(Chanting) Jean Claude! Jean Claude!
Jean Claude Van Damme...
Yah!
Martial arts legend...
Nice kick, huh?
Action hero...
His movies have grossed over $700 million
in a career spanning over 25 years.
But now it's time to discover the real man behind the macho image...
I've got nothing to hide any more.
..as he allows cameras total access into his extraordinary world.
Argh!
(Laughter)
This is an intimate portrait...
Love you, baby.
..of an international movie star as you have never seen him before.
I don't see Sly or Seagal doing that.
We're up close and personal as he bares his soul.
The world is going bad. Everything is dying around us.
I believe the end is soon.
And gives us an unprecedented look into the mind of a movie legend.
I pray to save the world.
See?
God loves me.
I'll talk to you later!
Coming up...
we follow Jean Claude to Dubai, where he gets an action hero's reception.
Seriously, it's like seeing Superman right in front of you.
Enjoys the good life...
Yeah!
And reveals his plans for the biggest fight of his life.
My wife is against it.
All my friends are against it.
If I don't say bye-bye to the good time,
I'm dead.
Dubai.
One of the richest and most futuristic cities on the planet.
And Jean Claude is here for a mixture of business and pleasure.
It's very cosmopolitan in Dubai.
Lots of people, all different nationalities.
They put lots of money into this city.
Luxury to the top, huh?
It's a jam-packed schedule, including some TV interviews.
I will have to shave
to look younger.
Put some hair colour for tomorrow.
So I look younger on the camera.
Jean Claude is chauffeured to a five-star hotel.
His first job is to check the luxury suite meets all his requirements.
This is the living room.
This is the view, sir. See?
Bathroom.
We call that the Amazon shower.
Cool.
So, when a girl come... I go like this, I go.
Come, darling.
Not really. I'm not like that any more.
Jean Claude may be in Dubai for business,
but first there's time for some fun.
Let's go, follow me.
My name's Marcus. How are you?
How are you? Nice to meet you.
Just step on the towel first.
OK.
He's taking to the waves to soak up the sun
and try out some water sports.
Being a relative novice at waterskiing, he 's got mixed feelings.
One day I did ski
and I had a French swimming suit.
It was kind of fast
and I fell.
And the water came... My swimming suit was like a G-string.
And the water came inside, man.
Woargh!
You're gonna walk like a crab for a couple of days.
It hurt like shit.
Some people pay for that. You got it for free, so...
Oh...
OK.
It looks as though those traumatic waterskiing memories
might be having an effect on today's performance.
He's trying to pull the rope like...
I'm not good for James Bond.
So far, so bad.
But when the going gets tough, the tough get going.
A few more tips from his instructor
and it looks like Jean Claude might have found his inner 007.
Time for a verdict from the boat's crew.
He overcame his feeling, like scared.
Yeah, he overcame it. He's very good.
Very impressed. Stood up well.
It normally takes a few times for people to get up.
Five or six times.
But he got up on the first go, so that's a good sign.
I think we're slowly falling in love.
Having conquered the waves,
Jean Claude is reflecting on the ups and downs of his movie career.
After the movie Timecop,
I received a huge offer, a three-picture deal...
..and...
it was $1 2 million per picture.
That's $36 million.
I was wasted.
And I said, 'l want 20, 20, 20, like Jim Carrey,'
and they hung up on me.
I was not myself.
I made a bad mistake
and I was on the blacklist in Hollywood for years.
Slowly they want me back for making those theatrical movies.
But no, I decided to fight.
Jean Claude has made an extraordinary decision.
Like the character he played in hit movie Bloodsport,
he 'll be climbing into the ring for a vicious Thai boxing match.
His real-life opponent will be the formidable 38-year-old
Thai martial arts champion Somluck Kamsing.
At 50, Jean Claude wants to prove he 's still got what it takes
to be a high-kicking champ.
If I win that fight, which will be exceptional,
it will bring me another ten years of health.
It's like a repair.
So I'm very happy today where I am.
Now he's using every opportunity to publicise the challenge,
including an interview in his hotel room with Dubai's Gulf News.
It's a crazy challenge. My wife is against it.
All my friends are against it.
And fighting at the age of 50,
it's something exceptional and it's good for me.
For my scars from the past.
Because I'm a perfectionist, in a sense, and I'm hard on myself.
But even if the audience, they forgive my mistakes, my fans,
I cannot forgive them. They are really deep insi...
So by going into hard training,
and to fight,
it's total...
clean up.
Mental, physical, but especially mental clean up.
