Ian Evatt

# Ian Evatt

## Abstract

Ian Ross Evatt (born 19 November 1981) is an English professional football manager and former player. He is the manager of Bolton Wanderers. He also owns shares in Football Ventures (Whites) Ltd, the company that own Bolton Wanderers, making him one of minority owners of the club itself.

Evatt began his career as a central midfielder, but was later converted to a central defender.

He began his professional career in 1999 at Derby County, and he also played for Northampton Town (on loan), Chesterfield (in two spells), Queens Park Rangers and Blackpool.

As a player, he gained promotion with Blackpool (from League One to the Championship in 2006–07, and from the Championship tier to the Premier League in 2009–10) and with Chesterfield (from League Two to League One, as champions, in 2013–14). As a manager, he won promotion with Barrow from the National League to League Two in 2019–20 and with Bolton from League Two to League One in 2020–21 as well as winning the EFL Trophy with Bolton.

## Early life

Evatt was born in Coventry, West Midlands. As a child he supported hometown club Coventry City. He attended Caludon Castle School for his secondary education.

## Playing career

### Derby County

When he was ten years old, Evatt played for the district side in his hometown and was scouted by Derby County. He started with them from the age of 11 years. He signed his first professional contract on his seventeenth birthday in 1998. His first appearance in the Derby team came in the last match of the 2000–01 season, on 19 May 2001 at Pride Park, when he replaced Þórður Guðjónsson in the 78th minute. In the 2001–02 season he spent two months on loan with Division Two club Northampton Town, from 10 August to 10 October 2001, playing in eleven League games. His next appearance for Derby came in April 2002 when he came on for Rob Lee against Newcastle United, then on the last day of the 2001–02 Premier League season he made his full debut against Sunderland, playing the full 90 minutes of a 1–1 draw at the Stadium of Light. Derby were relegated and the following season, under new manager John Gregory, Evatt was a regular starter in the side.

On 9 September 2002, Evatt scored The Rams ' third goal as they beat Division Two club Mansfield Town 3–1 in the League Cup. In the following round against Oldham Athletic, Evatt found himself having to play in goal when Mart Poom got sent off.

He started out as a centre-midfielder, before being moved to central defence. Evatt said of the move, "I started off my career in midfield. I played a few games in the Premier League and, as I got bigger, I moved backwards but I enjoyed it. They saw the potential for me to be a better centre-half." Evatt suffered an injury in March 2003. Then, just before George Burley was appointed as manager to replace John Gregory, who had been sacked in March, Evatt had to have a double hernia operation and he did not feature much for Derby afterwards.

He made a total of 34 league appearances for The Rams, including some in the Premier League, but was released by George Burley at the end of the 2002–03 season.

### Chesterfield

Evatt signed for Division Two club Chesterfield in July 2003, with Spireites manager Roy McFarland saying that Evatt was his number-one target to take to the club. Initially he played in midfield, where he struggled, before being moved by McFarland into central defence, where his performances improved. He went on to become the club captain and he won the Player of the Season award for the 2003–04 season. However, in the summer he needed a further hernia operation as the operation the previous year while he was with Derby did not fix the problem.

On 26 August 2004, Evatt signed a contract extension with the club to the summer of 2007, saying that it took him just five minutes to make the decision to sign, as he felt the club were "going in the right direction". In February 2005, Chesterfield turned down an offer for Evatt from Bristol City. He was also attracting interest from other clubs, including Leicester City.

At the end of the 2004–05 season, Evatt won the SIFA Player of the Season Award and was runner-up in the CFSS Player of the Season Award. He made a total of 84 league appearances, scoring nine goals for the Spireites.

### Queens Park Rangers

On 2 June 2005, Evatt signed a three-year contract with Championship club Queens Park Rangers for a fee of £150,000, under a clause in his contract at Chesterfield that allowed him to move if a six-figure bid was made. On 3 December 2005, during an away match against Stoke City at the Britannia Stadium, Evatt was assaulted by a Stoke fan. When a Stoke City player was sent off, resulting in a penalty being awarded to QPR, a young Potters fan ran onto the pitch and jumped at Evatt from behind, knocking him to the floor, where he was also alleged to have punched Evatt. The youth was arrested and subsequently charged with assault. He was banned from attending football matches for three years and at trial pleaded guilty to assault.

Evatt made 27 league appearances for the Hoops. On 1 August 2006 he was sent on a six-month loan to Blackpool, who were then in League One. He made 26 appearances for the Bloomfield Road club.

### Blackpool

QPR terminated Evatt's contract, enabling him to join Blackpool on a permanent basis on 5 January 2007, during the transfer window. He signed an 18-month contract, with the League One club having an option for a further year.

Evatt scored his first goal for the Seasiders in the fourth round of the FA Cup against Norwich City on 27 January 2007. His equaliser took the tie to a replay at Carrow Road.

On 19 March 2007, Evatt was named in the Press Association 's League One "Team of the Week". In May 2007 he was part of the Blackpool team that won promotion to the Championship in the 2007 play-off final at Wembley Stadium.

