At first we asked Mr. Van Damme comment on his new sci-fi action movie “Universal Soldier 4”, however, the seasoned Hollywood actor went above and beyond by agreeing to give us a full interview. So, read on about your favorite movie Van Damme, about new "Universal Soldier", about Baku, and how he chooses his roles.
Mr. Van Damme, thank you very much for your time. In 2006, you came to Azerbaijan for a short time. This is what we wanted to ask: what do you remember about our country? If you have such an opportunity, will you visit it again?
Jean-Claude Van Damme: First of all, thank you for giving me the chance to answer all these questions, and most importantly for the chance to convey my best wishes to all my Azerbaijani friends. Baku is a wonderful place! I hope we'll see you there soon.
Judging by the reviews, one of your films, “ZhKVD,” has become the best example of your acting. Almost all film critics agreed on this. Which previously unplayed character would you like to bring to life on screen (specifically because of the acting)?
Jean-Claude Van Damme: You know, I’m very happy when I have the opportunity to “stretch my legs,” so to speak. It's not so important what the character is, what's more important is the variety of characters combined with quality writing. That's the problem.
Your career (mainly your early work) mainly consists of martial arts films. Which one do you think is the best? Which film did you have the most fun working on?
Jean-Claude Van Damme: I like them all in their own way, but I have to say that “Kickboxer” was something special for me, acting was new to me, but I put my whole soul into working on it.
Some time ago, you rejected Sylvester Stallone’s offer to star in his “star-studded” blockbuster “The Expendables.” If you believe the media and numerous reports, this happened because you did not like the character you were supposed to play. Currently, “The Expendables 2” is on the list of the most anticipated films of the year. Looking back, do you regret your decision?
Jean-Claude Van Damme: I will [star in] “The Expendables 2”, I would love to star in the first part, but my schedule did not allow it.
Time has an impact on all movie stars, and action heroes are no exception. What will Jean-Claude Van Damme do if he can no longer act in action films? Will you switch to pure acting, move on to directing and writing scripts, or change your profession?
Jean-Claude Van Damme: Movie stars always keep up with the times. I like acting, I like action, let's see what happens next, I still have some time left.
According to you, the filming of “Unisol 4” has ended, and it “will have action scenes that no one has ever seen before.” So did you mean fight scenes or action scenes in general?
Jean-Claude Van Damme: At the moment I would not like to go into details. Answer: wait and see for yourself.
Director John Hyams spoke about his own vision for the film. It is worth noting that, according to him, this will not be an ordinary fantasy action film - there are elements of horror, as well as a psychological thriller. Do you think fans will be ready for something like this?
Jean-Claude Van Damme: It's like [Elvis Presley's] song “Now or Never.” Of course they will be ready. Universal Soldier 4 was a bomb, it's sci-fi, it's action, and it's very well made.
Sometimes actors refuse to return to roles/projects in which they previously starred or participated. In contrast, after “Universal Soldier 2: The Return” (1999), you starred in “Universal Soldier 2009: Rebirth” in 3, and now “Universal Soldier 4: The New Dimension” is coming. Is it just because you enjoy coming back as Luc Deveraux, or does it all depend on the specific product?
Jean-Claude Van Damme: As always, it depends on the script, the availability of free time, and whether I can get into the role or not.
Author: T. Teymur
Source: today.az
Translation: EvilDollaR
Offtop: http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=10150227639746781&oid=21497365045 – greetings from Van Damme to French fans.
Cool, in my opinion, Van Damme’s image for the role of the “bad guy” in “The Expendables 2”:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5XhUKm0oCOM&feature=player_detailpage#t=373s
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5XhUKm0oCOM&feature=player_detailpage#t=473s
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5XhUKm0oCOM&feature=player_detailpage#t=518s
Offtop: http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=10150226936026781&oid=21497365045&comments - greetings from Van Damme to Spanish fans.
Offtopic: “Behind Closed Doors” is nominated for the “Reality TV Awards” in the “Best Documentary Series” category.
You can vote here (in the “Best Docusoap” category): http://www.realitytvawards.co.uk/voting/ (registration required).
Great interview! Thanks for the work!
Offtopic, the trailer for our film "Rzhevsky vs. Napoleon" was released, where the JCVD appeared
Evil please :)
SerYoga, yes, he visited us there too. And thanks for the video, it was interesting.
Thanks Evil. JCVD will always hold a special place for me among movie stars.
SerYoga, I didn’t understand something.
Elvin, I’ll explain now. YouTube has a function for copying the link code, after clicking on which the video starts playing from a certain position. But if you embed a video in a comment, this function is not available. SerYoga meant http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MkzvCaDMnEs&feature=player_detailpage#t=526s
PS Thanks for the link to the interview.
EvilDollaR, I posted the video from the position 08:43, and not from the very beginning. Fix it.
I will do it, but the video will not appear in the comment.
I apologize for being off topic, please give me a link where I can download Russian subtitles for the film Bangkok Knockout / BKO: Bangkok Knockout, or any Russian dubbing. thank you in advance
Good questions! And it was nice to know that Van Damme singled out my favorite film)))))))))))))))
Offtop: http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=213124572063443&oid=21497365045&comments - video of Van Damme in Thailand at the national "Dog Show".
Elvin, :)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MkzvCaDMnEs&feature=player_detailpage#t=526s
Evil, I want to share a link to Conan Lee’s interview. Send me a private message?
Better through feedback.
Me too. He never said whether he meant fighting or just “movement.” :)
You should contact Kofka19 with this question. He said that someone was translating. It is likely that the Russian there will be voice acting.
Thank you all for reading. I have accumulated many different interviews, but the problem is that in most cases they ask standard questions, the answers to which everyone has already known for a long time (or they are on this site). And this author is really great, interesting questions, everything is to the point. He has another interesting and relatively recent interview with Lauren Avedon, but it is voluminous, so we need to find free time and translate it. I think many will be interested in finding out what he is doing now.
Thank you. The funny thing is that when he came to us, he went into some store in the city and the saleswomen were the first to recognize him :). He also took a photo with them.
Thanks for the news. I wonder what kind of “new action” there is.
yes Vandamych, you are incorrigible as always. And for me Kickboxer is the best film
thanks to this site for the news, I may be wrong but there are no other sites like this
and the posters are only about cars2 and about Angelina and Pete)))
Thank you, FanLee, it means my efforts were not in vain. ;)
good interview. although I'm not a Van Damme fan, it was interesting to read
Oh, this Vandammych, he never answered the most interesting question...