It's not any more about money, this one.
It's about something before I go there,
heaven, whatever, I want to say something.
To pay back to my fans, to my audience.
To those parents, they saw Bloodsport, they are 30, 40 years old,
they go, "Wow, he came back in the ring."
"He did Bloodsport for real, for me, to show we can all come back in life."
- That's it. - Great. Thank you so much.
Hi. This is Jean Claude Van Damme on GNTV. Yeah!
- Good? - Excellent. Thank you.
I get to warm up, you know, I'm 50.
Got to put some cream between my balls.
Interview over, Gulf News hand over their parting gift.
Wow. It's the full outfit?
Do me a favour. Put it on my head, do one shot.
Before Jean Claude gives them a parting cover shot.
It's nice like this, no?
Jean Claude wants to find out about the Dubai fighting scene.
So his next stop is the Contender mixed martial arts gym
owned by British ex-pat Tam Khan.
Hello.
Nice to meet you. How are you?
- Nice to meet you. - I'll show you into the gym.
The news about Jean Claude's visit has got out
and the gym is crowded.
Everyone wants to meet their hero.
It's like seeing someone like Superman right in front of you.
It's an awesome feeling, absolutely awesome.
Nice to meet you. How you doing?
Thank you.
When people like that come over here they inspire in a different way.
I'm so excited, I just can't hide it.
In two years you see me the WBC world champion.
When I heard about you coming I was so excited,
because one of the reasons I got into MMA
was from watching Bloodsport and kickboxing.
To have you here it's like a motivation for us.
It makes us really want to achieve things.
Cos we've seen your background, seen you compete as well.
That's cool.
- It's a huge honour. - Same here.
Thank you so much for coming.
The standard in the gym is high.
And as he watches the fighters train, Jean Claude seems subdued.
In only a few months, he too must be at the top of his game
in order to fight the Thai Olympic gold medallist Somluck.
Bye-bye, guys. Thank you.
Take care.
(Applause)
The visit to the gym has left Jean Claude with lots to think about.
Right now I'm completely unfit.
I'm a sack of potato.
I'm still smoking and...
My lungs are fucked up.
I need good food...
I need good training
and good rest.
And I need friendship.
I need people to... Iove me,
Iove them, like my teacher,
and the rest, they can all go...
sorry, fuck themselves.
If I lose the fight, I will never be able to...
..recoup from that.
I hate to lose.
I'll be hiding.
For life.
I'll be crying for years.
And I'll be, of course...
They'll make fun of me, which is normal.
"What he thought he was able to achieve? Look at him."
Clown.
When you're staying in a fabulous hotel,
and enjoying some of the world's best beaches,
it's difficult to be in a dark mood for long.
Oh, guys.
I love the sun. It's beautiful.
You can recharge your batteries.
Look at the sand.
It's like baby powder.
It's beautiful.
White, soft.
Look at the water. It's like a lake.
I'm a lucky man today.
Being alive, enjoying this, nature...
Fooling around in the sea
reminds Jean Claude of his childhood holidays.
I was in the water every day.
I hunt between the rocks.
I was looking for octopus.
One day I felt so bad, I killed one, I was crying.
Because when you take an octopus
you have to turn the head on the other side, clean the inside
and beat the muscle against the rock
so the meat is becoming tender.
I was able to feed my family for three days on that.
It was delicious with rice and everything, fantastic.
But...
since then I never killed an animal again.
I felt so bad.
Because his eyes were looking at me and I saw...
I saw intelligence in his eyes.
You see eyes, you see soul, you see life.
I think we're more made to eat vegetables,
wheat, and lots of fruit.
Brown rice, pasta.
And no matter what, I'm gonna go back to that,
to lose all the fat and to fight and to be very fast
and get better endurance.
Boom, boom, boom.
(Exclaims)
The sight of a real-life action hero in full swing
has attracted the attention of Dinesh, one of the beach staff.
- How are you, man? - Fine, thank you.
Please sit down.
They are working very hard here.
And it's low wages, but...
They are coming from their countries
and they send their money to their family.
- Yes. - See.
So I'm very lucky to be where I am
and those guys are making the beach fantastic.
They are cleaning everything every night.
They have to put all the chairs... They are running non-stop.
It's hot, it's not so easy.
Cool guy.
Let me see your eyes.
Cool kid, nice eyes.
- Thank you. - It was nice to meet you, man.
- I love your movies, sir. - Thank you, sir.
I really like it.
Nice to meet you.
Thank you.
- I'm really happy. - Thank you, sir.