After 2 + 1 ⁄ 2 months out with a medial knee ligament injury Evatt returned to action on 8 December 2007, as a 65th-minute substitute for Michael Jackson in the West Lancashire derby against Preston North End. However, he was out of action again in early 2008 when he suffered back and hamstring injuries.

Evatt scored his first League goal for Blackpool on 25 October 2008 at Bloomfield Road when he headed their second equaliser in a 2–2 draw with Crystal Palace.

He made his 100th League appearance for Blackpool on 24 January 2009, in a 2–0 victory over Birmingham City at Bloomfield Road. On 2 April 2009, Evatt signed a new two-year contract with Blackpool, with an option for a further year.

Evatt scored his second League goal for the Seasiders on 15 August 2009 in Blackpool's first home game of the 2009–10 season, a 1–1 draw at Bloomfield Road against Cardiff City. His 300th career appearance was as a 36th-minute substitute in a 0–0 draw with Swansea City at the Liberty Stadium on 24 October. He was named in The Championship "Team of the Week" following his performance and goal in Blackpool's 4–1 home win over Scunthorpe United on 7 November.

After Blackpool's promotion to the Premier League, he was sent off half an hour into their second fixture, a 6–0 reversal at Arsenal on 21 August 2010.

Evatt was named in the "Team of the Week" for week fourteen of the campaign, sharing the centre-back role with Aston Villa 's Ciaran Clark.

Evatt was Blackpool's only ever-present player in their 38 Premier League matches during the 2010–11 season. This included one substitute appearance against Aston Villa at Villa Park on 10 November 2010.

After the departure of Keith Southern to Huddersfield Town in July 2012, Evatt inherited the accolade of being Blackpool's longest-serving current player.

### Return to Chesterfield

After his release from Blackpool in June 2013, Evatt re-joined Chesterfield on a two-year contract on 30 July 2013, and was made the club's captain. He scored his first goal in his second spell for the club against Fleetwood Town in the Football League Trophy Northern Area final on 4 February 2014.

He was released by Chesterfield at the end of the 2017–18 season.

## Coaching career

### Caretaker spell at Chesterfield

On 23 April 2018, following the departure of Jack Lester, Evatt was appointed caretaker manager for the remainder of the season, which ended in Chesterfield's relegation to the National League.

### Barrow

On 15 June 2018, Evatt was unveiled as the new manager of National League side Barrow.

Evatt officially retired from playing after coming on as a forward late in a friendly at home to his former club Blackpool on 20 July 2019. The appearance was prompted by Barrow's social-media manager, who announced that, should their tweet be retweeted one thousand times, Evatt would come on for the last few minutes.

In his second season in charge, Evatt guided Barrow back to the Football League for the first time in 48 years as champions of the National League. The season was curtailed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, with standings based on a points-per-game basis.

### Bolton Wanderers

On 24 June 2020, Bolton Wanderers made an official approach to Barrow for Evatt to become their head coach, and Barrow demanded £250,000 compensation should he make the move. Two days later, Barrow rejected Bolton's bid for his services, stating it was below the £250,000 they had asked for. On 29 June, Bolton and Barrow agreed on compensation and Bolton began discussing personal terms with Evatt. Evatt's appointment at Bolton was confirmed on 1 July 2020. His first action as Bolton head coach was to give a new contract to recently released Ali Crawford, and his first signing was the leading goalscorer of the 2019–20 EFL League Two season, Eoin Doyle. His first competitive match as head coach came on 5 September, a 2–1 home defeat against Bradford in the first round of the EFL Cup. Evatt lost his first four competitive matches in charge, the first time this has happened to a Bolton manager/head coach. This had Bolton in their lowest-ever league position in their history, 21st in League Two. After losing the first five matches of the season, his first win came on 3 October against Harrogate Town. Bolton's form soon turned around and after winning five matches in a row, Evatt was named EFL League Two Manager of the Month for November 2020. After the departure of director of football Tobias Phoenix on 11 December, Evatt's role was changed from head coach to manager. After five wins and one draw in February 2021, Evatt was named Manager of the Month again for the second time that season. This was followed up the following month with five wins and one draw, which saw him win March's Manager of the Month award as well. Bolton finished the season in third place after a 4–1 win against Crawley Town on the final day of the season, which was enough to secure automatic promotion to League One.

On 28 May 2021, Evatt signed a new three-year contract with the club. On 14 November 2021, during a charity match in which the Bolton first-team played a match against a team of Bolton legends — the match helping to raise money for the mother of Bolton player Gethin Jones who had been diagnosed with Motor neuron disease — substitute Evatt brought himself on after half-time and played as a striker for the first-team. The first-team won 7–4, with Evatt scoring a hat-trick. In Bolton's first season back in League One, Evatt lead them to a 9th placed finish with 73 points.

On 2 February 2023, it was revealed that Evatt had been given shares in Football Ventures (Whites) Ltd, the company that own Bolton Wanderers, making him one of minority owners of the club itself. On 2 April 2023, Evatt managed Bolton to 4–0 win against Plymouth Argyle in the 2023 EFL Trophy final. A month later, he signed a new three-year contract. His third season in charge saw Bolton qualify for the play-offs. They were defeated by Barnsley in the semi-finals.

