You’ll never believe what the fighter who played the villain in Jean-Claude Van Damme’s blockbuster hit Kickboxer looks like now

It’s been 35 years since he played Jean-Claude Van Damme’s imposing nemesis, “Tong Po”, in the cult hit film Kickboxer, and Mohammed Qissi is still going strong.

Present on Tuesday at a training seminar in Melbourne, the martial arts icon proved to a new generation of students that he was still indeed capable of throwing himself at 61 years old.

Qissi, a lifelong martial artist, grew up in Belgium alongside his good friend Jean-Claude Van Damme and became an amateur boxing champion at age 17.

After also training in kickboxing, Muay Thai, and Shotokan karate, Qissi and Van Damme moved to the United States in hopes of becoming action movie stars.

“We endured some very difficult times over the next four years,” he told a martial arts magazine.

“We worked many odd jobs, often slept on the beach and continued to train and stick it out until 1986 when we landed our first big roles in Bloodsport.

“After that, we signed a contract for three more films and it went from there.”

Qissi is best remembered for his role as Thai champion and antagonist Tong Po in the 1989 film Kickboxer, for which he had to wear heavy makeup.

“Even my mother didn’t recognize me,” Qissi laughed.

“Some people knew my body movements from seeing me boxing, but not my face.”

Tong Po was a sadistic and ruthless fighter in the Kickboxer film series, as well as a cold-blooded killer.

“Tong Po’s utter villainy is clearly evident in the film,” Qissi told Postil Magazine.

“It impressed the spectators. As for Tong Po’s past and why he became such an evil being, devoid of all light, the film remains a mystery.

“While it is true that some are born with a mental disorder, we are never born evil. We are all angels when we come into the world.

“An unhappy childhood, marked by maltreatment and sexual abuse, is one of the things that can explain why some people take a fatal path growing up.”

In 2016, Kickboxer was remade as Kickboxer: Vengeance with WWE star turned Hollywood actor Dave Bautista as Tong Po – and Qissi was very happy with the casting.

“It’s an honor for me that Dave Bautista, someone who is hugely important in the world of cinema, who we’ve seen play in important films, like Blade Runner 2049, has taken over the character of Tong Po, who I I was the first to bring it to life,” Qissi said.

“An honor and a pleasure.”