Martial arts action star Jean-Claude Van Damme once broke into his idol, Sylvester Stallone’s house in order to meet him. This incredible story of fan devotion and determination is one that will be remembered for years to come.
Ignoring the risks, Jean-Claude Van Damme set out on the journey to break into Sylvester Stallone’s house, but unfortunately, he spooked Stallone’s then-wife, Sasha Czack, and was caught by the authorities. However, the actor eventually got the opportunity to work with Stallone in Simon West’s The Expendables 2 (2012).
Jean-Claude Van Damme broke into Sylvester Stallone’s house
When actor Jean-Claude Van Damme was looking for his big break, he decided to break into Sylvester Stallone‘s house. The actor came to Los Angeles and only idolized one man, Sylvester Stallone. Van Damme once told Yahoo,
“I was around his house, and I see this blonde lady — it was his first wife [Sasha Czack] — coming out with a bicycle. 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 wanted to meet Stallone to convince his idol to work with him and was also looking for some career advice.
Jean-Claude Van Damme eventually worked with Sylvester Stallone
Van Damme eventually got the opportunity to work with his idol. Roughly 30 years after the incident, he starred in Simon West’s The Expendables 2 with Stallone. The movie featured not just Van Damme and Stallone, but also Jason Statham, Jet Li, Dolph Lundgren, Chuck Norris, Bruce Willis, and Arnold Schwarzenegger. The movie was a commercial success as fans loved the action-packed sequences. It managed to gross over $315 million worldwide.
Jean-Claude Van Damme refused to work in the first Expendables movie
As shocking as it may sound, Jean-Claude Van Damme got the opportunity to work with Sylvester Stallone in the original Expendables in 2010. He explained that he got 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.”
However, they patched things up later with the help of a mutual friend, and Van Damme starred in the sequel.
Source: Yahoo!
