There are three actors in this world who I will always have an adoration for, and Jean-Claude Van Damme happens to be one of them. Growing up, I was a scrawny kid who got his ass-kicked a lot and Van Damme helped me escape to the fantasy world and believe that one day I’d grow up to be just like him - big, tough, non-shit taker. That day never came but I still loved all the films he made pre-STREET FIGHER. It wasn’t until JCVD that Van Damme got back to what he initially seemed to have lost, his passion for film.

Two weeks ago I was asked if I wanted to interview Van Damme on behalf of his latest film, ASSASSINATION GAMES. After punch-dancing my happiness (I’m serious, that really happened), I did an interview with him via email. Unlike a lot of the straight-to-DVD movies he has done in the past, ASSASSINATION GAMES has some heart to it. In the film, Van Damme plays a lone assassin who teams up with another gun for hire (played by Scott Adkins) to take down a vicious mob boss.

Among the things we talk about in the interview, I got Van Damme to open up about his brilliant and somewhat candid performance of himself in JCVD, why his last few films haven’t had his signature moves, and where his career is heading.

Read the full interview on Twitch Film.