Steven Seagal meets Jean-Claude Van Damme in the ring? Many dreamed of seeing these action movie icons compete against each other. And that could have been the case if the legendary monolithic actor hadn’t spurned the offer, even at $20 million.
Nico, trap on the high seas, failure and death, destined to die, cruel justice on one side. Bloodsport, Kickboxer, Punch for Punch, Double Impact and Full Contact on the other hand. Steven Seagal and Jean-Claude Van Damme, two icons of the action film of the 80s and 90s who delighted lovers and shelves of video clubs.
Two stars who hardly liked each other in their ego trip and never failed to attack each other just to cover each other. But many people dreamed of seeing her compete. And if it wasn’t on screen, why not in a ring?
In a recent interview with the Telegraph, Van Damme revealed that the idea was seriously considered by famed producer Peter Guber: “They had the idea of having a fight between me and Steven at the Mirage Hotel in Las Vegas. 20 million dollars per person.” . [Steven] has withdrawn”.
Who of the two would have emerged victorious from this hypothetical confrontation has his own idea at JCVD: “When he and I fight, I run faster than him – much faster. I would like to run away. He’ll try.”Run away from me. Catch and run out of breath. Then I’ll come back and fight.”
“Can I laugh in your face?”
Obviously it’s always easier to replay the fight after the fact, especially if it didn’t happen… Because you forget that Steven Seagal still holds a 7th Dan black belt in Aikido and even had a dojo in Japan in the 1970s He also taught martial arts to several top athletes.
When Invicta Fighting Championships host Michael Schiavello asked him in 2008 whether Jean-Claude Van Damme was “the most legitimate tough guy in Hollywood,” Seagal’s response shot out like a tracer bullet: “I can tell you that you’re in the mood face laughing?”
The Expendables Litigation
The Expendables franchise is a pure revival venture that aims to bring together all of the old action movie successes. He has managed to surpass the recall of a whole range of specialists in the field. and not only that: Chuck Norris, Jet Li, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Dolph Lundgren, Sylvester Stallone of course, Wesley Snipes, Bruce Willis, Harrison Ford, Mel Gibson, JCVD…
Amid these king-sized castings, one old fame was always missing: Steven Seagal. During production of The Expendables: Special Victims Unit, Stallone reportedly offered Seagal the role of Mr. Church, which was eventually played by Bruce Willis. In the second episode he would have thought of Seagal again before giving preference to his great enemy Jean-Claude Van Damme.
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In 2013, a year before the release of Expendables 3, the armlock and other deadly holds expert was cast. In June 2014, in an interview with Big Issue, the energetic Panda (yes, that’s his nickname too) dismissed the idea entirely: “Whoever said that is a lying and complicit scum.” Pretty…
“I don’t like some of the people involved. (…) Life is too short, you might as well work with nice people. (…) There are good and bad people everywhere and in The Expendables some are friendly towards me.” . So it’s okay. (…) I like Jason Statham, I like Jet Li, people like that.”
Aside from the fact that Seagal didn’t appreciate seeing JCVD in the cast of Expendables 2, it’s also an old financial dispute that put him at odds with producer Avi Lerner, who owned the rights through his company Millenium Films in the famous action saga.
KSM
In the 2000s, the two men had the opportunity to work together on some DTVs such as Deep Water Trap (2005), Mercenary (2006) and Killing Point (2008). But their relationship quickly deteriorated when the actor, known for his monolithism, began to become more and more financially greedy.
In any case, Seagal has a lot on his plate now that he has been appointed by Vladimir Putin as a special representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry “in charge of Russian-American humanitarian relations.” And even awarded the Order of Friendship by the Kremlin Master for his “great contribution to the development of international cultural and humanitarian cooperation.” Yes / Yes…