Quotes from Jean-Claude Van Damme

I've become 40, my audience is partly the same age.

You can create the perfect triceps by just pushing yourself off your wall.

I came to America with a dream and I made it. The dream became reality. America is built for success.

You need at least six or seven years to understand the philosophy and concentration of karate to know to clean your spirit of everything and dedicate your mind and body to the sport.

It looks good when you see someone kicking at the age of 51 with no double. It's kinda cool for people to know that past 50 we can keep flexible.

God gave me a great body and it's my duty to take care of my physical temple.

I'm not complaining about doing 20-hour days. It's a joy to be able to work on yet another film.

But on average, I go to the gym about four or five times a week. Today, I'm so experienced in training - I'm actually listening to my body now. My body needs freedom. When I train I create serenity and I produce oxygen in my blood. It helps me to think better and relax. By training, you accentuate the problem.

A cookie has no soul, it's just a cookie. But before it was milk and eggs. And in eggs there's the potential for life.

Karate's a very boring sport, but when you know the technique you can go further and further.

Because no matter what you say in life, the truth will always be the truth. You know when someone is telling the truth, you look in the eyes. I have a tendency to believe people.

What I promise to my actors, and to my director, is to give them the salary and everything they need.

When you finish a film, if you believed in your character, you're empty.

When I was 24, I was full of life. I was that ham who wanted to be famous, a movie star, all that stuff. I think it's cool. But it was not what I was searching for, really. It was more a delusion.

My time of martial arts was traditional.

I came back to my original wife. I came back to her after I made a few boo-boos in my life. Coming back to her was good for me, good for her and good for the children.

I love challenges. If you don't have any and can do whatever you want, then it's probably time to die.

I love karate, it's like a bible to me. But deep inside I'm so I mean, I'm so sensitive.

Believe me - I've done very good stuff and very crazy stuff, and I don't regret the crazy stuff.

I'm one of the most sensitive human beings on Earth - and I know it.

I'm not a movie star. I'm a brand name. Van Damme is like Levi's. I go on vacation, and everywhere I go, people love me for my name, not for my movies.

I don't have a bad relationship. I'm 48 years old. I think life is too short for that. To me, life is... you open the shutters, you see the dogs outside, you look left, you look right, in, what, a second and a half? And that's a life.

Life is short. I'm 47 years old. I've got 10 years to go where I can be the best I can be. I want those 10 years to be precious, not like before, cranking two or three movies a year. I've made a ton of movies in my life, but so what?

When I go on location, we have a schedule. And when you have a schedule, you know when you're not working, so I train very well on location. But I also train three or four times a week at home, but today I train differently than before.