Actor Jean-Claude Van Damme is undoubtedly a legendary figure in the world of action cinema. Known as Muscles from Brussels, the martial artist turned actor left a lasting impact on the genre with his strong on-screen presence and muscular frame. His journey from a struggling martial artist in Brussels to an action superstar is quite inspirational, however, the superstar lifestyle got a little stressful for him.
In 1994, Van Damme appeared as Colonel William F. Guile in Steven E. de Souza’s Street Fighter, a film that further solidified his status as an action star, however, Van Damme got “out of control” while working in the movie due to his drug abuse, and even had an affair with Australian singer Kylie Minogue.
Jean-Claude Van Damme was out of control while filming 1994’s Street Fighter
Recently, actor Jay Tavare appeared on the Side Scrollers podcast, and talked about his Street Fighter co-star, actor Jean-Claude Van Damme‘s on-set behavior,
“He was basically out of control. We had a lot of colorful moments. I mean, sometimes he would direct, sometimes he was almost flirtatious. He got into trouble by like… He was just literally out of control. They couldn’t control him, so they just let him be Jean-Claude.”
While Street Fighter was a commercial success, it mostly received negative reviews criticizing its over-the-top special effects and cringey one-liners.
Jean-Claude Van Damme struggled with drug abuse
All the over-enthusiasm came from Van Damme’s drug use. He once revealed that throughout the 1980s and 1990s, he developed a cocaine addiction. Tavare also added that, despite the addiction, Van Damme also showed professionalism on the sets,
“It was quite fascinating that he managed to pull it off because he was literally like… he would show up on the set, you didn’t know if it was still from last night or is he still okay, but he managed to perform what he had to do. He was a professional in that sense. He was a fun guy. Still to this day when I see him, he’s a fun guy.”
Around the time of filming Sreet Fighter, Van Damme was consuming 10 grams of the substance per day, spending roughly $10,000 a week to fuel his addiction.
Jean-Claude Van Damme also had an affair with Kylie Minogue while filming the movie
Street Fighter also featured Australian singer Kylie Minogue as Lieutenant Cammy White. Van Damme once admitted that he had an affair with the singer while working in the movie. In a 2012 interview, the actor recalled (via Mirror UK),
“Sometimes you let go of stuff. I don’t know, maybe. Yes. OK. Yes, yes, yes. It happened. I was in Thailand, we had an affair. Sweet kiss, beautiful lovemaking. It would be abnormal not to have had an affair, she’s so beautiful and she was there in front of me every day with a beautiful smile, simpatico, so charming, she wasn’t acting like a big star. I knew Thailand very well, so I showed her my Thailand. She’s a great lady.”
Van Damme’s career has seen its share of ups and downs, but he will always remain an important star who reshaped the action genre with his blockbuster hits.
Source: Side Scrollers podcast
