The name Alain Moussi may be unfamiliar to fans of martial arts action films and action stars in general, but that's about to change with the release of Kickboxer: Vengeance, a veritable reboot of the seminal martial arts film, Kickboxer (1989), starring Jean-Claude Van Damme. Moussi, for years a stuntman and stunt double on major blockbuster films, has fully transitioned to front-and-center star with his lead role in Kickboxer: Vengeance. Jean-Claude Van Damme co-stars in the mentor/teacher role, and other titans of the action and martial arts movie world are featured, such as Dave Bautista, Gina Carano, George St-Pierre, and the late great Darren Shahlavi in his final role. In this exclusive interview, Moussi discusses his inspirations, and what fans can expect when they watch the film, due out September 2 from RLJ Entertainment.
djm: Alain, please tell me a little bit about your background in martial arts. What did you start with and what are you currently practicing now?
AM: I started with Japanese style Jiu Jitsu, and I did that until I was about 18. I kept training with that, but I added Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and Kickboxing. Those were the three arts I grew up with, and I still practice them to this day. I did a lot of seminars and studied Aikido and Kobudo to elevate my training. That's the extent of my background.
djm: You're a kid of the '80s, and you grew up with all the great action stars like Jean-Claude Van Damme, Steven Seagal, Stallone, and Schwarzenegger. Was that part of your inspiration growing up? Did you always want to be an "action star?"
AM: Absolutely. I got into martial arts after I saw Bloodsport. I think that was the first martial arts movie that I saw. I had to do something after I saw that. After I got into Van Damme, my dad introduced me to Bruce Lee. He bought me the Bruce Lee collection, so I started watching those. Then I watched Seagal and all the Chuck Norris movies. After I saw Chuck in Return of the Dragon, I saw Delta Force and all those. I've always been a huge fan of action stars and martial arts movies. I watched Stallone and Schwarzenegger as well. That inspired me to want to make movies. I love performing. The idea that one day I could actually be in a movie was an incredible thing to me. It was my main motivation.
djm: You have an extensive list of credits as a stunt performer. Talk a little bit about getting started in stunts and your rise to being the front-and-center star of Kickboxer Vengeance.
AM: My first stunt job was on the movie Immortals with Henry Cavill. I doubled him, and that was through a friend who was on the stunt team. I auditioned and I got the film. That was my first job, doubling the lead guy. It was incredible. Usually, your first job is "Guard #3" and you get shot in the head and fall down. That was a six-month job on this huge blockbuster. I got thrown in the deep end and I learned. I met a lot of people, and I got working right away. I've met different coordinators and that's how I kept on rising. I've worked for great people. Through that, that's how I met the producer for Kickboxer, Dimitri Logothetis. I met him while I was working on one of his films as a stuntman, and I got to do a showcase for him. After the showcase, I had two major fights in the film; one was about five minutes, and the other was about three minutes, and he came to me and introduced himself and talked with me for about five minutes. I then got a call from casting saying they wanted me to audition for a movie role, and so I did. I'm a rookie actor, but he saw something in me anyways, and he offered me the role for Kickboxer. I'm still learning and trying to learn as much as I can and get better.
djm: The original Kickboxer movie is close to iconic. That must have been a huge deal for you to have JCVD in the movie, playing your mentor. How surreal was that?
AM: It's completely surreal. Doing the movie itself was surreal, to be able to do one of my favorite childhood movies, so to me it was extremely special; and then when we started talking about having Van Damme playing a part in the movie, I said, "Are you kidding me? That would be the most incredible thing ever!" Then things happened and Van Damme came aboard and played the mentor in the movie. There was a moment on set where we were doing this training sequence and Jean-Claude was kicking to my head, and I was bobbing and weaving. As soon as they called, "Cut!" I had to stop and take in the moment because it was so special to me. Not only was I in the movie, but Jean-Claude was great to me and he was kicking at my head, which was great. I had to take a moment to absorb it.
djm: You're surrounded in the movie by some amazing co-stars and martial artists. I wanted to bring up Darren Shahlavi, who plays your brother in the movie. Since he's no longer with us, I was hoping you'd say something about working with him.
AM: Darren was a good friend of mine. We met on a set in Canada, a movie called The Marine 3. That's where we became friends. We worked on multiple films together. He was doing Pound of Flesh with Jean-Claude in China when Jean-Claude told him that I was doing Kickboxer. Darren called me and said, "Jean-Claude told me you're doing Kickboxer!" That was incredible. We talked about getting him involved, and he said, "I have this crazy idea: What if I played your brother?" I went, "That would be great!" I showed Dimitri a picture of Darren, and he really liked him. That's how he ended up being in the film. To be on set with Darren was amazing. We had two incredible scenes together. It was special. I remember at the end of that last day, Darren told me, "I have to tell you that this scene is one of my favorite scenes I've ever shot." I felt honored. I'd looked up to him for so long. I remember I got a message when he passed away, and it was just ... yeah, it was horrible. There's a special dedication to Darren in the movie. I think it was very special for him to be in this film. He was really happy with his performance in it.
djm: You've also got Gina Carano, Dave Bautista, T.J. Storm, and Georges St.-Pierre in the film. Say something about working with them too.
AM: Gina is awesome. She's a sweetheart and a great person to work with. She's full of energy. She's a joker. She has a huge sense of humor. T.J. Storm is an amazing fighter. We had an awesome action scene together. He has major enthusiasm. Being on screen with him just pushes you to be on par with him. I really enjoyed working with T.J. With Georges, I'd met him a long time ago in Canada. Now that we were doing a film together, it was incredible. We'd never spent a lot of time together, and he's a down-to-earth guy who tells incredible stories. Some real-life fighters have difficulties making the transition to screen fighting, but Georges was great. He could do take after take and was a great performer. Then there's Dave Bautista, and I used to watch him when I was a kid in wrestling. He's larger than life to me. I met him for the first time in the hotel where we were staying. I walked over to him and said hi, and he's huge, but he's very well spoken and soft-spoken. He has a very low voice: "Hey, how's it going?" He was so generous on screen. We'd discuss everything in the mornings, and we had great chemistry. He has a lot of experience, so it was cool to work with somebody like him and be able to absorb the experience he has.
djm: What can fans of action and martial arts films expect when they watch Kickboxer Vengeance?
AM: They can expect awesome action and a really cool story. It maintains the essence of the original, but it's a slightly modernized version. We want you to be entertained with action, so be ready for an awesome and fun action film.
djm: What's the status with the sequel Kickboxer Retaliation?
AM: We're done filming it. This is only the beginning. Vengeance is the introduction to the trilogy. Retaliation gets crazy. It's nuts. It goes one step forward and brings you into a new universe, a new realm of action. Fans will really enjoy it.
