Jean-Claude Van Damme says Steven Seagal once turned down a hefty sum of money to fight him.
As a martial artist and actor, Van Damme, 63, recently spoke to the British The Telegraph about his career and longtime feud with Seagal, 71, Van Damme recalled how film producer and executive Peter Guber once wanted to promote a feud between Van Damme and Seagal, who had been feuding publicly since the 1990s.
“They had the idea of a fight between me and Steven at The Mirage [in Las Vegas]”, Van Damme told the newspaper. “Twenty million each. He didn’t accept the fight.”
A rep for Seagal did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.
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Jean-Claude Van Damme December 12, 2017
Marc Piasecki/Getty
Van Damme, who was promoting his new Irish whiskey brand Old Oak, spoke several times in the interview about his long-standing feud with Seagal. The media reported that the feud stemmed from claims Seagal made in the early 1990s that he “doubted Van Damme’s legitimate fighting abilities.”
“Kid’s stuff, kid’s stuff,” Van Damme said, when asked about Sylvester Stallone’s claim that Seagal turned down an opportunity to fight in 1997 at a party hosted by Stallone. “People told me [Seagal] don’t speak so nicely of me. I do not know why.”
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Van Damme, who broke through in 1988 Blood sport and recently appeared as a voice actor in 2022 Minions: Rise of Grualso gave some props to Seagal, who made his last film in 2019.
Charlize Theron Says ‘Too Heavy’ Steven Seagal ‘Can Barely Fight’: ‘He’s Not Very Good With Women’
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Jean-Claude Van Damme August 21, 2012
Paul Drinkwater/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty
“The first movie I saw of his I was like, ‘This guy’s going to make it, he’s very charismatic,'” he said of Seagal. “Even now, in his overweight years, he has that Steven Seagal way of speaking.”
However, elsewhere during Van Damme’s meeting with The Independentoffered a rough idea of how he would approach a fight against Seagal if given the chance.
“If he and I fight, I run faster than him – a lot faster,” he told the newspaper. “I would run away. He’ll try to catch me, he’ll get out of shape. I’m coming back and fighting. Do you like the technique?”
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