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Van Damme explains why he’s not in THE EXPENDABLES

Chase Whale

by: Chase Whale
January 15th, 2010

When THE EXPENDABLES announced their star line-up, it included almost every popular action star from the late 80s, early 90s, and today. But there was one guy missing from the list that should have been in this film. That guy was Van Damme (sorry, Chuck). Rumors floated that Van Damme turned down the role to do UNIVERSAL SOLDIER: REGENERATION, but if you've seen that film, you'll notice Dolph Lundgren's in it. The giant blonde - who still looks like he's in his 30s - also has a big part in THE EXPENDABLES. So why was VAN DAMME expendable enough to pass up THE EXPENDABLES?

After the jump is a video of a Van Damme explaining why he didn't do the movie. According to Van Damme, he's now looking for more grown-up work, and all Stallone would tell him was that he would be playing "a guy who fights like boom boom boom!" Not much is learned other than JCVD can do a great Stallone impersonation. Check it out.

Source JoBlo

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  • Mike

    Im a huge Van Damme fan but he was a damn fool for not taking the role. I don't care what his b.s. excuse is. The real reason is that he didn't want to share screen time with all the other big names…atleast, that's what I think. Im still a fan though and I thoroughly enjoyed US3: Regeneration. He just needs to make smarter decisions. This was probably his last chance to be a part of a big theatrical movie.

  • http://www.twitter.com/chasewhale Chase Whale

    I'm with you on this – after his strong comeback with JCVD, this would have been another golden opportunity.

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  • Mike

    Im a huge Van Damme fan but he was a damn fool for not taking the role. I don't care what his b.s. excuse is. The real reason is that he didn't want to share screen time with all the other big names…atleast, that's what I think. Im still a fan though and I thoroughly enjoyed US3: Regeneration. He just needs to make smarter decisions. This was probably his last chance to be a part of a big theatrical movie.

  • http://www.twitter.com/chasewhale Chase Whale

    I'm with you on this – after his strong comeback with JCVD, this would have been another golden opportunity.

  • Mike

    Definitely! JCVD was great and this would have been another huge step in the right direction.

  • Spider

    It's seems as though Sly was offering Van Damme a disposable, 'henchman' role! I also read that after Van Damme had turned it down, Sly re-wrote it for Dolph Lundgren! Well, things always happen for a reason and I'm sure we will see a growing trend of ensembles of this nature once the flick hits BIG! It would have been nice to see Van Damme though! Somehow, I get the feeling we will see him in the big screen sooner than later, anyway. ……….Also of note Seagal made up for knocking down a role by doing Robert Rodriguez's “Machete”. Seagal turned down his role due to personal issues with producer Avi Lerner!

  • Spider

    It's seems as though Sly was offering Van Damme a disposable, 'henchman' role! I also read that after Van Damme had turned it down, Sly re-wrote it for Dolph Lundgren! Well, things always happen for a reason and I'm sure we will see a growing trend of ensembles of this nature once the flick hits BIG! It would have been nice to see Van Damme though! Somehow, I get the feeling we will see him in the big screen sooner than later, anyway. ……….Also of note Seagal made up for knocking down a role by doing Robert Rodriguez's “Machete”. Seagal turned down his role due to personal issues with producer Avi Lerner!

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