Thank you.
See, guys...
I'm a nice guy, but...
he's a very nice guy.
After changing his clothes in the hotel, Jean Claude heads off to a TV interview.
But on the way, there's a minor mishap.
Oof...
I'm sorry, can you put the air conditioning on?
The air conditioning?
- Yeah. - Maximum. Just for two seconds.
I did a boo-boo.
I fart. I'm sorry.
I'm sorry. It just came out like this.
Guys, I'm sorry. It's in the TV show.
Wow.
You know what, guys, it happened.
When Jean Claude arrives at the studios,
he's met by producer Rana Macmun.
Of course everyone loves Van Damme here in the Middle East.
We are all his biggest fan.
So we're shooting this promo for a week of his movies on NBC Action.
But first, make-up.
Can I ask you a question? Can you put a little shadow here, right?
- To take this out. - I'm gonna use foundation and powder.
- Only foundation and powder? - Yeah.
- You do what's best. Sorry. - OK?
OK. Sorry.
Ah, you're good.
- I'm good? - Yeah, just by touching...
- You have some scissors? - Yes.
I did the colour of my hair yesterday because I've got white hair.
Don't tell nobody. And I missed a spot here.
- See that spot there? - Yeah.
Do you want me to cut? Or I can colour it in.
I have mascara for emergencies.
Or you can use a little black brush, whatever you do.
- Thank you, love. - You're welcome.
There you are.
Cool. Perfect.
Make-up over, it's time to get working.
Firstjob, to get some publicity trailers in the can.
I'm Jean Claude Van Damme
and I love action movies
on NBC Action! Yeah!
Done? Next.
Don't miss the Van Damme week on NBC Action.
Exclusive. Yeah.
- Good? - Perfect.
I'm Jean Claude Van Damme and I'm all about action.
Don't miss me on NBC Action, yeah.
Good. Done.
After making light work ofthe trailers...
Thank you so much.
..Jean Claude throws a few stylish kicks to camera...
OK. Good. Enough?
..before sitting down to chat about his movies.
Thank you.
To be honest with you, my friend,
I made good movies, but I made also bad movies.
Because when I came to America,
I was kind of an outsider.
So I started those low-budget movies like Bloodsport and everything.
And I've done 1 0, 1 5 movies with first-time directors.
I succeed from video to theatrical...
then I did have my rock-and-roll type of life,
came down, and now slowly I'm coming back to the top.
It's not so easy to be a good actor.
I'm a medium actor and hopefully I will become better.
You know, like a wine.
- Apparently I've run out of time. - OK, thank you. Thank you so much.
But Jean Claude likes to make time for his fans.
And any appearance isn't over until it's over.
- Is that the camera? - This one.
Such an honour, a pleasure, everything.
Super.
Yes.
This lady, I will steal her. So beautiful, look at this.
- Thank you. - Arabic beauty.
- Ciao. - Pleasure.
Bye-bye.
- You OK? - Oh, yeah.
Bye-bye.
Thank you so much.
One, two, three, yeah!
It's Jean Claude's last night in Dubai
and he's been invited to the home of a wealthy Kazakh businessman for a party.
First stop is to check out the private gym.
Last time I trained here naked when I was drunk, like crazy.
Naked, can you believe it?
Took all my clothes. I don't know what happened to me.
Look at this gym.
Look at this gym...
(Groans)
My back.
The host, Nagatzi, who's done a bit of boxing,
fancies his chances against a martial arts hero.
Jean Claude is happy to oblige.
Super.
Ah! Super.
Super.
Champion.
Nagatzi's house is a des res Dubai-style.
As well as a gym, there's a private night club in the basement.
Which is just as well, as the guests are getting into party spirit.
We're gonna drink vodka to the people of the world for peace.
Our brother.
Jean Claude Van Damme, our brother.
Egypt, Kazakhstan, Chechen...
Ukraine.
Ukrainian.
OK.
Let's go for vodka.
- One shot of vodka for you. - The national drink.
OK? One, two...yeah!
And with vodka comes dancing.
Time to hit Nagatzi's night club.
? Dance music
Over the evening, one vodka seems to have turned into several.
Eric, we have to smoke a ciggie. Eric!
Where's your beluga?
They push me to start something.
See, they push me to drink.
Now I'm going onto a rollercoaster. It's always like that. Understand?
It's like a custom in Kazakhstan.
You have to drink.
Before he leaves, there's just time for Jean Claude to sign some souvenirs.
And to repay Nagatzi's hospitality,
Jean Claude decides to present his son Ali Khan with a gift.
