GET YA JCVD ON

Well, okay, here’s the thing: it ain’t JCVD any more. At least it isn’t in his new show. Confused?

Read on.

So, here’s the dealio:

MoviePilot.com

Anyone familiar with Jean-Claude Van Damme knows that he’s good at what he does — and that’s kicking ass. Van Damme has spent a majority of his career playing some type of badass brawler with an attitude. From Bloodsport to Kickboxer to the movie adaptation of Street Fighter, he’s an action flick legend. Now, Van Damme is playing a different kind of character: himself.

The latest trailer for Jean-Claude Van Johnson from Amazon hints at the hilarious journey in store for Van Damme as he steps out of retirement and back into the acting game, which turns out to be a cover for his moonlighting as a hotshot spy. Check it out below:

Yes, in this parallel version of Van Damme’s life, he’s the type of soldier that he has portrayed countless times before — even if he’s more than a bit rusty getting back out there. The good news is that the bumbling henchmen Van Damme confronts are just as inept as he is, a parody of how action movies are set up to make guys like Van Damme win in the face of overwhelming odds against countless disposable enemies.

Most other actors might receive ridicule for playing a fictional version of themselves, which could be construed as self-indulgent. Van Damme, on the other hand, is the ideal candidate for this role.

Having played a soldier (or some variation) so many times in the past, he’s the perfect person to poke fun at the idea of an old action hero actually being an old action hero. There’s no telling how much Jean-Claude Van Johnson parallels JCVD’s real life, but there are obviously elements drawn from his true life experiences in front of and behind the camera.