| The two martial-arts stars (Monsour on the "local" level and Van Damme on an international scale, although his latest
movie, Knock-Off, didn't do as well as expected at the tills) met
and matched, hitting it off so well on their first encounter that they
instantly became friends.
"Van Damme does treat me like a little brother," said
Monsour over snacks of churros at Dulcinea (Tomas Morato), even if at 6'1" he's three inches taller than The Muscles From Brussels. "He calls
me the taller Jet Li, the better-looking Jet Li daw." |
Monsour first met Van Damme three weeks ago
in Tokyo where Van Damme filmed a commercial for a herbal tea. It was a
coincidence, actually. Monsour was in Japan for a 17-day show and when
he learned that Jessica Rodriguez (Van Damme's special friend) and Shirley
Kuan (Van Damme's booker-manager for Asia who closed the commercial deal)
were in the company of Van Damme, Monsour took three days-off to meet his
idol in the flesh.
It was (brotherly) love at first sight. |
In Tokyo, Monsour and Van Damme, did
the night-life with Jessica, Shirley and Van Damme's entourage from Los
Angeles. They even went to the (hotel) gym together and Monsour had a chance
to display his Taekwondo expertise for Van Damme to see and assess. Van
Damme held his hand up and let Monsour did spin kicks against Van Damme's
palm.
|
| Van Damme's verdict? Monsour has a good form,
all right, but he advised Monsour to make his arms and chest bigger and
to shed the flab around his tummy. He also told Monsour to maintain his
kicks and to improve his acting, promising Monsour a role in his (Van Damme's)
next movie, Monk, which will be shot in China and Canada.
In Tokyo, Monsour and Van Damme, along with Van Damme's
sidekick Ben, had a sauna together, |
all of them au naturel, and that's
where Monsour saw how beautiful his idol's body is. "Sa ganda
ng katawan niya," laughed Monsour, "talagang mababakla ka sa kanya."
At first, recalled Monsour, he was hesitant and
too shy to strip until he observed how casually Van Damme and Ben -- and
the other sauna-bathers, mostly Japanese -- were doing it, talking with
each other without being aware of each other's nakedness -- and without
looking where they shouldn't. |
Monsour has seen all of Van Damme's movies (and taped
the action highlights for him to watch over and over again) and names Bloodsport,
Kickboxer and Hard Target. Monsour gave Van Damme a videotape
of his starrer Matang Aguila which was directed by Philip Ko who
happens to be a good friend of Ringo Lam, Van Damme's director in Maximum
Risk.
|
| "I only wanted to see Van Damme in person dahil
idol ko nga siya," added Monsour, "and that would have been enough
for me. I didn't expect him to promise me a role in his next movie (to
be shot in early 1999)."
Monsour renewed friendship with Van Damme last Oct. 10
to 12 during Van Damme's quick side trip to Manila (when Presidential Son
Jude Estrada accompanied Van Damme to a boys' nightout in the newly-opened
La Legende in Quezon City). Van Damme left for Australia and soon came
back, staying from Oct. 19 to 25 for a complete R&R that brought him
and his usual barkada (minus Jude) |
to Boracay where they were stranded by Typhoon
Loleng for four days.
It was at Boracay where Monsour saw Van Damme work out
to the limit, doing his classic "split" exercise (legs spread, each resting
on a chair almost two meters apart).
"He's amazing," gushed Monsour. "He's all muscles. Touch
his body and you won't feel fat. Every part is hard. Matigas na matigas."
It was also at Boracay where Monsour saw Van Damme
as he really is. |
"I saw how compassionate he is when
an askal (asong kalye or stray dog) came along. Van Damme dusted
the dog off and kissed it on the head. He even fed the dog with part of
the barbecue he was eating. In person, Van Damme is like a kid, very playful.
He's a true gentleman and a true martial artist. He's down-to-earth."
But until he's before the grinding camera actually
acting and/or doing his spin kicks (mastered through 20 years of doing
Taekwondo), all that Monsour can do is keep his fingers crossed and hope
for the best -- and pray to all the saints for a chance to be up there,
bigger than life, side by side with his idol, doing the thing that they
love to do most -- acting with a kick.
|
More on J.C.:
VanDammage
Yahoo
Links to Van Damme
|
