'Epic Split' director discusses Jean Claude Van Damme wisdom

'Epic Split' director discusses JCVD wisdom

It's one of the most successful commercials ever made. It's only been out just over a week, but the international attention it has received has been nothing short of overwhelming for the team that put it together.

'Epic Split' director Andreas Nilsson spoke with us this week about the video and how the project came together, but perhaps what's even more fascinating is the time he spent with Belgian action star Jean Claude Van Damme.

Prior to the commercial being made, JCVD was singled out as the only person who could pull off the stunt. In Nilsson's own words : "He is the split".

Van Damme has had a long career in action movies dating back to his breakout role in 'Bloodsport' in 1988. The action star has had his "ups and downs". In fact, his career plummeted in the 90s, and his style of 'self sabotage' cost him great opportunities. Films like 'Timecop' and 'Universal Soldier' became action classics but they didn't seal his career and we often saw Van Damme in later years feature in straight-to-DVD releases. This was an unfortunate climbdown from his once glorious past but his recent resurgence in 'The Expendables 2' has made his star great once more.

So when 'The Epic Split' came to being and was finally launched last week Nilsson discovered a guy with an incredible journey and a life's work that no other actor could match. What makes this video more epic, is the story behind that man, who became part of the project and the subsequent cult success of him doing that split.

Find out what Andreas Nilsson learned from JCVD and see how his vision made one of the best commercials of 2013.