I watched a lot of Jean-Claude Van Damme films and loved his film 'Bloodsport.'
As a kid, I was heavily into martial arts and wanted to be the next Jean-Claude Van Damme.
I broke two knuckles in my right hand when I gave Jean-Claude Van Damme an attitude adjustment. I got nothing except a medical bill.
One of my great teachers was the late Jean-Claude Vrinat of Taillevent in Paris.
I was a big fan of Jean-Claude Van-Damme growing up, and I always wanted to be a martial artist 'cause of him.
I was a big fan of martial arts movies - Bruce Lee in particular, as cringeworthy as it is. Jean-Claude van Damme was a big inspiration as well - it's a little embarrassing.
I traveled to Morocco once, and I only saw one television when I was there, but I did go into this dirt cave and I saw this kid chopping tomatoes and pita, and he had a picture on the wall of Jean-Claude Van Damme holding a gun. That connected with him on the other side of the world, so no wonder these big movies are made - they have a mass appeal.
I can pretty much say that because of Bruce Lee and Jean-Claude Van Damme, that's why I do what I do today.
In the film industry, we tend to pick up where others have left off, and I'd like to think the influences I picked up from Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan, Sylvester Stallone and Jean-Claude Van Damme are visible in my work.
At Al Jazeera, the first story I did was to sit down with a former Haitian dictator, Jean-Claude Duvalier, and grill him about crimes against humanity. Al Jazeera is giving me the opportunity to tell important stories and stories that I want to tell.
