The beloved actor from the 1990s was once a part of the beloved movie franchise titled Predator before getting fired, thus never actually making it on the screen in the role of the predator.
Once Predator came out in the theatres and it got revealed through the sources that the first choice of the crew to play the character of the Predator was Van Damme, questions began to arise on the reason behind his replacement.
Fans were left in a pickle wondering whether Van’s rude behavior was the reason for Van getting fired or his ability as an actor to perform the role of the Predator, which ultimately had him replaced.
Born in Sint-Agatha-Berchem, Belgium, on October 18, 1960, Van Damme, originally Jean-Claude Camille Francois Van Varenberg, is a Belgian professional former martial artist turned actor known for his role in Bloodsport. Under the direction of Claude Goetz, Van Damme joined the Centre National de Karate at the young age of 12.
Van moved to the United States alongside his best friend in hopes of making it big as an actor. Damm started his career as an extra at Breakin’s set in 1984. The brilliant Belgian actor has been in a loving marriage with Gladys Portugues.
Some of Van Damme’s known movies consist of Monaco Forever, Cyborg, Lionheart, The Quest, Replicant, Darkness Of Man, We Die, Young, Las Vegas, Ramez Movie Star, etc. Throughout Van Damme’s career, he has been a controversial personality with a mocked public image.
He has been a part of mockery on several occasions for the picturesque, saying that he often delivers on a variety of topics consisting of environment, dogs, women, etc. Well, did you know the beloved actor has a statue of himself in Anderlecht, which got unveiled in 2012?
The first movie of the Predator franchise made it to the big screens on June 12, 1987, with Arnold Schwarzenegger as the lead. The film touched the right amount of emotions of individuals with its distinctive plotline, as it was way ahead of its time.
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Van Damme Fired From Predator: Reason Revealed
Well, for everyone interested in knowing the reason behind Van getting fired from Predator, it is finally out in the open that Van getting fired was a series of unjust decisions by the movie makers. Initially, Jean was set to play the role of the predator, which was later portrayed by Kevin Peter Hall.
The role of the fierce cosmic villain was all Van’s until he suffered from an unfortunate medical emergency. During the shooting of the terrific movie, the producers became Van fainting continuously due to dehydration.
The film’s producer warned Van after he had fainted twice during the ongoing shoot about getting fired if he fainted again during the shoot. To this, Damm had replied that he wasn’t fainting on purpose. Van, unfortunately, got fired from the movie after he failed to control his fainting issues and ended up fainting two weeks later during the shoot.
This was the last stick that broke the camel’s back, and the producers were ballistic with Damm and ended up firing him. Another reason revealed anonymously through a person working at the sets who gained traction was Damm got fired after he didn’t comply with the crew’s instruction of not participating in kickboxing due to the amount of dehydration he was going through.
After Van was instructed not to kickbox during his scenes as the predator due to the producers not seeing the predator as a kickboxer, Van refused the instruction stating he sees the predator as a kickboxer. This led to his ultimate dismissal from the sets of Predator.
One of the main reasons behind Van’s dismissal from the movie was his breaking a prop head of the Predator worth $20,000.During one of the scenes, Van begins to hyperventilate in the predator suit, which leads to him getting bothered and ends with Van removing the head of the costume and smashing it to the ground.
Damm has openly stated that he didn’t like the predator suit he was supposed to wear during the shooting of the movie as it restricted his vision and breathing. The initial suit also stopped Jean from moving in the way he was supposed to without compromising his safety.
The reason Jean got hired initially for the role of the predator was because of his free and easy moves, which became impossible to do due to wires in the predator suit constricting his movements. There were three main reasons behind Van getting fired from the movie.
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