After four league wins in October 2023, Evatt was named EFL League One Manager of the Month. This was followed up with three league wins — one of which was a 7–0 win against Exeter City — and a draw in November to win the award for the second consecutive month. Bolton missed out on automatic promotion at the end of the season, finishing 3rd. In the play-off final, Bolton lost 2–0 to Oxford United.

## Managerial style

Evatt prefers to play attacking possession-based football, with his Barrow team nicknamed " Barrowcelona " due to the attacking football they played. At Barrow he played a 3-4-1-2 formation and used the same system at Bolton Wanderers. He changed to a 4-2-3-1 formation, with Bolton going from 20th to third and achieving promotion to League One. Evatt frequently decides against naming a substitute goalkeeper on the bench, preferring to have more attacking options and has had outfield players do goalkeeping training, just in case. Evatt will sometimes bring on attacking players when winning matches rather than defensive players, preferring to score more goals than defend a lead.

## Managerial statistics

## Honours

### Player

Blackpool

- Football League Championship play-offs: 2010

- Football League One play-offs: 2007

Chesterfield

- Football League Two: 2013–14

- Football League Trophy runner-up: 2013–14

Individual

- Blackpool Player of the Season: 2010–11

- PFA Team of the Year: 2013–14 League Two

### Managerial

Barrow

- National League: 2019–20

Bolton Wanderers

- EFL League Two third-place promotion: 2020–21

- EFL Trophy: 2022–23

Individual

- National League Manager of the Month: December 2018

- National League Manager of the Year: 2019–20

- EFL League Two Manager of the Month: November 2020, February 2021, March 2021

- EFL League One Manager of the Month: October 2023, November 2023


Jean-Claude Van Damme

# Jean-Claude Van Damme

## Abstract

Jean-Claude Camille François Van Varenberg (French:, Flemish:; born 18 October 1960), known professionally as Jean-Claude Van Damme (French:, Flemish:), is a Belgian martial artist and actor. Born and raised in Brussels, his father enrolled him in a Shotokan karate school at the age of ten, which led Van Damme to hold the rank of 2nd- dan black belt in karate, and compete in several karate and kickboxing competitions. As a teenager, he won the middleweight championship of the European Professional Karate Association in 1979 and the Mr. Belgium bodybuilding title in 1978. With the desire of becoming an actor in Hollywood, he moved to the United States in 1982, where he worked on several films, until he got his break as the lead in the martial arts film Bloodsport (1988).

He became a popular action film star and followed up with commercially successful films such as Cyborg, Kickboxer (both 1989), Lionheart, Death Warrant (both 1990), Double Impact (1991), Universal Soldier (1992), Nowhere to Run, Hard Target (both 1993), Timecop, Street Fighter (both 1994), Sudden Death (1995), The Quest, which marked his directorial debut, and Maximum Risk (both 1996). Between 1993 and 1998, three Hong Kong filmmakers collaborated with Van Damme for their debuts in Western cinema: John Woo, Tsui Hark, and Ringo Lam. After a decline in popularity in the late 1990s and early 2000s, he returned to prominence with the critically acclaimed crime drama JCVD (2008). His big return to the action genre was in The Expendables 2 (2012), in which he starred as the villain, opposite Sylvester Stallone. From thereon, he continued starring in action films and doing extensive voice work.

Regarded as an icon of action and martial arts cinema, his films have grossed over $1 billion worldwide, making him one of the most successful action stars of all time. In 2020, he was inducted into the Martial Arts History Museum Hall of Fame. Outside his career as a martial artist and actor, Van Damme has publicly supported various conservationist causes and animal rights organisations.

## Early life and education

Van Damme was born Jean-Claude Camille François Van Varenberg, on 18 October 1960, in Berchem-Sainte-Agathe, Brussels, Belgium, the son of Eliana and Eugène Van Varenberg, who was an accountant and florist. His father is from Brussels and bilingual, and his mother is Flemish (Dutch-speaking). Van Damme was brought up Roman Catholic. His paternal grandmother was Jewish.

He began martial arts at the age of ten, enrolled by his father in a Shōtōkan karate school. His styles consist of Shōtōkan Karate and Kickboxing. He eventually earned his black belt in karate at 18, and earned the rank of 2nd- dan black belt. He started lifting weights to improve his physique, which eventually led to a Mr. Belgium bodybuilding title in 1978. At the age of 16, he took up ballet, which he studied for five years. According to Van Damme, ballet "is an art, but it's also one of the most difficult sports. If you can survive a ballet workout, you can survive a workout in any other sport." Later he took up both Taekwondo and Muay Thai.

Among his acting heroes growing up were Charles Bronson, Bruce Lee, James Dean, Montgomery Clift, Steve McQueen, Jean-Paul Belmondo, and Sylvester Stallone.

