Van Damme appeared as an extra in Breakin' during one of the breakdance scenes. In 1985, he played Ivan Krushensky in No Retreat, No Surrender, which starred Kurt McKinney in the starring role. The director of the film, Patrick Passis, was a close friend.

Van Damme was scheduled to play the part of the camouflaged extra terestrial in the action film Predator, but wearing the heavy alien costume in the jungle was too difficult, and Van Damme, unhappy with his role, left the production. How he left the picture is disputed: some sources say he quit, others say he was replaced when the character was revised.

Van Damme's breakthrough role came in Bloodsport. The critics were unimpressed, but Bloodsport proved to be Van Damme's stepping stone to more lucrative roles. Van Damme worked his way up to Hollywood mainstream in the 1990s, often working with acclaimed foreign directors. Notable movies include Kickboxer (1989), Double Impact (1991), Universal Soldier(1992), Nowhere to Run (1993), Hard Target (1993), Sudden Death (1995) and his most critically acclaimed work, Timecop (1994). Many of these roles included doppelganger or Lazarus themes involving Van Damme's characters, an aspect unusual for the action movie genre. These films have earned over $1 billion worldwide.

He also wrote, directed and starred in The Quest (1996), and took leading roles in The Order (2001), Replicant (2001), Derailed (2002), In Hell (2003), and Wake of Death (2004). However these films never reached the heights of those in the late 1980s and 1990s, and further films have followed....

Kickboxer

Double impact

Universal soldier 1 & 2

Nowhere to run

Legionnaire

Hard Target

Sudden Death

Timecop

Death Warrant

Street Fighter

Bloodsports

Cyborg

A.W.O.L

The Quest

Desert heat

Maximum risk

Double team

Knock off

No Retreat No Surrender

The Order

Replicant

Derailed

In Hell

Wake of Death

The Hard Corps

Second in Command

Until Death

The Shepherd

Universal Soldier III