Jean-Claude Van Damme

Project: Predator

He is a Belgian actor who entered the entertainment industry in the late ‘70s and found fame in the ‘80s. He is greatly known for his action-packed film, which includes Bloodsport, Kickboxer, and the Universal Soldier franchise.

In the John McTiernan-directed film Predator, there were several theories as to why he was axed from portraying the character. One, he couldn’t stop himself from kickboxing. Van Damme wanted the role “to be a kickboxer alien from outer space” but Joel Silver, the producer of the now-known movie, was not pleased with this concept. Two, he broke a Predator head which cost $20,000. However, there were reports that he was never on the set, so this one might be untrue. Kevin Peter Hall filled in for this film, which was released on June 12, 1987. The movie had a worldwide gross of over $98 million, 5.5 times the production budget of $18 million.