## Career

### Early 1970s to 1980: Martial arts and first film appearance

At the age of 12, Van Damme joined the Centre National de Karaté (National Center of Karate) under the guidance of Claude Goetz in Belgium. Van Damme trained for four years and he earned a spot on the Belgian Karate Team; he later trained in full-contact karate and kickboxing with Dominique Valera. According to Van Damme, "it was tough growing up. I was kind of geeky, and physically I was not gifted".

At the age of 15, he started his competitive karate career in Belgium. From 1976 to 1980, he compiled a record of 44 victories and four defeats in tournament and non-tournament semi-contact matches.

He was a member of the Belgium Karate Team when it won the European Karate Championship on 26 December 1979 at La Coupe François Persoons Karate Tournament in Brussels.

He placed second at the Challenge Coupe des Espoirs Karate Tournament (1st Trials). At the three-day tournament, he defeated 25 opponents before losing in the finals to teammate Angelo Spataro.

On 8 March 1980, in Brussels, Belgium, he competed against his former teammate Patrick Teugels at the Forest National Arena on the undercard of the Dan Macaruso-Dominique Valera Professional Karate Association Light-Heavyweight World Championship bout. Prior to this match, Teugels had defeated Van Damme twice by decision, including a match for the Belgium Lightweight Championship. Van Damme had a 1977 victory over Teugels. Teugels was coming off an impressive showing at the World Association of Kickboxing Organizations World Championships four months earlier, and was favored by some to win this match. According to reports, and Patrick Teugels' own interview (with photos), Teugels lost to Van Damme by TKO in the 1st round. Teugels was kicked in the nose and was unable to continue as a result. In a 2013 interview, Van Damme called this fight his most memorable match.

He began his full-contact career in 1977, when Claude Goetz promoted the first ever full-contact karate tournament in Belgium.

From 1977 to 1982, he compiled a record of 18 victories (18 knockouts) and one defeat.

In 1979, he had an uncredited role in André Delvaux 's Woman Between Wolf and Dog, a Belgian-French drama film starring Marie-Christine Barrault, and Rutger Hauer.

In 1980, he caught the attention of Professional Karate Magazine publisher and editor Mike Anderson and multiple European champion Geert Lemmens. Both men tabbed Van Damme as an upcoming prospect. Van Damme retired from competition in 1982.

During his early life, he sold flowers in restaurants, and got a loan to open a gym to save some money before his move to the United States. Aptly titled California Gym, it was opened in 1979 and catered to "karate, dancing, aerobics, bodybuilding – everything". Van Damme adds that "I wrote special training programs for people, and it was a very upbeat atmosphere with music". At its peak, California Gym was making $15,000 per month; "when I decided to sell my gym my father thought I was crazy. He said, 'What the hell are you doing? You have the best gym in Brussels. You have a sports car, a beautiful apartment, you’re making so much money that you can have anything you want — and now you’re going to sell your business and go to America'. He was very upset".

### 1982 to 1988: Early works and breakthrough

In 1982, he and childhood friend Michel Qissi moved to the United States in the hope of working as actors. They did a variety of jobs to support themselves. Their first job working on a film as extras in the hip hop dance film Breakin' (1984), made by Cannon Films; they are seen dancing in the background at a dance demonstration.

Around that time he developed a friendship with action martial art film star Chuck Norris. They started sparring together, and Van Damme started to work as a bouncer at a bar named Woody's Wharf, owned by Norris. He also supplemented his income as a limousine driver and private karate instructor.

He described his early days in the United States as being particularly difficult – excluding $2,000, he had placed all of his money from the sale of his gym into a European bank; thus, he struggled financially. To ensure his own emotional wellbeing, he would go for runs every night in Santa Monica. After that, he would train at the world-renowned Gold's Gym. This routine reportedly helped him survive for many years. He actively participated in casting calls and had a specific routine. On Wednesdays, he would purchase the Drama-Logue magazine; then Thursday mornings, he would send out his picture and resume in response to advertisements. He was willing to try anything to achieve success, even going so far as to fabricate a story. He would call movie studios and claim to be an actor from Brussels with an investor from Hong Kong. He also instructed a friend to play along and act as if they wanted him to star in a movie and were willing to invest money, but required additional funding. Armed with this, he approached producers and suddenly found that all his phone calls were being answered. Of course, his intention was simply to meet the person and put his name out there, as opposed to securing illegitimate deals.

In the 1984 action film Missing in Action starring Norris, which was also released by Cannon Films, Van Damme is credited in the stunt team crew. That same year he also had a role in the comedy short film Monaco Forever.

Corey Yuen 's martial arts film No Retreat, No Surrender, which premiered On 2 May 1986 in Los Angeles, was his first sizeable role when he was cast as the Russian villain. It starred Kurt McKinney, and was released through New World Pictures. McKinney stars as Jason Stillwell, a U.S. teenager who learns karate and defends his martial arts dojo against a Soviet martial artist played by Van Damme. Both Vann Damme and McKinney were set to also star in No Retreat, No Surrender 2, but backed out.

