MovieChat Forums > Jean-Claude Van Damme Discussion > The reason his film career didnt last lo...

The reason his film career didnt last longer

posted 11 years ago by spacemanspiff00
23 replies | jump to latest

Stallone: Renny Harlin, Richard Donner, Rob Cohen, James Mangold, Ted Kotcheff, John Landis, Robert Rodriguez, George P. Cosmatos, John Huston, Norman Jewison

Schwarzenegger: John Milius, James Cameron (3 times), John McTiernan, Walter Hill, Ivan Reitman (3 times), Paul Verhoeven, Chuck Russell, Peter Hyams, Andrew Davis.

Van Damme: John Woo, Roland Emmerich, Peter Hyams & John G. Avildsen (DTV movie).

Schwarzenegger was able to work with better directors which lead to better movies. While Stallone directed a lot of his hit movies he also worked with quality directors. Van Damme got stuck working with these Chinese and Hong Kong directors and his movies suffered. Now he might be still doing DTV movies now because even Stallone and Schwarzenegger cant open a movie anymore not called The Expendables. I don't know if it was the drug issue that stopped better people from working with him. But even Seagal was able to get Exit Wounds after his career had tanked.

[–] AgentBlue 10 years ago

Yeah I think if he had a franchise then he would have lasted a little longer on the big screen.

Lose the Game!!!!!!!

[–] TMC-4 (20149) 4 years ago

https://lebeauleblog.com/2014/01/12/what-the-hell-happened-to-jean-claude-van-damme/

First off, Van Damme’s rise to fame was part of a wave of action heroes in the 80s and early 90s. That wave crashed. Action movies went away from guys like The Expendables as Jason Bourne became the new face of the genre. Like all the other action stars of the time, Van Damme rode that wave and then got left behind by changing tastes.

But Van Damme will be the first to tell you that to a large degree he did himself in. Fame did a number on his head. He was partying too hard. His ego and his personal life were out of control. He very nearly ruined his family and his career. Even if the action genre hadn’t changed, Van Damme probably cooked his own goose with his behavior.

However, I think you have to give the guy some credit. He owns his mistakes. Sometimes very publicly. And you can tell the guy is still busting his ass to be a star. He’s got heart and a sense of humor. As that Volvo video shows, JCVD is still kind of relevant.

[–] enriquesingh (1810) 4 years ago

Even though JCVD was no Sly/Arnold/Gibson/Willis/Ford during the 80s/90s, there was a time where he was leading movies that were released in theaters and he was among the Top 10 biggest action stars in the whole world... out of roughly 5.5 billion people (at the time) living in this planet he was Top 10 in something... is not bad at all.

[–] quirkyusername (59) 4 years ago

Cant compare JCVD to Stallone & Arnold. Totally different type of action hero/movies.

[–] jekporkins (1972) 4 years ago

Yeah, he never carried an A movie. He was a B movie guy. The closest I think he got was Universal Soldier or Time Cop.

[–] SweetTooth43 (2047) 4 years ago

[deleted]

[–] SweetTooth43 (2047) 4 years ago

He also can't act worth a Damme.

[–] quirkyusername (59) 4 years ago

He's pretty Damme good actually. Better than Arnold i'd say.

[–] SweetTooth43 (2047) 4 years ago

[deleted]

[–] AlexJohan (390) 4 years ago

An action star have 7 years. Jean-Claude Van Damme had his 7 years between 1990 & 1997. He was never a bankable actor with the expectations of a few hits ( like Hard target & Time Cop ) he was deemed hard to work with & his English was a problem. His niche was always the video market and if produced correctly could be very profitable than. If you look back or review his flicks they are all drivel, cannon fodder or junk.