Jean Claude Damme Interview Transcript
CNN.com: May 14
by Lorraine Hahn
Part # 3
LH:We met your son, Chris. He's 14; do you think he's going to follow in your footsteps?
JCVD: He can do whatever he wants. I mean within reason, I'm there to support him and I'm there to guide him. I'm a good father.
LH: What lessons have you passed onto your children?
JCVD: Respect, understanding and communication. To be aware, in life you have to be aware about everything, then we can understand the word God, which is you and I and everything around us. Not to be also afraid in life. Fear will paralyze you, being cautious is different. Being cautious will mobilize you, so you can see what's going on and move on. Fear will kill you, it's not good to be in fear in life and I don't want my children to have any types of fear.
LH:Do you think you'll put them in any of your movies?
JCVD: My son has just finished a movie with me, a good film called Derailed, good for him, I don't know for me. He was excellent.
LH: look forward to watching that movie. Jean Claude, we take e-mail questions as an interactive part of the show. There's a gentleman in Singapore called Edward and he wanted to ask you "Do you do all your stunts?"
JCVD: Not all of them. If you want to do them we have insurance problems, if something happens to the star the movie will be paralyzed. So sometimes we have stunt people who are doing the stunts, and they are wonderful people.
LH: Jean Claude, there are hundreds, possibly thousands of want to be Jean Claude Van Damme's out there, what sort of advice/tips would you give these people?
JCVD:To believe in that something, and if they cannot believe into that something they want to be, then start to act like you start to believe in it. For example, if I go into a room and I am very unhappy then I'm going to start acting happy, even fake it, and then I'm going to fake to be happy, by faking it people around me will start to feel happy and then it will come back to me. The best way to become an actor or a champion is to teach that person to be a champion. If I can teach you to be a champion that means I'm a champion. If not I cannot be a champion.
LH: This is TalkAsia, we're back with Jean Claude Van Damme. Jean Claude, we have the question of the week, it comes from Alex, here in Hong Kong: Would you say you were the world's most famous Belgian man alive?
JCVD: Not my opinion. I think because I'm in the media business some times we get exposed in a big, big way in TV. But we have wonderful people in Belgium and also we're all famous in a sense, you know what I'm saying?
LH: Yes, whether it's within your own family or group or community.
JCVD: Yes, exactly!
LH: Your native language, is it Flemish or French?
JCVD: I learned French, but a little Flemish too. My mother is from a Flemish area, and my father is from a French area.
LH: Your latest project, tell me about it.
JCVD: I've just finished two movies one called The Order and the other called Derailed. I'm going to start a new movie with my director Ringo Lam, he's from Hong Kong. Great director and a great friend. The movie will be called The Monk. I will play a Shoaling monk. A white monk, it's going to be like a comedy.
LH:Wow, interesting! Did you have to pick up anything from the Shoaling monastery?
JCVD: Absolutely! In fact soon I'll have to go to training to lose around 25 pounds because we are going to do loads of jumps, and I will have to pick up a very specific style called Kong Fu style. So when the Asian population see me I will not look like a Shotokan type of guy, which is like Japanese type of karate, which is what I learned when I was 11 years old.
LH:Derailed that movie, I understand it's about terrorism. Has the September 11th impact had any influence on action movies that you act in?
JCVD: The business is doing well for me. The buyers want action movies, with good stories of-course. I think it's good to have action heroes, because if something bad happens, on those planes for example, people would love to see a guy like me to tell the person to stop and to sit down. So sometimes it's good to be strong enough, not only to protect your family but people around you too, to protect society.
LH: How many more years do you think you can go on with this very physical acting that you do now?
JCVD: Only God knows.
LH:How many more years would you like to go on for?
JCVD: 10 years.
LH:How about injuries? Obviously your body undergoes major punishment, have you ever had a serious injury?
JCVD: I did have a few accidents but nothing comparing to when I was a sports man. In movies were faking all punches, kicks and jumps, it's all well choreographed by professional people. So we are not provoking injuries, in fact it's very well done so nothing happens. But some times in action something can happen but less chances, it's more dangerous to cross the street in Hong Kong.
LH: Yes, that is true, but mistakes can happen. How do you protect yourself?
JCVD: By keeping my distance, by putting the right angle of camera behind my so called opponent and by repeating the action in slow motion first and then faster and faster until the two actors feel comfortable.
LH:Before we let you go Jean Claude, when you go back to your home country what do you think you have brought back?
JCVD: Knowledge, life is about knowledge and experience. For example I'm sitting with you here knowing that tonight I'm going to have a nice dinner with some Chinese friends, so I've got so much knowledge for my age and I've traveled so much around the world I can understand different philosophies and countries. So it's really great.
LH:OK. Thank you very much, we really appreciate having you here.
JCVD:My pleasure. Hello to all my fans.
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