Still a Street Fighter: Jean-Claude Van Damme Blows Our Minds with Epic Split - People Magazine

By Nate Jones

UPDATED 11/15/2013 at 05:30 PM EST • Originally published 11/15/2013 at 05:00 PM EST

Jean-Claude Van Damme in Volvo's "The Epic Split"

Courtesy Volvo Trucks

Jean-Claude Van Damme was born in 1960. He is older than the current president of the United States^[1] , the Super Bowl^[2] and the nation of Fiji. And yet the Belgian action hero is still capable of physical feats that would cower a man half his age, as evidenced by his star turn in a remarkable Volvo advertisement released Wednesday.

In the ad, titled "The Epic Split,"^[3] the Street Fighter star is shown straddling the mirrors of two trucks driving parallel down a closed highway. As Van Damme delivers a voiceover describing a "body crafted to perfection," the trucks slowly drift apart, until Van Damme's legs are splayed out in a perfect, 180-degree split.

The spot is meant to advertise Volvo's new braking system, but viewers can be forgiven if the trucks aren't what catches their interest.

Though the stunt looks death-defying, the creative team behind the ad explained that Van Damme was never in any danger during filming. The action star was attached to hidden safety lines the entire time.

"We didn't want to be responsible for killing the Muscles from Brussels," director Andreas Nilsson told The Wall Street Journal ^[4] .

Watch the amazing clip below:

References

1. ^{^} the current president of the United States (www.people.com)


2. ^{^} the Super Bowl (www.people.com)


3. ^{^} "The Epic Split," (mashable.com)


4. ^{^} told The Wall Street Journal (blogs.wsj.com)