LYCOS RETRIEVER 
Jean-Claude Van Damme: United States
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Adopting various stage names like Frank Cujo and Jean-Claude Vandam, he made ends meet in a variety of odd jobs. Cast in his first feature, the 1983 French film "Rue Barbere", he clashed with the director and either quit or was fired (depending on whose version one believes). After finally getting his first acting role, as a gay hitchhiker in the short "Monaco Forever" (1984), Van Damme finally landed a major role as the Russian opponent to an American karate student in "No Retreat No Surrender" (1986). After approaching producer Menahem Golan outside a Beverly Hills restaurant, Van Damme demonstrated his unique contribution to the martial arts genre: executing a karate kick to his opponent's head during an impressive 360-degree leap. Suitably impressed, the producer hired him for "Bloodsport" (1988), which has acquired status as a minor cult classic. The low-budget film earned an impressive $35 million box office, helping Van Damme to partially achieve his goal to become a movie star.
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Belgian actor JEAN-CLAUDE VAN DAMME showed off his best martial arts moves to Russian president VLADIMIR PUTIN during a competition in St. Petersberg at the weekend (15Apr07). The actor attended the Konstantinovsky palace with scores of martial arts fighters to take part in a contest, which was filmed by state television. Putin told fighters, "You have a very tough sport, but it is not without dignity and respect toward your partner. Brave people are in this sport." Van Damme says he was honoured to have been invited to the contest, adding, "I know that officials can give speeches, but what the President just said was not a political speech, but that of a person speaking from the heart."
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In 1979, the nineteen year old Jean-Claude (fighting under his birth name of Van Varenberg) won the European Full-Contact Championship in the middleweight division. A series of quick knockouts over Andre Robaeys, Jacques Piniarski, and Rolf Risberg, prepared Jean-Claude for the up-coming world championships in the United States.
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