He worked for director John McTiernan for the film Predator (1987) as an early (eventually abandoned) version of the titular alien, before being removed and replaced by Kevin Peter Hall. As the first choice to play the titular Predator character, with the intent that he would use his martial arts skills to make the alien an agile, ninja -like hunter, but after few days shot, he left the film. It was reported that he constantly complained about the monster suit being too hot and causing him to pass out; he allegedly also voiced reservations about only appearing on camera in the suit. Additionally, it became apparent that a more physically imposing actor was needed to make the creature appear threatening against the team of soldiers. The role eventually went to Kevin Peter Hall. After Predator was a success, Van Damme said that he appreciated the movie and that he had no regrets about missing that role.

Van Damme's breakout film was Bloodsport, which opened on 26 February 1988, based on the alleged true story of Frank Dux. It was shot on a $1.5-million budget for Cannon. The film is about U.S. Army Captain Frank Dux (played by Van Damme), trained from his youth in the ways of ninjutsu by Senzo Tanaka, who takes the place of Tanaka's deceased son Shingo in the illegal martial-arts tournament Kumite in Hong Kong. It became a U.S. box-office hit in the spring of 1988. Producer Mark Di Salle said he was looking for "a new martial arts star who was a ladies' man, appeals to both men and women. He's an American hero who fights for justice the American way and kicks the stuffing out of the bad guys." In reality, Van Damme had begged for a starring role; at the point of casting, he was homeless, sleeping in cars and garages, and sometimes had to resort to stealing food to survive. Also in 1988, he played another Russian villain in Black Eagle, opposite Sho Kosugi.

### 1989 to 1999: International stardom

After the success of Bloodsport, Cannon Films offered him the lead in Delta Force 2, American Ninja 3 or Cyborg, a cyberpunk martial arts film directed by Albert Pyun. He chose Cyborg which premiered in 1989. The film was a low budget box office success and led to two sequels, neither of which Van Damme appeared in.

Cannon used Van Damme again in Kickboxer released that same year. It was highly successful, returning over $50 million on a $3-million budget. The film started the Kickboxer franchise. He did not appear in any of the film's four sequels, though he did return as a different character in the reboot series.

In 1990, he starred in Death Warrant, the first script credit for David S. Goyer. Also that year he starred in Lionheart. Lionheart was directed by Sheldon Lettich who had co-written Bloodsport, and said the film was "the first movie to demonstrate that Van Damme was more than just a flash-in-the-pan "Karate Guy" who would never rise above simplistic low-budget karate movies." It also featured rear nudity from Van Damme which Lettich says "became a very memorable moment for the ladies in the audience, and for the gay guys as well. Showing off his butt (clothed or unclothed) almost became a signature trademark of his after that."

In 1991, Double Impact was released. Directed by Lettich, it features Van Damme in the dual role of Alex and Chad Wagner, estranged twin brothers fighting to avenge the deaths of their parents. Upon its opening it received mixed reviews. The Los Angeles Times said the film "delivers the goods", while Variety didn't like the plotline and predicted a flop. The film grossed $23,683,813 in its first 28 days. It made a total of $30,102,717 in the US. Retrospective critics perceive it to be a fun action film, with good comical moments, and a good performance by Van Damme who plays two distinct characters.

In 1992, he starred in one of the biggest blockbusters of the year in the sci-fi action picture, Universal Soldier, directed by Roland Emmerich for Carolco. Van Damme (as Luc Deveraux) and Dolph Lundgren (as Sergeant Andrew Scott) play U.S. soldiers during the Vietnam War who end up shooting each other dead after Devereaux discovers that Scott has gone insane and resorted to mutilating civilians. They are later reanimated in a secret Army project along with a large group of other previously dead soldiers and sent on a mission. At the 1992 Cannes Film Festival, Van Damme and Lundgren were involved in a verbal altercation that almost turned physical when both men pushed each other only to be separated, but it was believed to have only been a publicity stunt. Universal Soldier opened in theatres on 10 July 1992, a moderate success domestically with $36,299,898 in US ticket sales, but a major blockbuster worldwide, making over $65 million overseas, which earned the film a total of $102 million worldwide, on a $23 million budget.

He was considered to play Simon Phoenix in Demolition Man and was briefly considered for the role of Michael Cheritto in Heat.

In 1993, he made a cameo in Last Action Hero, and starred in Nowhere To Run. The film was the first in a three-picture deal between Van Damme and Columbia Pictures and his fee was $3.5 million. Columbia said the film is "true to his audience and goes beyond his audience."

In 1994, he starred in Hard Target for Universal Pictures, the first American film from director John Woo. Also released that year, he starred in Timecop, playing a time-traveling cop. Directed by Peter Hyams, the film was a huge success, grossing over $100 million worldwide, and remains his highest-grossing film in a lead role to date. Also that year, he starred in Street Fighter, written and directed by Steven E. de Souza for Universal and based on the video game. It was poorly received critically. Though a commercial success, making approximately three times its production cost.