It's a watch only, but...
Thank you.
I would never have imagined in my life that I would see you.
- You know, I grew up on your movies. - Thank you.
I don't have the time to talk to you,
I would like to show my respect.
I never... It's so unexpected.
For me. I've never...
All the time... Once...
Maybe ten years ago,
we fight here.
And we saw the movie with you and Jackie Chan.
Yes, yes, yes.
This is like a dream, you know.
OK. Thank you so much.
I think that I'm the happiest man in the world.
With the party over, it's time for Jean Claude to think about catching his flight.
We're gonna drive a nice...horse.
(Whinnies)
With people like that, how can you hate life?
Those people make me feel like... a king tonight.
I don't want to leave Dubai now because of them.
But I've got to go.
Bye, guys!
Goodbye, thank you.
I love the Arab world.
I love Arab world, OK?
? Arabic dance music
Next for me, I'm gonna go to Belgium.
And I'm gonna meet my dogs again. I can kiss them on the eyes,
on the nose, the face.
They're gonna be happy to see me.
Jean Claude is back in Belgium for a short visit
where one of his top priorities is to see his beloved dogs
that he 's rescued from all over the world.
OK. You too, my love.
I love you so much.
Kiss.
I heard in some countries
they say when you are a bad person, you come back as a dog.
Amazing.
Come here, dogs.
He's particularly worried,
because he needs to spend more and more time away
and might not see much of them for months on end.
I want to stay with my dogs.
(Voice cracks) I want to win this fight
and then stay with my dogs.
(Sniffs)
They talk to me.
I'm so lucky...
I'm tired, guys.
I'm tired.
Yeah, I'm tired.
Jean Claude's Belgian home is due to be renovated.
So the dogs that live inside must be rehoused.
He's invited project manager Michel around to discuss
building a dog house that will give his pets star treatment.
It's actually the first time
that someone spent so much money for such a place for his dogs.
It's not a usual thing we do in Belgium, no.
Because Jean Claude is very fond of his dogs,
we will make everything like he wants for his nice dogs.
If you want, we can put a heater in it.
My wife Gladys was very insisting on heaters and...
Yes, Gladys wanted...
Gladys, she's a momma chicken.
Wanted insulation in it.
Come here.
Come.
OK, so...
On Monday we put the plate?
The electric wires.
OK.
And...
It's like a little rat.
She loves you.
And...
We'll build you a castle, little princess.
I think she's peeing on the table.
- She's peeing? - Yeah, I think.
She always does it.
We start Monday, yeah? See you next time.
- Bye. - OK.
You'll call me for the price and everything.
- Like always. - OK. Bye.
Thank you, bye-bye.
Love you, man, thank you.
Because Jean Claude is only back for a few days,
he's taking every opportunity to spend quality time with the dogs.
As most of them have been rescued from the streets where they were running wild,
they're not used to being on a lead.
I'm afraid to let them go, instinctively. I don't feel right. I don't know why.
This one, she's a very, very tricky girl.
And we'll have a hard time to recoup them. (Sighs)
But we can do nothing about it. It's like being born... on the street.
And then you become successful.
It's difficult to change your roots.
It's the same for them.
You come back, please?
OK.
Go.
Jean Claude hasn't trained for many months.
But with his comeback fight on the horizon,
will soon need to get back into condition.
Oh, man.
I'm out of shape.
Ah...
At least it's my fault.
I have to make a decision really.
If I want to live or die.
I'm scared to die and...
And...
And to live I've got to shine and...
to shine I've got to do this fight.
And I've got to say bye-bye to the goodies.
And the good time.
If I don't say bye-bye to the goodies and the good time, I'm dead.
(Whistles)
Hey!
Come!
Yeah.
They are smart, they are smart.
Daddy has to talk about some issues.
Jean Claude has arranged to meet his parents and son Chris for a meal
in one of the local cafés.
I take a tuna.
I take tuna with hummus.
It's non-fat, it's good for your cholesterol.
(Speaks French)
He's also using the occasion to share some of his worries.
I'm really out of shape.
Really out of shape.
And you told me so many times, so many times.
My father used to smoke before but then he stopped at 40.
FATHER: Over 35.
Over 40 years maybe. 35 years, sure.
In Hollywood, I also... people smoke.
It's not an excuse.
It's always good to have your family in the country where you make it
because you get always protected.
I know.
And you always gave me a good education
and always loved me.
I'm was so happy and so proud that you made it in America.
