10 Movies That Changed Your Mind About Actors You Hated

3. JCVD - Jean-Claude Van Damme

Maybe "hate" is too strong word when it comes to describing the public opinion on martial arts maestro Jean Claude Van Damme, but it's arguably a more interesting one than "apathetic." That's to say, Jean-Claude Van Damme has a few dedicated followers who find solace in going through the DVD bargain bins searching for copies of his movies, and then there's the rest of us, who aren't really interested in anything he's done, and have spent approximately zero time invested in his filmography over the past 30 years or so. It ain't hate, but it sure ain't kind, either. Anybody who does hate on Jean-Claude Van Damme, of course, would probably say: "He's a terrible actor!" In a lot of cases, too, they'd be absolutely right. But there's one underrated little gem of a film called JCVD that contains such an honest, subtle and heartbreaking performance from the actor - playing himself, no less, caught up in a bank robbery - that it literally forces you to reconsider. The masterstroke inherent to this obscure flick is a six-minute take where Van Damme confesses directly to the camera: it near-on demands that you re-think all the bad thoughts you ever had about the man. Sensational.