Van Damme and Hyams re-teamed for Universal's Sudden Death, released in 1995. Van Damme portrays a French Canadian -born firefighter with the Pittsburgh Fire Bureau who suffered a personal crisis after he was unable to save a young girl from a house fire. Now removed from active duty, he has become demoted to being fire marshal for the Pittsburgh Civic Arena, where a gang of terrorists are holding U.S. Vice President and several other VIPs hostage in a luxury suite during a game. The movie was a modest success.

In 1996, he starred and directed The Quest. The film, though it under-performed domestically, did better internationally at the box-office and was a commercial success. That year, he appeared in the TV show Friends in the two-part episode " The One After the Superbowl ". He also starred in Maximum Risk, the first American film directed by Ringo Lam, and their first collaboration. The film was mildly successful at the box office.

He followed up with Double Team (1997), a sci fi action film with basketball superstar Dennis Rodman. It was Hong Kong director Tsui Hark 's American debut.

In 1998, he and Hark reunited on Knock Off, a box-office flop. Also that year, Van Damme acted in the war film Legionnaire. Despite a $35 million budget, it was not released theatrically in the US, only overseas.

In 1999, he starred in Universal Soldier: The Return, (1999), where he returns as Luc Deveraux. The movie did poorly at the box office debuting at #4. That year he also starred in Inferno (1999).

### 2000s: Subsequent films

Released in 2001, Replicant is the second collaboration between Van Damme and director Ringo Lam, and the fifth time that Van Damme has starred in a dual role. It co-stars Michael Rooker. Also that year he starred in The Order, directed by Sheldon Lettich, and written by Van Damme.

In 2002, he starred in Derailed. In Hell is a 2003 American prison action film directed by Ringo Lam. It is the third collaboration between Van Damme and Lam. Van Damme plays an American working overseas in Magnitogorsk, Russia. That same year, he employed his dancing training in the music video for Bob Sinclar 's "Kiss My Eyes".

His 2004 film was Wake of Death, an action film directed by Philippe Martinez. Ringo Lam was the original director, but he left the project after a few weeks of filming in Canada. It co-stars Simon Yam, Valerie Tian, Tony Schiena, etc.

In 2005, he played himself in the French film Narco. In 2006, he starred in Second in Command directed by Simon Fellows, and The Hard Corps directed by Sheldon Lettich.

In 2007, he played a small role in The Exam, a Turkish comedy-drama film directed by Ömer Faruk Sorak. Also that year he starred in Until Death.

Van Damme returned to the mainstream with the limited theatrical release of the 2008 film JCVD, which received positive reviews. Time Magazine named his performance in the film the second best of the year (after Heath Ledger 's The Joker in The Dark Knight), having previously stated that Van Damme "deserves not a black belt, but an Oscar." Also in 2008, he starred in Isaac Florentine 's The Shepherd: Border Patrol.

He then reprised his role as Luc Deveraux alongside Dolph Lundgren in the 2009 film Universal Soldier: Regeneration, directed by John Hyams. The film was released theatrically in the Middle East and Southeast Asia and directly to video in the United States and other parts of the world. Since its release, the film has received mostly positive reviews, with praise towards the performances and surprisingly high production values.

### 2010–present: Current work

In 2010, he directed himself in the barely released Full Love. That same year, he turned down the role of Gunner Jensen in the first instalment of The Expendables and the role went to Dolph Lundgren.

In 2011, he voiced Master Croc in the computer animation film Kung Fu Panda 2. In the film, he voices a character who helps the heroes of the previous film. That same year, he co-starred with Scott Adkins in Assassination Games. Also in 2011, he played a role in the French comedy Beur sur la ville. Also that year, he starred in his own reality TV show Behind Closed Doors. The show showcases his family life, his personal troubles, and an upcoming fight. Since 2009, he has been planning to make a comeback to fight former boxing Olympic gold-medalist Somluck Kamsing. The fight was a focal point in his ITV reality show Behind Closed Doors. The fight has been repeatedly postponed, with many critics doubting it will occur, especially due to the difficulty of booking the venue.

In 2012, he acted in the Russian comedy film named Rzhevsky Versus Napoleon, and U.F.O. He starred in Dragon Eyes, Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning, and Six Bullets.

Also that year, he starred as the main villain in The Expendables 2. The film series follows a mercenary group as they undertake a mission which evolves into a quest for revenge against a rival mercenary (Van Damme). The film was a success, grossing over $310 million worldwide, and was his big return to the action genre. Empire ' s Nick de Semlyen praised Van Damme's "grandstanding, plutonium-crazed baddie" and Lundgren's "action-troll" as high points in the film. Also that year, he was seen as part of Kam Sing's ring crew when Kam Sing fought against Jomhod Kiatadisak. He also appeared in commercials for Coors Light beer, showing him on a snow-covered mountain wearing a sleeveless denim jacket, and for the washing powder Dash. On 21 October 2012, he was honored with a life-size statue of himself in his hometown of Brussels. He told reporters during the unveiling, "Belgium is paying me back something, but really it's to pay back to the dream. So when people come by here, it is not Jean-Claude van Damme but it's a guy from the street who believed in something. I want the statue to represent that".

