5 Acting Performances That Defied The Years
4. Jean Claude Van Damme - JCVD
You will struggle to find anybody that would describe Jean Claude Van Damme as a great actor but there is no denying that for a period the man dubbed the muscles from Brussels was a star. After the release of Bloodsport Van Damme became one of the go to action stars of the late 80s and early 90s, starring in films such as Universal Soldier, Hard Target and his highest grossing movie of the era, Time Cop. Though most critics would deride his performances, the box office couldnt lie: Van Damme was money. Good actor or not, the public wanted to see him beat up the bad guys.
Street Fighter was a critical and commercial failure and began a run of flops for the Belgian, Sudden Death, Maximum Risk and a sequel to Universal Soldier was among the failures. Like all the big action stars of his era Van Damme found himself out of touch and without the star power he once had. As Sylvester Stallone and Bruce Willis would continue to make films until they recovered from their respective slumps, Van Damme joined Dolph Lundgren in all but disappearing from the big screen. His time as an action hero had come and gone, as the 90s progressed new stars like Jet Li and Jackie Chan had stepped up and taken his place. In 2008 we were treated to one of the most surprising films of the decade, JCVD. Van Damme stars in the movie as a fictionalised version of himself, his career down the drain, his family broken and age having caught up with him. The fictional Van Damme returns to Brussels as a washed up has been-despite the fact that he is still seen as a star by most of his fellow countryman - he soon finds himself stuck in the middle of a bank heist. The whole movie builds up to a brilliantly acted monologue from Van Damme, a scene which clearly blurs the line of fact and fiction. Say what you want about his career in general but with this movie, Van Damme knocked it out of the park. For those wondering he followed this newfound respect and potential career regeneration, with Universal Soldier: Regeneration.