So just how tall is Jean-Claude Van damme?
As one of Cinema's greatest action icons
Van Damme has appeared in many thoroughly entertaining films
And with a nickname like "The Muscles from Brussels"
How does his stature match up
To that tag line. And exactly what height does Van Damme claim to be?
Near the start of Van Damme's career he was actually cast as the Predator
However, that didn't quite pan out and the producer John Davis revealed the reason
"He was the original Predator until we realized the Predator couldn't be 5 foot 6"
He actually needed to be of Greater stature
FIVE FOOT SIX!
Surely that can't be right
John Claude himself has claimed various heights during his career
Back in 1986, he said he was five foot ten and a hundred and eighty five pounds
and then in 1989 he gave his tallest height to date
Saying he was only 5 foot 11 and that due to his long legs and great proportions he created this illusion
That he was taller on screen
When you see a photo like this
Then maybe Van Damme's claim isn't so outrageous!
Although if you watched a recent film in which they appeared together
It looks pretty clear that John Claude is shorter than Tyson
In fact he once mentioned that when people met him they were surprised at his height
'Oh You're so short'. "I think they expect me to be 6 foot 4 inches tall"
But maybe they'd just watched Universal Soldier
When Van Damme was acting beside giants like the six foot four inch Dolph Lundgren
The almost Six Foot Six inch Ralf Moeller
And the solid Six Foot Five inch
Tiny Lister, he was bound to look short
but Van Damme went even further a few years later when he was making Double Team
With the almost six foot seven inch Dennis Rodman
He asked the director
Make sure you film us from lower angles. So you get both of us in the frame
Comedian Richard Blackwood
Also had a preconceived notion that Van Damme was a little fellow
however Blackwood - who himself claims to be Six Foot tall
Was pleasantly surprised to discover
That Van Damme in person wasn't a little fella. Instead, he looked about Five Foot Eight
Van Damme gave Blackwood "That Look"
But in reply he gave his lowest height to date
Saying he was Five Nine
However in 2011, on Van Damme's own show
"Behind closed doors"
The subject of how tall he was came up
and Van Damme let his own Mother measure him
To say Jean Claude was absolutely delighted with the result
would be an understatement
Because he clocked in at 177 centimetres
but seriously, whose mother would undermeasure their son?
Would you ever call Stallone Short?
Van Damme certainly did, once saying
That being 5 foot 10 is a great height for the movies
Actors like Chuck Norris and Jason Statham are also in that category
But if you're tall, like say Dolph Lundgren then finding good villains is harder
Sylvester Stallone has great villains, because he's short
Van Damme has been photographed
With many big names throughout his career and he generally seems like an average height actor
I think with Blackwood, Van Damme was being very honest about his height
And during his peak years, he was at least in the 5 foot 9 range.
But being a film actor for 35 years
especially a martial arts action star
has taken it's toll and I reckon he's lost a fraction of an inch
And today just sits under Five Foot Nine