Jean-Claude Van Damme has played some fun characters in his time from fighters to serial killers and resurrected soldiers to playing twins, so today I thought I would list my top 10 characters of his.
To be honest, this changes regularly, but I think these are are all entertaining in their own right.
Gibson Rickenbacker in Cyborg
I mostly chose Gibson because his name is awesome and all the characters are named after guitars. I’ve always had soft spot for Cyborg anyway and JCVD shines as the hero who will end up saving the world.
Kurt Sloane in Kickboxer
Although not that exciting as a character Kurt is still awesome as he fights for revenge after Tong Po cripples his brother. We are rooting for him all the way as he is trained how to fight by Xian.
Darren McCord in Sudden Death
Darren is a fireman who blames himself or the death of a young girl so he is filled with self doubt. When terrorists take over an ice hockey stadium during the Stanley Cup Darren finds redemption as he tries to save his children from a madman. He also fights a penguin… so there’s that.
Luc Deveraux in Universal Soldier
Luc starts off as a soldier in Vietnam who is killed by his crazed Sergeant Andrew Scott (Dolph Lundgren) but is resurrected as a Universal Soldier who rediscovers his humanity and has to take down Scott who for some reason was also brought back to life. I love how by the last movie in the series Luc has become the villain which was a cool twist.
JCVD in JCVD
Van Damme is playing a version of himself and is easily his best performance to date as it’s raw, honest and unflinching especially his monologue to the camera.
Edward Garrotte from Replicant
I didn’t say they had to be good guys on this list; I think Van Damme doesn’t get enough credit as an actor; in Replicant he plays a serial killer called Edward Garrotte who kills mothers. he’s a nasty piece of work. He also convincingly plays the childlike replicant created to stop him.
Lyon from Lionheart
Lyon has the heart of a Lion and will do anything for his late brother’s family including fighting for money. He also sports the slicked back hair look which is his best as far as I’m concerned.
Frank Dux from Bloodsport (1988)
I can make no comment on the real life Frank Dux as I’ve never met him however, in the movie Bloodsport Frank wants to honour his Shidoshi by winning an underground fighting tournament called the Kumite. He brings an easy likeability to the character which made him a star.
Chance Boudreaux from Hard Target (1993)
Boudreaux, Boudreaux, Boudreaux… I know you didn’t want to hurt… my feelings. Chance is a homeless badass with a mullet and particular set of skills who helps Natasha Binder (Yancy Butler) search for her missing father. They stumble upon a group of men who hunt the homeless for sport so Chance decides to turn the predators into prey. He also punches a snake which makes all arguments invalid.
Alex Wagner from Double Impact (1991)
Alex is JCVD’s coolest character for me and it’s not even close; with his slicked back hair, leather jacket and cigar (or interchangeable toothpick) he’s just awesome. I also like that he is a hothead with a temper which is something I can relate to. I feel like Chad and Alex are actually different characters which is not an easy thing to do when they are played by the same guy.