Firing Jean-Claude Van Damme from 1987’s Predator was perhaps the best move of his career. Van Damme was set to be the villainous star of the 1987 film Predator. As great as it was to see Van Damme fight Arnold Schwarzenegger in the camouflaged jungle mud of Predator, leaving the film turned out to be the best thing that could have happened to Van Damme.
Van Damme was just 26 years old when he was cast as the ninja bug alien in John McTiernan’s Predator, the landmark 1980s sci-fi film that spawned four direct sequels of varying quality. However, the alien Predator that appeared on screen (when he could be seen) was ultimately played by the physically imposing Kevin Peter Hall, and he was neither a bug nor a ninja.
Kevin Peter Hall replaced Van Damme after just a few days of filming. Although Predator would go on to become one of Schwarzenegger’s best action films, exiting the film left Van Damme’s career vulnerable. Prior to this, Van Damme had only minor film roles, including a small but memorable role as a bad guy in the 1986 film No Retreat, No Surrender, as well as a few cameo roles, such as in the 1984 film Breaking In. Jean-Claude Van Damme’s career could have ended before it began.
Predator was filmed in the jungles of Puerto Vallarta and Palenque. Since Van Damme was fired (or quit, depending on the urban legend),
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he was forced to return to the United States to look for new acting work. The next movie Van Damme was involved in would be to take on the lead role of martial artist Frank Dux in 1988’s Bloodsport for Cannon Films. This was the film that inarguably made Jean-Claude Van Damme famous. The story behind Bloodsport may be based on dubious claims at best, and in the years since the supposedly ‘true story’ Frank Dux has been called much into question, but Bloodsport remains a seminal piece of martial arts cinema. If Van Damme had not left Predator he probably would not have been able to make Bloodsport, the film that launched his career into martial arts stardom.
Bloodsport was released in February 1988, just 8 months after the release of Predator. Van Damme got a role in “Blood Sport” shortly after returning to the United States. A window for Van Damme to return to the United States, pursue Cannon Films co-owner and producer Menachem Golan one evening over dinner with a stunt shot (while not spilling the soup that Van Damme was supposed to serve him), prove to Golan that fighting style Jean-Claude Van Damme will sell tickets and, as reported, ask for a place in the role of Blood Sport, it was a really narrow window.
If Van Damme’s work on Predator continued for as long as shooting required or as his contract stated, he may not have been back in time to be cast in the role that would propel him to international superstardom as a martial arts actor with heart.
Bloodsport made a surprising $5 million on its $1.5 million budget for Cannon Films and made van Damme a star almost overnight. Bloodsport would propel Van Damme to similar roles playing martial arts kickboxers and make him one of the most recognizable action stars of the late 80s through the 90s. While Van Damme would choose not to reprise his role for Bloodsport 2, the original Bloodsport remains a staple of the genre, the film that brought the world Jean-Claude Van Damme.