When parents tell you,
if something doesn't work, you can always come back,
we have a place for you and food, through the rest of your life,
you feel very strong to go somewhere,
knowing that if it doesn't work,
you come back where you start.
Being protected.
And that's important. Thank you so much.
Each time he's going, we miss him a lot.
But I say, "OK, he's coming back soon."
But the serious mood gets interrupted
when Jean Claude senses a change in the atmosphere.
Did you fart on TV? Did you fart?
- Was it you? - No.
(They all talk at once)
Excuse me.
Scar?
Or Blondie? Did you fart?
Maybe it's the dogs.
Maybe it's the dog.
Is it you?
Non.
No.
If I fart, the lens will melt.
No, I'm joking.
In Flemish we say... (Speaks Flemish)
- The one who smell it... - The first...
In English, "Whoever smelt it, dealt it."
Your response would be, "Whoever denied it, supplied it."
You don't need details.
In a few months' time, Jean Claude must face the fight of his life
against Olympic kickboxer Somluck Kamsing.
There 's only one man he trusts to get him back into shape.
It's martial arts master Claude Goetz.
My teacher, he always helped me...
.. more mentally than physically.
And the two of us together...
always find a way to make it better.
Him and I are not normal.
In the sense of...
..we're doing karate scientific.
We were the first ones...
to come up
with real kick.
With real back and forth.
With the knee high.
With the movement of the hips.
With the one-kick knockout.
And now I want to be the first actor
to go and fight in a ring.
I cannot make it without him.
They've remained friends but haven't trained together
since Jean Claude left for Hollywood more than 25 years ago.
This is Ann, the wife of Claude.
Hello.
And she speaks English... Claude said yes, but...
That's the house of Claude.
Look, they have something outside.
Nice garden.
And Ann always gives me a banana, a tea.
Hey, Claude, come here.
Why don't you show some of the trophies?
All right.
Claude has trained and mentored
some of the world's most successful martial artists.
And his pioneering fight techniques
have also been adopted for military combat.
This training...
are special forces.
into a...
..a combat fight.
He shoots very, very fast.
With a double charger, reload and everything.
Yah!
Oui. C'est Ã§a.
That's why we love each other.
Years of martial arts have taken their toll on Jean Claude's noisy knees.
Claude, listen.
(Creaking)
That's...
(Speaks French) - That's a good sign? Why?
It's gonna make him scared.
He makes me happy.
Every time I go out of this place, I'm a different man.
As a child, Jean Claude was skinny and oversensitive.
So when he was 1 2,
his father brought him to Claude to build his confidence.
Look at me, my legs. What a loser.
They want this guy to win a fight? (Chuckles)
Little did he know where it would lead.
But I won my first competition.
Inside kick, very new for that time.
Nobody did it.
The guy fell down on his ass. I touched him on the shin.
I won my gym... Look at the size of my legs.
1 9 years old. Perfect roundhouse kick.
If I touch somebody there, it's a broken jaw, guarantee.
(Speaks French)
I haven't retired.
A real sex symbol at that time.
So, after all that life, how do you want me to be normal?
But it's time to put the past behind them
and talk about the huge challenge ahead.
Jean Claude's opponent is 1 2 years his junior.
Oh, Claude...
I feel, like, old.
(ln French)
I did enough excess for three lives.
From now on, no more excess.
Smoking joints,
cocaine,
the women, the sex.
- Sex, un peu. - Sex, of course.
But clean.
No cigarettes.
- No smoking. - No smoking.
No alcohol.
Just...
(ln French)
Two glasses of wine a day...
Somluck is a terrifying opponent.
And to win, Jean Claude's training schedule will have to be just as fearsome.
I've got to be trained his way, scientifically.
To become a robot.
He's going to train the mind...
..to being obedient
to the eyes only.
When the eyes see, that's where they hit.
And he said, with that,
I will hit 30 times faster than the normal.
It's like two cannons. They see, they shoot.
The hardest is to stop...the party,
I love life. I love life.
Come.
Call me tomorrow. Don't forget.
The visit to his old trainer has boosted Jean Claude,
and given him a vision for the way ahead.
This is bad, you know.
I've got to reopen.
When I train, I will reopen my body.
The tendon, the movement. The hips.
In a small way you have to feel like you're Pinocchio. This and that.
He goes like this. And I call that the screwdriver kick.
Inside. It's a jab.
It's like one, two, three. Pam!
And then, if he can take that good... I don't know where is the liver.
But I'll go...
This is a knockout.
He's like that.
When he comes back, it's the final one.
Screwdriver again. The right one.
It's over.
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