LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: In the Hollywood industry, Jean-Claude Van Damme is one of the most recognizable figures. The Belgian actor is also a skilled martial artist, talented filmmaker, and skilled choreographer of fight sequences. One of the most recognizable martial art action heroes of all time is widely regarded as being of 'Death Warrant' infamy.
Van Damme was a major Sylvester Stallone admirer in his youth and once went against all rationale to meet his idol. Action martial artist Van Damme once broke into his idol Stallone's home to meet him. This amazing tale of fan fervor and tenacity will live on in the minds of people for years to come.
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'I just want to do karate with Stallone'
The first time, the former karate champion from Belgium was a struggling actor who had just moved to Los Angeles and was trying to break into the film industry. So he did what any ambitious young aspirant would do: he bought a 'Star Map' and attempted to break into Stallone's Pacific Palisades home in order to meet the 'Rocky' and 'Rambo' star for some career guidance.
Once, Van Damme told Yahoo Entertainment, "I was around his house, and I see this blonde lady — it was his first wife [Sasha Czack] — coming out with a bicycle." Van Damme said that he then jumped over the fence enclosing Stallone's property with help from a friend. "I was trying to go above his wall. … [Czack] saw that she called the cops. They came right away. But I [said], ‘I’m a big fan. I just want to do karate with Stallone.’ They [heard] the accent, they saw in my eyes I was innocent. They said, ‘Move on,'" Van Damme added.
Van Damme sought out Stallone in order to encourage his idol to collaborate with him and to ask for career guidance. The actor eventually encountered Sylvester Stallone, and the two of them collaborated on a number of films.
Sylvester Stallone 'didn’t talk' to Jean-Claude Van Damme
Once, in 2010, Van Damme had the chance to collaborate with Stallone on the first 'Expendables.' In the Yahoo! interview, he described receiving a call from Stallone, "At that time I wanted to make one more martial arts movie called Tower. [Stallone] called me and I heard his voice and Expendables.’ I said, ‘But I’ve got something for you! This movie Tower.’ So he’s calling me to ask me to be in Expendables, and I’m asking Stallone to be in my movie. So he called the producers. ‘This guy’s whacked, you know.’ So I made a mistake, I guess. So he didn’t talk to me."
Luckily, he and Stallone were able to work out a solution that made it possible for them to collaborate.
