Sometimes a picture is all it takes to have someone’s entire career destroyed. But for Jean-Claude Van Damme, a single picture is all it took for him to allegedly destroy his co-star’s career. Van Damme is an amazing actor, having played numerous illustrious characters over the years.
His fame and immense popularity have made him a considerable force of influence when it comes to movies and projects. It was this influence that allegedly enabled him to put an end to a project that would have provided his co-star a much-needed breakthrough.
Also Read: Jean-Claude Van Damme Just Filmed for 20 Days for 2009 Movie That Saved His Career, Made $70M Profit
Jean-Claude Van Damme Cancelled His Co-stars Breakthrough Movie
Years ago a movie documentary about Mark Kerr, a mixed martial artist was released. Titled The Smashing Machine, it was received well and got many positive responses from the audience. Soon after, the movie was scheduled to be made as a biopic and Jean-Claude Van Damme was cast as the main star. Then tragedy struck and the movie was abruptly canceled just mere days from filming. At that time, creative differences and conflicts of opinion regarding the project were listed as the main reason why the project was shelved.
However, if you were to ask Manu Bennett, who was cast as a lead character in the biopic, he blames Jean-Claude Van Damme for the movie’s cancellation.
“He’d seen a picture of me, and I was absolutely pumped, and he was not in the best shape of his life at that time. This f*ck-up just thinks of himself. He looks at this photo of me and feels egotistically challenged.”
Excited to work on such an amazing project with a lead like Van Damme, Benett trained hard to gain over 44 pounds for the role. However, after the Universal Soldier star saw his co-star’s bulked-up body he had the project canceled since he couldn’t accept anyone else looking better than him.
Manu Bennett Suffered Terribly After Jean-Claude Van Damme Cancelled His Movie
Manu Bennett was a complete stranger when he was cast in The Smashing Machine. As soon as he got the role, the star spent all his savings on training for the role. In the three months prior to the production, he worked recklessly and even experimented with the banned substances that his character would in the movie. Soon, as he says he got into the best shape of his life.
When the movie got canceled, the Arrow star had no other projects and zero savings. Desperate and having no money at all, he took a day-laborer job at a building site, toiling away to make a living. Fortunately, he got a call from the producers of Spartacus and he finally got the break he deserved.
You can catch Manu Bennett in his breakthrough role in Spartacus on Google Play.
Source: Men’s Journal
