Dominique Vandenberg is a

Belgian Belgian may refer to: * Something of, or related to, Belgium * Belgians, people from Belgium or of Belgian descent * Languages of Belgium, languages spoken in Belgium, such as Dutch, French, and German *Ancient Belgian language, an extinct languag ...

martial artist, actor and stunt performer. Vandenberg lives in

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

, where he has appeared in such movies as '' Pit Fighter'' DVD Talk Review "Pit Fighter" by Scott Weinberg, 29 May 2005
/ref> and ''

Mortal Kombat ''Mortal Kombat'' is an American media franchise centered on a series of video games originally developed by Midway Games in 1992. The development of the first game was originally based on an idea that Ed Boon and John Tobias had of making a v ...

''.

Background

Dominique Vandenberg was born Dominique Horevoets in Waasmont, Belgium. As a young adult, Vandenberg competed in many martial arts competitions, winning most of them, and left school at age sixteen to enroll in a Kunto training course in

Okinawa is a prefecture of Japan. Okinawa Prefecture is the southernmost and westernmost prefecture of Japan, has a population of 1,457,162 (as of 2 February 2020) and a geographic area of 2,281 km2 (880 sq mi). Naha is the capital and largest city ...

, Japan. After graduating the course in a tie for first rank, Vandenberg returned to

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

, where he was drafted into the military. Vandenberg volunteered for a post in

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

as it offered a shorter service of eight months (as opposed to a year). Immediately upon his release, Vandenberg began training for an invitational freestyle

martial arts Martial arts are codified systems and traditions of combat practiced for a number of reasons such as self-defense; military and law enforcement applications; combat sport, competition; physical, mental, and spiritual development; entertainment; a ...

competition he had been invited to upon completion of the Kunto course. Vandenberg won the competition with only two months of training but was hit by a car and broke his leg. Unable to fight in further events, Vandenberg left

to join the

French Foreign Legion The French Foreign Legion (french: Légion étrangère) is a corps of the French Army which comprises several specialties: infantry, Armoured Cavalry Arm, cavalry, Military engineering, engineers, Airborne forces, airborne troops. It was created ...

. Graduating from basic training in the top five, he was allowed to pick his post. Vandenberg chose the elite

paratrooper A paratrooper is a military parachutist—someone trained to parachute into a military operation, and usually functioning as part of an airborne force. Military parachutists (troops) and parachutes were first used on a large scale during World ...

regiment, the 2REP, and, after more training, was sent to Africa. He spent five years in countries such as

Chad Chad (; ar, تشاد , ; french: Tchad, ), officially the Republic of Chad, '; ) is a landlocked country at the crossroads of North and Central Africa. It is bordered by Libya to the north, Sudan to the east, the Central African Republic ...

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

, and the

Central African Republic The Central African Republic (CAR; ; , RCA; , or , ) is a landlocked country in Central Africa. It is bordered by Chad to the north, Sudan to the northeast, South Sudan to the southeast, the DR Congo to the south, the Republic of th ...

, fighting to control rebellions. During this time, he met his fiancée, Waruny, a freedom fighter. After their meeting, he returned to fulfill his last eight months of service to the

Legion Legion may refer to: Military * Roman legion, the basic military unit of the ancient Roman army * Spanish Legion, an elite military unit within the Spanish Army * Legion of the United States, a reorganization of the United States Army from 179 ...

, but when he returned, she had been killed. Vandenberg then left the

for good and traveled to

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is bo ...

to fight in their famed

freestyle fighting Hybrid martial arts, also known as hybrid fighting systems or sometimes eclectic martial arts or freestyle martial arts, refer to mixed martial arts or fighting systems that incorporate techniques and theories from several particular martial arts ...

rings, or "iron circles". After winning several bouts, he returned to Europe.

Bibliography

* ''The Iron Circle: The True Life Story of Dominique Vandenberg'', Dominique Vandenberg and Rick Rever, Volt Press, 2004.

Filmography

* 1996 ''

Barb Wire Barb Wire may refer to: * Barb wire, a fencing material * Barb Wire (character), a comic book superhero published by Dark Horse Comics * ''Barb Wire'' (1996 film), starring Pamela Anderson, based on the comic book * ''Barb Wire'' (pinball), pinb ...

'' as Officer Frack * 1998 ''Death Row the Tournament'' as Louis Gerard (Short) * 1999 ''The Doorman'' as Andre Siegel * 2002 ''The Honorable'' as Andre Siegel * 2002 ''

Gangs of New York ''Gangs of New York'' is a 2002 American epic historical drama film directed by Martin Scorsese and written by Jay Cocks, Steven Zaillian and Kenneth Lonergan, based on Herbert Asbury's 1927 book '' The Gangs of New York''. The film stars Le ...

'' as Dead Rabbit Gang Member * 2004 ''

Skeleton Man ''Skeleton Man'' is a 2004 made-for-tv slasher film directed by Johnny Martin and starring Michael Rooker and Casper Van Dien. It was aired from Sci Fi Channel on March 1, 2004. In the film, the titular Skeleton Man stalks a squad of soldiers. P ...

'' as Cottonmouth Joe * 2005 '' Pit Fighter'' as Jack Severino * 2006 ''

Inland Empire The Inland Empire (IE) is a metropolitan area and region inland of and adjacent to coastal Southern California, centering around the cities of San Bernardino and Riverside, and bordering Los Angeles County to the west. It includes the cities o ...

'' as Trainyard Worker * 2007 '' Alien Agent'' as Sartek * 2009 '' Charlie Valentine'' as Dom * 2009 ''

Green Street Hooligans 2 ''Green Street 2: Stand Your Ground'' (also known as ''Green Street 2'' and ''Green Street Hooligans 2: Stand Your Ground'') is a 2009 drama film directed by Jesse V. Johnson. It is a sequel to the 2005 film '' Green Street''. '' Green Street 3: ...

'' as "Gonzo" * 2009 ''The Perfect Sleep'' as Captain Keller * 2009 '' The Butcher'' as 1970's IRA Member * 2010 ''

True Legend ''True Legend'' is a 2010 martial arts film directed by Yuen Woo-ping in his first film as directed since 1996. The film stars Vincent Zhao, Zhou Xun, Jay Chou, Michelle Yeoh, Andy On, David Carradine (in his final film role before his death), ...

'' as Bald One-Eye * 2011 ''Social Distortion: Machine Gun Blues'' as Special Agent Delvaux (Short) * 2013 ''March with the Devil'' as himself * 2019 '' Triple Threat'' as Dom * 2019 ''The Mercenary'' as Maxx * 2020 ''March with the Devil'' as himself * 2021 ''Hell Hath No Fury''

Stunts

* 1995 ''

'' - Stunt Player * 1999 ''The Doorman'' - Fight Coordinator * 2002 ''

'' - Fight Coordinator * 2003 '' Detonator'' - Stunts * 2006 ''

'' - Stunt Player * 2007 ''

Beowulf ''Beowulf'' (; ang, Bēowulf ) is an Old English epic poem in the tradition of Germanic heroic legend consisting of 3,182 alliterative lines. It is one of the most important and most often translated works of Old English literature. The ...

'' - Fight Coordinator

Producer

* 1999 ''The Doorman'' * 2002 ''The Honorable'' * 2019 ''Gray House'' * 2019 ''The Mercenary''

Writer

* 2013 ''March with the Devil''

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Vandenberg, Dominique Belgian male film actors Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Belgian emigrants to the United States 21st-century Belgian male actors Soldiers of the French Foreign Legion