Jean Claude Van Damme: A Reexamination of His Screen Persona

A Man's Persona is a commentary series that delves into the male performers on screen, past and present, traversing different nationalities and film genres. It is posited that if film stars truly mirror the requirements and yearnings of their audience during any given period, then scrutinizing their public images, widespread appeal, dedicated followings, and distinct attractions can illuminate a great deal about how cinema has both fashioned—and at times, dismantled—the concept of masculinity across our screens.

In Mabrouk El-Mechri's 2008 dramatic work, JCVD, the seasoned action performer Jean-Claude Van Damme portrays… a seasoned action performer by the name of Jean-Claude Van Damme. Back in his native Belgium, where he is lauded as a national icon despite the fact that his most celebrated period has passed, the actor finds himself unexpectedly embroiled in a robbery and hostage scenario reminiscent of any of his cinematic ventures. The film touches upon Van Damme's history of extravagant conduct with women and narcotics, incorporating elements like breaking the fourth wall, mock-documentary sequences, self-referential jokes concerning his prior work, and a pervasive undertone of sorrow. During one extended direct address to the camera, Van Damme, visibly moved, articulates his struggles, concluding with a lament of profound despair: 'What have I truly accomplished in this existence? Absolutely nothing!'

Van Damme delivers a remarkably compelling performance in this role, utilizing his recognizable muscular build as if it were a burden; he conveys a sense of exhaustion yet retains an inherent dignity. He demonstrates a degree of self-awareness that perhaps appears more pronounced than ever before—however, this trait has invariably been present. Whether lending his voice to characters in Kung Fu Panda (2008) or playfully satirizing himself in various advertisements, Van Damme has, in recent years, wholeheartedly embraced the lighthearted aspects of his public image, a strategy that makes his contemporaries in the aging action hero domain seem rather somber by comparison.

Yet, if any singular facet of Van Damme's persona was something he was consistently cognizant of and adept at capitalizing upon, it would undoubtedly be his inherent sex appeal. To the extent that some of Van Damme's iconic martial arts films from the ‘90s—such as Double Impact (1991), Hard Target (1993), and subsequently, titles like Swelter (2014) and Pound of Flesh (2015), among others—bear titles that might be misconstrued as having a pornographic connotation, this observation feels rather fitting. Among his cohort of hyper-masculine peers, including Steven Seagal, Sylvester Stallone, and Arnold Schwarzenegger, he stood out as by far the most evident sexualized figure.

Van Damme, originally a champion of karate and a student of dance, had dedicated his formative years to the discipline of martial arts since his youth in Belgium. Upon relocating to the United States as a young adult, he engaged in various occupations, including working as a bouncer, an extra, and a stuntman, before his eventual discovery and subsequent leading role in Bloodsport (1988). The film's producer, Mark di Salle, aptly articulated what he sought in Van Damme, stating that the actor represented precisely what he had been searching for: 'a new martial arts star who was also a ladies' man, capable of attracting both male and female audiences.'

Possessing fair hair and a square jaw, with exceptionally broad shoulders yet a more compact physique compared to colossal figures like Dolph Lundgren, Van Damme exuded a handsome, approachable charm. Renowned for his signature split maneuvers, which invariably showcased a perky, well-defined posterior, and his bulging muscles accentuated by form-fitting vests, Van Damme also consistently engaged in self-objectification for the camera's lens. A recurring motif of bathtubs, lakes, and showers seemed to perpetually feature him in a state of undress; he was frequently discovered by unexpected characters. In Lionheart (1991), an adversary utters to him, 'I'm uncertain whether my intention is to combat you or engage in intimacy with you.' Subsequently, in Nowhere to Run (1993), a young girl who stumbles upon him bathing remarks with stark factualness, 'He has a large penis.' (This observation is later amended by her mother, portrayed by Roseanna Arquette, who corrects her with, 'He possesses an average-sized penis,' an exchange that might be considered one of the most peculiar instances of maternal-child dialogue in nearly any film from the 1990s.) Whether his hair was slicked back or his torso glistened with sweat, his bare upper body was virtually as recognizable as his bare posterior. He presented both with a similar casualness typically reserved for revealingly dressed women.

