In a lengthy interview with The Telegraph, the Time Cop star confessed that he was offered a role in an unspecified Fast and Furious film. However, Van Damme laments that Vin Diesel rejected his casting.
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The actor was voicing his thoughts and gave many candid insights. Affectionately called ‘The Muscles from Brussels’, Van Damme was one of the biggest action stars of the 90s. His breakout role was in 1988’s Bloodsport. Jean Claude revealed that the film was “an OK movie”. Van Damme said he regrets that Bloodsport came before UFC cage fighting. He noted, “What I regret is that UFC came a little too late, brother, with my legs…those 360 kicks, they would not see it coming.”
Bloodsport was Van Damme’s opening film in a flourishing but fleeting Hollywood career. In his heyday, the actor and martial artist stood just below the shoulders of giants like Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sly Stallone and Bruce Willis. Films like Time Cop, Nowhere to Run, Hard Target and Universal Soldier made Van Damme an inspiration to millions of young action film fans.
Van Damme also reignited his old feud with Steven Seagal, poking fun at Seagal for backing out of a proposed showdown fight at the Mirage casino resort in Las Vegas. According to Van Damme, the former head of Sony Pictures, Peter Guber, proposed a fight between the two stars for twenty million dollars each. Van Damme and Seagal started a feud after Seagal questioned the authenticity of Van Damme’s martial arts credentials.
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Van Damme also confesses that he sabotaged his career. In 2012, he admitted that he was asking for $20 million per film at the height of his popularity. “Everything I was touching was making money,” the actor said. Van Damme said he wanted to be paid just like other top stars of the era, ”I wanted to play with the system. Like an idiot. Ridiculous.”
The actor’s career went downhill during the late 90s, starring in many straight-to-video releases. Van Damme popped back up on the Hollywood radar with small intermittent projects. His most high-profile role in many years was in Sylvester Stallone’s Expendables 2 way back in 2012, where he played the bad guy, Jean Vilain.
If luck were with Van Damme, he would have moved from The Expendables to The Fast and the Furious. Sadly, Van Damme was disappointed by Vin Diesel. In the interview with the Telegraph, Van Damme says, “They want me in Fast and Furious, but Vin Diesel said, ‘No, I don’t want him.'”
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Instead of being a poor casting choice, JCVD in a Fast and Furious film is a great idea. Van Damme’s martial arts abilities could have been put to good use. The actor still looks in good shape and would have made an exciting character in the Fast and Furious franchise.
TL;DR
- Jean Claude van Damme says he was offered a The Fast and the Furious role.
- The action star says Vin Diesel blocked him and said no.
- Perhaps Van Damme would have made a great addition to The Fast and the Furious.
Was Vin Diesel right or wrong to not allow the casting of Jean Claude van Damme in the Fast and the Furious? Comment Below.
Vin Diesel Told JCVD He Isn’t Family Written by Google Web Stories for Fortress of Solitude
