The 80s were a simpler time. A time of weird hairstyles and clothes, good music, and most importantly, high testosterone action.
This decade gave us Rambo, Terminator, Die Hard and Lethal Weapon, along with the legendary macho looks of Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone, the humor of Bruce Willis, the madness of Mel Gibson and the fighting skills of Jean-Claude Van Damme and Steven Rye.
The home video boom also contributes to the popularization of the genre, which transforms each new film into a significantly more accessible experience for the general public.
In turn, the advancement of technology sparked the imaginations of writers and directors, known and unknown, who decided there was a lot of money to be made from insane stories with pumped-up actors or fighting skills (preferably both) to whack, blow up and shoot everything alive.
Riding the crest of the wave are Schwarzenegger and Stallone with their impromptu discussion of who is the biggest action star. Behind them, however, two more stars breathe – masters of martial arts, who have had their own conflict with each other for many years.
In the mid-1990s, Sivan Segal and Jean-Claude Van Damme were at the peak of fame with quite a few hit films, along with a few failures. The two were arguably the most famous martial artists in Hollywood at the time, and this logically gave rise to public jokes about who was better.
In many of his television appearances, Segal regularly challenged his co-star’s acting qualities and his potential as a fighter.
For example, in one of his interviews, the star of “Under Siege” even expressed doubts that Van Damme was a karate and kickboxing champion before becoming an actor.
“I think it’s a matter of perspective if [Ван Дам] he was a champion somewhere,” Segal said in an early 90s interview. “Look, I don’t want to pick on you. I wish the man the best, but there are many people who think that’s not true.”
One of them is the 11 times kickboxing world champion Don Wilson, who challenges the Belgian actor to sparring. However, Van Damme never accepted the gauntlet thrown down.
That’s not to say he missed Segal’s comments, who often speaks with great self-confidence and utter disrespect for other fellow actors like Michael J. White or Chuck Norris.
The aikido master is also known for his rather arrogant and unprofessional behavior towards the teams he works with, especially the stuntmen and stunt doubles.
There have been numerous on-set incidents over the years in which Segal has targeted or intentionally injured crew members around him, including actor John Leguizamo, who was pushed into a wall while filming Emergency Decision after a harmless joke.
Michael Jay White, who starred in several films with Segal, also confirmed that the aikido master often hit stuntmen during fight scenes and did not try to protect them at all.
At the same time, Segal likes to put himself out there and joke around, especially with Van Damme when he gets the chance.
The two never end up in the same movie together, but they come close to settling their dispute at a party.
In 2008, Sylvester Stallone himself spoke of a moment when Van Damme and Segal saw each other at a gathering at his mansion
“We were at a party at my house in Miami in 1997,” she said in an interview with British magazine FHM.
“Van Dam was sick of hearing how Segal could kick his ass, so he suggested they meet outside in my garden. Segal apologized and walked off. Only Van Dam, who was furious, followed him into a bar and challenged him again.”
According to Stallone, the fight never took place, but on the other hand he is confident who would prevail.
“Van Dam was too strong and Segal didn’t want to fight,” Rocky adds onscreen.
