Career: On his arrival in the US, Van Damme didn't speak English, but claims he learnt the language by watching The Flintstones. He struggled to land parts at first, taking numerous odd jobs to make ends meet. Chuck Norris gave him a role in Missing in Action (1984) but several forgettable movies followed until he got his big break playing a villain in 1988's No Retreat, No Surrender. His good looks and amazing martial arts skills then led to leading roles in such films as Kickboxer (1989), Double Impact (1991), Universal Soldier (1992), Hard Target (1993), Timecop (1994) and Street Fighter (1995). He then went on to star in a number of poorly received movies. More recently, he voiced a character in Kung Fu Panda 2 (2011) and played the aptly titled Jean Vilain in The Expendables 2 (2012).