In 2013, he acted in the comedy Welcome to the Jungle. Also that year, he played the main villain in Enemies Closer, an American action thriller film directed by Peter Hyams. On 13 November 2013, Volvo Trucks released an advertisement on YouTube that shows Van Damme doing the splits while perched with each of his feet on the outer rearview mirrors of one semi-trailer truck and one box truck moving backwards, which he describes in the commercial as "the most epic of splits". The video quickly went viral around the web, receiving more than 11 million views in three days, 35 million in the first week. It was dubbed as The Epic Split.

Swelter is a 2014 American action film where he plays one of the leads. It stars Lennie James, and co-stars Grant Bowler, Josh Henderson, and Alfred Molina. James plays a sheriff in a small town who has a dark past that he can not remember, only to have to confront it when his ex-partners show up looking for stolen money they believe he has.

In 2015, he starred in the action thriller film Pound of Flesh, directed by Ernie Barbarash. Also that year, he had a supporting role in a Chinese superhero parody film.

In 2016, he returned to his voice role of Master Croc in the Kung Fu Panda franchise for the third installment. Also that year, he acted in Kickboxer: Vengeance directed by John Stockwell. It is a reboot of the original where he was the lead. That year he also played the lead in the tv series Jean-Claude Van Johnson.

In 2017, he starred in Kill 'Em All, an action film directed by Peter Malota.

In 2018, he returned to his role in Kickboxer: Retaliation, a sequel to the reboot. That same year, he acted in Black Water. It co-stars Dolph Lundgren in the fifth collaboration between both actors as well as the first time they appear together as on-screen allies. In 22 August of that same year, he starred in Julien Leclercq 's The Bouncer.

In 2019, he starred in We Die Young. In 2021, he starred in The Last Mercenary. In 2022, he voiced the character Jean-Clawed in the computer animation film Minions: The Rise of Gru.

In 2023, he featured his likeness and voice as Johnny Cage in the fighting game Mortal Kombat 1 (2023).

## Monument

In 2012, a statue of Van Damme was unveiled in Anderlecht, Belgium. The artwork, which depicts a younger incarnation of the Muscles from Brussels in one of his fighting poses from the movie Kickboxer, was commissioned to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the Westland Shopping complex. The unveiling took place on Boulevard Sylvain Dupuis and was attended by Van Damme, his parents, Wallonia-Brussels culture minister Fadila Laanan and nearly 2,000 fans. Van Damme said the statue "represented the dream of a Brussels kid" and was "for all the children who want something bad", adding that "if you believe in something strongly enough, it can come true".

In 2019, a Van Damme monument was mounted in the Vandam village of Qabala, Azerbaijan, due to the similarity of the village name and Van Damme's name. The actor subsequently published a post on his Facebook account, thanking those responsible.

## Controversies

### Lawsuit and fight record controversy

In 1997, Frank Dux, the martial artist whom Van Damme portrayed in Bloodsport, filed a lawsuit against him for $50,000 for co-writing and consultation work Dux did on the 1996 film The Quest. According to the lawsuit, Dux also accused him of lying to the public about his martial arts fight record, stating that when Dux tutored Van Damme while the latter was laying carpet for a living, Van Damme exhibited a lack of martial arts skills. Van Damme's lawyer, Martin Singer, responded, "There are records to document his martial arts acclaim. Why, just look at his movies; he didn't get those roles on his acting ability! He's the one who does those splits on chairs. He doesn't have a stuntman to do that."

### Chuck Zito incident

Tensions arose between Van Damme and bodyguard/stuntman Chuck Zito when Zito began dating Van Damme's estranged wife Darcy LaPier. Zito was reportedly unhappy about LaPier's claim in a divorce action that Van Damme had abused her. On 6 February 1998, the New York Daily News reported that Van Damme had been punched by Zito the previous night at the Scores strip club in Manhattan, New York. Zito, who had previously bodyguarded Van Damme and did stunts on the film Nowhere to Run, recalled the incident in his 2002 autobiography Street Justice, claiming that he suffered a broken hand as a result of striking Van Damme several times after Van Damme made disparaging remarks about him to a club bouncer, who then relayed the comments to Zito. Van Damme denied in an appearance on Inside Edition days after the incident that he had been struck by Zito and challenged Zito to a fight.

### Kadyrov event

In October 2011, Van Damme, along with other celebrities including Hilary Swank, Vanessa-Mae and Seal attracted criticism from human rights groups for attending an event in Russian federal subject Chechnya 's capital Grozny on the 35th birthday of Chechen president Ramzan Kadyrov on 5 October. Human rights groups, who had urged the celebrities to cancel their appearances because of abuses carried out under Kadyrov, criticised the celebrities for attending the event. Human Rights Watch released a statement which said, "Ramzan Kadyrov is linked to a litany of horrific human rights abuses. It's inappropriate for stars to get paid to party with him And getting paid to be part of such a lavish show in Chechnya trivializes the suffering of countless victims of human rights abuses there."

