Action movie icon Jean-Claude Van Damme was originally cast as the creature in Predator, but was later unceremoniously fired from the role. While Arnold Schwarzenegger would of course play hero Alan "Dutch" Schaefer in Predator, it turns out that other muscular European action star with a thick accent almost joined him in the film. This was very early in Van Damme's acting career though, so he wasn't hired to play one of Dutch's badass mercenaries, but instead set to portray the Predator itself.
Van Damme would begin to rise to the top of the action genre not long after Predator hit theaters, starring in films like Bloodsport, Kickboxer, and Universal Soldier. Meanwhile, Schwarzenegger was already on top of the world, thanks to films like The Terminator, Commando, and Conan the Barbarian. Predator's success would only strengthen the Austrian Oak's headlock on Hollywood, with Terminator 2: Judgment Day truly cementing Arnold as immortal a few years later.
So, if Van Damme was hired to play the Predator, why was the alien hunter played by Kevin Peter Hall in the finished film? The reasons, unsurprisingly, depend on which side of the story one listens to.
Why Jean-Claude Van Damme Was Fired From Predator
Everyone involved with Predator can agree on three basic facts: Jean-Claude Van Damme was at one point cast to play the titular creature, he disliked wearing the awful-looking red suit necessary to film the scenes where the Predator is mostly invisible, and that he didn't get along with producer Joel Silver. Casting director Jackie Burch says that Van Damme was a problem on set, and was complaining all the time, leading to his ouster from the film. Stunt coordinator Craig R. Baxley recounts an entirely different circumstance, saying that Silver fired Van Damme personally after the actor broke an expensive head built for an early version of the creature.
Meanwhile, producer John Davis says Van Damme was fired due to concerns about his height and overall stature not being imposing enough to properly play the Predator. There are even more variations on the story in which Van Damme is said to have disagreed with Silver on how to portray the character, kept passing out due to the heat and weight of the creature suit and holding up production, and looked so bad performing in the suit that both he and the suit were gotten rid of.
For his part, Van Damme himself explained that while his issues performing in the first Predator suit were true - the creature initially looked much different than how it does in the finished movie - the reason he says he was ultimately fired is due to refusing to do a stunt he thought was unsafe. According to Van Damme, Silver asked him to make a jump he found too dangerous, he refused, and Silver fired him. Van Damme also says that the man who ultimately did the stunt in question broke his leg, although others involved with the Predator production say no such injury occurred. As with most contentious stories, the truth probably lies somewhere in the middle of the various accounts.