Alain Moussi On ‘Kickboxer: Vengeance,’ Jean-Claude Van Damme, Hugh Jackman [VIDEO EXCLUSIVE]

Pro stuntman Alain Moussi is filling the very big shoes of Jean-Claude Van Damme in Kickboxer: Vengeance. Directed by John Stockwell, it is a reboot of the original series and was released in September of 2016. The film follows the lives of brothers Eric and Kurt Sloane, descendants of a well-known family of martial artists. When Eric travels to Thailand to challenge martial arts champion Tong Po, Eric fails miserably, with unbearable consequences. This then sets Kurt (Moussi) on a path to avenging his brother.

Moussi has worked on acclaimed films such as X-Men: Days of Future Past and Brick Mansions, among others.

In an exclusive interview with uInterview, Moussi gives us an inside look at what it’s like to be both a stuntman and an actor.

Moussi believes that nerves are not only a normal part of the stuntman experience but a useful and critical component.

“Nerves are important because it makes you aware of what’s happening, and make you aware of the risk factor that’s there… If you’re not nervous, you’re not as aware, and that’s when there’s a risk of injury and when things go wrong,” he told uInterview. “You need those extra nerves to keep you on edge.”

No doubt that Moussi had some nerves during his first stuntman job, where he doubled for Henry Cavill in the film Immortals. Moussi described an integral lesson he learned on the set of his first job.

“When you double somebody, you have to create this chemistry where the actor knows that you’re there to support him,” Moussi said. “If you’re doubling the hero, you’re like, ‘Oh I’m going to be a hero!’ But you’re not. You’re there to support the dude playing the hero.”

In X-Men: Apocalypse, Moussi doubled for Hugh Jackman.

“I was approached by the stunt coordinator and Fox, who asked me to double Hugh [for Wolverine] … For me it was like, ‘oh my god, I get to put on claws? That’s it, you got me, I don’t need to know anything else,'” said Moussi, half-jokingly.

For Moussi, being a lead actor in Kickboxer: Vengeance was understandably a wildly different experience than being a stunt double.

“Usually I step in and do whatever’s physical…and that’s it,” he said. “This is different. The camera’s on you no matter what, whether you’re doing the action piece or the acting. I’m used to imitating another actor. In this case, I get to be like me, which is awesome, but at the same time, I gotta make sure I’m not just focused on the action itself, but I gotta make sure I focus on what’s going on with the character at the same time.”

Of course, starring in a reboot of a cult classic is not without its pressures. It is the sixth film in the series, the first of which was first released in 1989.

“You want to do it justice. And you want to make sure that people like it, because you know that you’re going to be compared, no matter what. Whether they like it or not, you’re going to be compared,” explained Moussi. “I was nervous about it, but at the same time, I saw it as an amazing challenge and just an incredible way to start my career as an actor.”