## Public image and influence

Van Damme is widely regarded as an icon of action and martial arts cinema. His popularity is credited with opening the Hollywood doors to names like Don Wilson, Olivier Gruner, Dale Cook and Loren Avedon. Described as the most 'remade' action star, his films have spawned endless sequels, such as Bloodsport II: The Next Kumite (1996), Bloodsport III (1997), Bloodsport 4: The Dark Kumite (1999), Cyborg 2 (1993), Cyborg 3: The Recycler (1994), Kickboxer 2-6 in the Kickboxer (film series), Universal Soldier II: Brothers in Arms (1998), Universal Soldier III: Unfinished Business (1998), Hard Target 2 (2016), Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li (2009), Street Fighter: Assassin's Fist (2014), Timecop 2: The Berlin Decision (2003), the Timecop (TV series) (1997), and Welcome to Sudden Death (2020). Van Damme's influence has been compared to the Bruceploitation explosion of the 1970s.

Van Damme achieved sex symbol status through publicity venues in the late 1980’s and early 1990’s. Unlike his major rivals in action film, such as Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sylvester Stallone, Steven Seagal, and Bruce Willis, Van Damme was nominated by the National Enquirer as number one on their "Top Ten Sexiest Men in the World" list, being the only action film star listed.

Many martial artists, athletes, and filmmakers have cited Van Damme as an influence, such as Alain Moussi, Scott Adkins, Dave Callaham, Adam Brody, Jay Cutler, Georges St-Pierre, Nick Diaz, Mirko Cro Cop, James P. Bennett, Rico Verhoeven, Tom Duquesnoy, John Albert, Charles Rosa, Murad Ramazanov, Halil Amir, Andrei Stoica, Giorgio Petrosyan, Alfie Davis, Enkh-Orgil Baatarkhuu, and Angela Chang. In August 2016, Georges St-Pierre described fighting Van Damme in the film Kickboxer: Vengeance as "a dream come true".

The original video game Mortal Kombat (1992) was conceived as a fighting game based on Van Damme. Creators Ed Boon and John Tobias had originally wanted to star Van Damme himself in the game. That fell through as he had allegedly a prior deal for another game under the auspices of the Sega Genesis platform. Boon and Tobias eventually decided to create a character named Johnny Cage, who is modelled after Van Damme, primarily from Van Damme's appearance and outfit in the martial arts film Bloodsport. In the German version of the Donkey Kong 64 website, DK's greatest hero is Jean-Claude Van Kong.

American professional wrestler Robert Alexander Szatkowski was given his ring name "Rob Van Dam" in 1992 by Ron Slinker, a promoter in Florida, possibly because of his martial arts experience and his resemblance to Van Damme.

## Personal life

From 1993 to 1996, the stress of the constant filming and promotion of his films, as Van Damme claims, led him to develop a cocaine habit, on which he spent up to $10,000 a week, and consuming up to 10 grams per day by 1996. He was arrested for driving under the influence in 1999. Attempts at drug rehabilitation were unsuccessful, and he resorted to resolve his addiction via quitting cold turkey and exercise. In 1998, he was diagnosed with bipolar disorder. In 2011, he discussed the condition on the British reality show Behind Closed Doors, saying, "Sometimes you're gonna like me, and sometimes you're gonna hate me. But what can I do? I'm not perfect... I'm an extreme bipolar, and I'm taking medication for this... When I was young, I was suffering those swing moods. In the morning, the sky was blue going to school, and to me, the sky was black. I was so sad."

He has been married five times to four different women. Until 1992 he was married to his third wife, bodybuilder Gladys Portugues, with whom he has two children, Kristopher (b. 1987) and Bianca Brigitte (b. 1990). He had begun an affair with actress Darcy LaPier, whom he married in February 1994. From this marriage, the couple has a son named Nicholas (b. 10 October 1995). That same year he had an affair with his Street Fighter co-star Kylie Minogue during filming in Thailand. LaPier, who was pregnant with their son at the time, did not become aware of the affair until Van Damme publicly admitted it in 2012.

In October 2016, he expressed his support for presidential candidate Donald Trump during the 2016 election. Earlier that year in March, he mentioned that the Illuminati including the Rockefellers and Rothschilds might try to stop Trump from winning.

He had been in a decade-long relationship with model Alena Kaverina, though still married to Gladys Portugues. Kaverina was born in Ukraine; Van Damme visited the country during the Russian invasion of Ukraine to show his support.

### Conservationism

Outside acting, Van Damme has publicly supported various conservationist causes and animal rights organisations, appearing in a number of PSAs for Animals Australia, and working towards his goal of rallying celebrities and fellow actors in creating sanctuaries for endangered species. In 2022, he was appointed as Democratic Republic of the Congo Ambassador On Environment, with the role of enhancing the protection of forests as well as local fauna and flora.

## Filmography

## Championships and accomplishments

Mr. Belgium bodybuilding Championships (1976 Gold)

Belgium Karate Lightweight Championships (1977 Gold)

Belgium Karate team European Championships (1979 Gold)

Belgium Coupe des Espoirs Karate Tournament Championships (1980 Silver)

## Fight record

## Books cited

- (Wako)

- (PKA World Heavyweight Title)

- (Eku)