Jean-Claude Van Damme, in his 60s but still going strong!

Jean-Claude Van Damme is a name that for many is synonymous with martial arts. JCVD is in his sixties now but doesn't plan on retiring anytime soon.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, his latest project is 'Darkness of Man,' directed by James Cullen Bressack. This film is based on a story that Van Damme and Bressack came up with together. Production is finished but it is still unclear when the film will be released.

Depending on how old you are or if you are a fan of action films or not, you might not know much about JCVD. Don't worry, we are here to fill you in on all the details! Click on the learn about the life and career of Jean-Claude Van Damme.

Jean-Claude Camille François Van Varenberg was born in Brussels, Belgium, in October of 1960. He is an actor and film director.
He also loves to practice martial arts such as karate, kickboxing, and Muay Thai. Van Damme was given the nickname 'The Muscles From Brussels' by Belgian reporters.

In 1982 Van Damme arrived in Los Angeles to get his start in the acting world. However, it wasn't easy to find acting work starting out, so he had a wide variety of odd jobs while looking for his big break.

Young Jean-Claude worked as a cab driver, masseuse, personal trainer, pizza delivery man, bodyguard, and karate instructor.

It wasn’t until he met Chuck Norris that he was able to land a spot on the big screen. Norris helped Van Damme snag a role in 'Missing in Action' (1984).

His role as Frank Dux in 'Bloodsport' (1988) made Jean-Claude world-famous as a martial arts actor. The actor has more than 60 films under his belt, including 'The Quest' (1996), 'Universal Soldier: Regeneration' (2010), and 'The Expendables 2' (2012).

Nobody would have thought that a scene from one of his first movies, 'Kickboxer' from 1989, would become a cinema classic. Young Van Damme drove fans crazy when he cut up the rug to Beau Williams’ song 'Feeling So Good Today.'

Whenever we think about action films, we think about actors like Van Damme, Sylvester Stallone, or Steven Seagal. In 1997 a party at Stallone’s Miami home made headlines. Seagal (not pictured) and Van Damme had a martial arts showdown to see who the true master was.

Although there are many versions to the story, everyone agreed that Seagal backed out in the end, as he knew he didn’t stand a chance.

The actor has participated in different television series over the years, such as 'Friends' (1996, in this picture) and 'Las Vegas' (2011).

In 2011 Jean-Claude Van Damme created his own reality show titled 'Behind Closed Doors.' He has also appeared in commercials for beer and video games.

In 2013 he appeared in an ad for Volvo Trucks doing the splits, which received more than 35 million views in just one week.

Photo: Volvo Trucks/YouTube

In 2017 Jean-Claude Van Damme released his first VOD series for Amazon. The show is a parody of his life and career, and Van Damme pokes fun at himself. David Callaham directed the comedy series, and the show was named after the actor.

Van Damme had a very close relationship with his parents, and is particularly his mother. Here we see JCVD at a premiere with both his parents in 2018.

Fun facts about Van Damme: His two mother tongues are Flemish and French, but he also speaks Italian, English, German, and Spanish.

He is an animal lover and owns a shelter for stray dogs. Beethoven is his favorite musician, and classical music is his preferred genre.

Jean-Claude Van Damme has been married five times; however, none of his marriages have lasted very long. Van Damme had two children with Gladys Portugués: Kristopher (1987) and Bianca (1990).

Later, in 1995 he had a son Nicolás with the model Darcy LaPier. In recent years, Jean-Claude and Gladys Portugués (pictured here) reunited and they are together again.

Pictured here is Van Damme and his son Kristopher. Kristopher is an actor like his father and has appeared in more than fifteen films, such as 'Welcome to the Jungle' (2013) and 'Black Water' (2018).

According to film director Steven de Souza, Van Damme began using cocaine in the '90s. In 1996 he had to be admitted to a detox center due to his addiction but he didn’t last more than a week. He was also a heavy drinker at the time and was even arrested for driving under the influence.

Van Damme has been diagnosed with bipolar disorder and progressive arthritis. If all that wasn't enough, in 1997, he was accused of spousal abuse.

In 2007 Jean-Claude Van Damme, given his knowledge and expertise on the topic, was invited to attend the International Martial Arts Tournament in Saint Petersburg.

The event was titled 'Russia Vs. United States', and Silvio Berlusconi and Vladimir Putin accompanied the actor.

Jean-Claude Van Damme was heavily criticized by 'Human Rights Watch' when the organization accused him of accepting money in 2011 to attend the president of Chechnya, Ramzan Kadyrov’s birthday party. Ramzan Kadyrov is known for violating human rights.

When he appeared on the French debate program 'On n’est pas couche' (Canal 2), the actor revealed himself as having homophobic and chauvinistic views.

Jean-Claude was recorded saying, "The woman’s role is to take care of the home," and expressing views that exposed how he looks down on the gay community.

In spite of the controversies, Van Damme has continued to be an actor of high acclaim. In 2012, a statue of Van Damme was erected in the actor’s home country, in the city of Brussels. The bronze, life-sized statue of the actor was placed to celebrate Westland Shopping Centre’s opening.