Is that a twinkle in his eye?
I'm guessing here, but I imagine the prospect of a new Jean-Claude Van Damme film doesn't fill you with much in the way of hope or expectation.
But, judging by the teaser trailer, the forthcoming JCVD looks a little different. Slated for release this May, the Belgian production is a film-within-a-film, in which the real JCVD confronts the makers of a biopic about him.
The self-styled Muscles From Brussels has never seemed like one to send up his own well-honed image, even if he's ripe for parody. But maybe I've got it all wrong about him.
Agreeing to appear in director Mabroul El Mechri's spoof suggests he's taken the film's tagline - 'Be aware" - to heart. Then again, looking at the characters he's played over the years, how could I have doubted his sense of humour? Here are my 10 favourites:
1. Chance Boudreaux, snake puncher extraordinaire. (Hard Target, 1993) 2. Phillip Sauvage (the brilliantly titled The Hard Corps, 2006) 3. Lyon Gaultier (Lionheart, 2000) - "You lose, you die!" 4. Frank Dux (Bloodsport, 1988) - "You break my record, now I break you!" 5. Gibson Rickenbacker (Cyborg, 1989) - a film apparently made for the sole reason that they had some spare Masters of the Universe costumes. 6. Edward 'The Torch' Garrotte, a man so hard he kills people twice. (Replicant, 2001) 7. Jacques Kristoff (Derailed, 2002). Can you guess where it's set? 8 and 9. Charles Le Vaillant / Rudy Cafmeyer (The Order, 2001). Two characters? How is that possible? 10. Gay Karate Man (Monaco Fever, 1984)