As exceptionally graceful in his balletic display of spinning kicks and dynamic punches as he was, Van Damme also possessed a winning, self-deprecating smile that rendered him endearingly awkward. Whether he was delivering a punch to a rattlesnake or cheekily presenting his rear to the camera with a knowing smirk over his shoulder, Van Damme did not object if the audience found themselves chuckling along the way. A rigid adherence to seriousness was not his primary modus operandi. In commercially successful productions such as Kickboxer (1989), an archetypally eighties dance sequence culminates in a chaotic bar brawl. In Double Impact (1991), Van Damme embodies a dual role as long-lost twins, one of whom is depicted as an ostentatious fitness instructor from Los Angeles. His character is introduced through a notably passionate and tongue-in-cheek sequence. He guides a group of scantily clad young women in aerobics attire, assisting them with their 'stretches,' before displaying his own pelvic musculature in extremely tight leggings, thrusting suggestively towards an admiring audience of females. This constitutes such a playful acknowledgment of his popularity among women that it is virtually inconceivable he was not privy to this interpretation.

Van Damme's 1993 interview with Playgirl magazine served to corroborate this very notion. He expressed considerable surprise at receiving such a significant volume of fan mail from female admirers as an action star. 'That,' he stated, 'is precisely why I undertook Nowhere to Run—to explore something different, incorporating a greater emphasis on the romantic and relational aspects of the narrative. My objective was to cater to their preferences.'

For the film Nowhere to Run, screenwriter Joe Eszterhas, renowned for Basic Instinct, was brought on board; however, the reception to this effort was notably subdued. Nevertheless, it represented a noteworthy attempt to fulfill Van Damme's stated ambition—to broaden his appeal to female fans and to embody a romantic protagonist opposite Rosanna Arquette. Vanessa Letts, writing for the Spectator newspaper, characterized the film as follows: 'The plot is merely a series of unsubstantial justifications for dressing Van Damme in various outfits and then undressing him once more.' While this assessment is accurate, it is admittedly the kind of criticism that I find difficult to endorse. If Van Damme's allure strikes contemporary female audiences as somewhat absurd, one should recall his cameo appearance as himself in a 1994 episode of the television series Friends, where the characters Monica and Rachel engage in a dispute over his attention. In retrospect, this particular instance may very well stand as the ultimate testament to his widespread influence during the early portion of that decade.

Furthermore, it was evident that Van Damme's appeal extended beyond solely female demographics. In a subsequent interview with Movieline magazine the following year, Van Damme remarked, 'I am not bothered by having gay admirers. Perhaps they appreciate me due to their elevated sense of discernment.' While this statement could be construed as both egotistical and broadly stereotypical, it nevertheless demonstrated a shrewd understanding of homoeroticism, a theme discernible throughout Van Damme's filmography. As noted by academic scholar Yvonne Tasker, it is rather difficult to overlook the fact that Van Damme bears a striking resemblance to a model for a Tom of Finland illustration, and she is by no means the sole academic to highlight the scarcely concealed homosexual undertones present in the 'hardbody' action films of this particular era. The hyper-masculinity projected by stars such as Van Damme is amplified; his polished musculature is frequently encased in military attire, and other markers of aggression and machismo are employed in a manner that actively seeks to mitigate anything that could be perceived as—simply put—'excessively gay.'

The pinnacle of this phenomenon might well be found in Roland Emmerich's 1992 film Universal Soldier, wherein Van Damme and Dolph Lundgren portray reanimated super-soldiers who are pitted against each other due to the resurgence of animosity from a prior existence. The premise is approximately as outlandish as it sounds, yet it provides considerable entertainment, particularly as Van Damme grapples with relearning fundamental tasks like eating, leading to several humorous misinterpretations. Emmerich, who identifies as gay, takes great pleasure in continually discovering pretexts to strip both super-soldiers bare on every opportune moment. In this specific instance, the justification is particularly ingenious: the super-soldiers possess the potential to fatally overheat, necessitating their cooling through relatively frequent nude ice baths. Repeatedly, the erotically portrayed Van Damme would engage with the camera, fully aware of his broad appeal to women and gay men, in addition to the traditionally robust audience for martial arts cinema. The 'Muscles from Brussels' indeed possessed a shrewd intellect regarding his public persona and exhibited no compunction whatsoever in showcasing his physical attributes.