre boundaries in his career – and always focused entirely on what he was good at.
But in the mid-80s, Jean-Claude Van Damme was not yet a big name: after additional appearances and engagements as a stuntman, his first real role in ‘Kickboxer’ (not as a hero, but as an antagonist) was still pending. , and in his mid-twenties, he had to keep his head above water with odd jobs – all while waiting for the big job offer that would finally kick-start his career.
In 1987 it finally seemed to happen: He was given a role as an opponent Arnold Schwarzenegger offered, who was already an action movie star thanks to films like “Conan the Barbarian” or “Terminator” – Van Damme would play the Predator in the science fiction horror film of the same name! But it was mainly due to a misunderstanding that nothing came of it…
In a Conversation with the Stan Winston School, special effects legend Steve Johnson (“Ghostbusters,” “Videodrome”) explained how Van Damme reacted when he was first confronted with his (alleged) costume. “[Er] “I had no idea what it was,” Johnson said. “He thought this was the true appearance of the creature in the movie and immediately said, ‘I don’t like that, I look like a superhero.’ He was really angry.”
Johnson tried to reassure the actor by explaining that it was just a technical suit and that he would be invisible for half the film – but that didn’t make things any better. “That made him even angrier,” the effects artist continues. “He thought he could do martial arts, that he could fight Arnold Schwarzenegger. He didn’t realize he would be the equivalent of a stuntman!”
Van Damme’s disappointment with his actual role in the film and the fact that he found the costume not only ugly but also far too uncomfortable caused increasing tensions on the set – until director John McTiernan (“Die Hard”) and the studio finally kicked him out threw out and replaced him with Kevin Peter Hall, who, with his height of 2.19 meters, had the most suitable build for the monstrous alien. And Van Damme would not have achieved the breakthrough he longed for with the film anyway, even though it wrote genre history and spawned an entire franchise. But who really cares who plays the Predator?