Jean-Claude Van Damme looks back at his ‘shameful’ cameo during the height of Friends | What did he do?

The topic of ‘90s pop culture phenomenon ‘Friends’ has been a focus today after the announcement that Matthew Perry, known for his role as Chandler Bing in the series, had died of drowning at the age of 54. While many are regaling their favourite moments of ‘the one who made everyone laugh,’ recently action star Jean-Claude Van Damme discussed his cameo appearance in the series - one he felt ‘ashamed’ about. 

The episode in question, ‘The One After the Superbowl: Part 2,’ airing on January 28 1996, featured not only the return of Marcel, Ross Geller’s (David Schwimmer) beloved pet capuchin monkey, but a fictionalised version of JCVD, cast alongside Marcel in a sequel to the Dustin Hoffman thriller, ‘Outbreak.’ Both Rachel and Monica (Jennifer Anniston and Courtney Cox respectively) argued about who would go out on a date with the actor after his smooth Belgian tongue caught the attraction from the pair.

But Van Damme, currently doing the media rounds to promote Old Oak, the Irish whiskey venture he co-owns, admitted he felt ‘ashamed’ of his role in the episode. Speaking to The New York Post, Van Damme revealed “My acting is so bad. I look so like a ham. Like, ‘Hey, girls.’ … It’s like, I’m ashamed of myself. So, then I was on the set, and those girls, they go, and they kiss me, and they kiss me on the lips. I didn’t know what to do, how to do … It was strange. They were very nice.”

As it turns out, Van Damme wasn’t familiar with the show, which was in its second season when he made his cameo: “So, when I go to the show, I see those two beautiful girls, and they say this is the hottest show right now in the world. So, I was very glad,” the action star recalled. “And my agent said, ‘You have to do an episode with them. So you’re going to play this guy.’”

However Van Damme considered his cameo a happy memory, despite his comments about his performance in the episode.“They were very open because they did the show every day. So for them, I enter into a place where everything is working like a very well-trained mechanic engine,” he said. “It was amazing.”