Lionheart (1990)
1990 film directed by Sheldon Lettich
- Released
- 1990
- Country
- United States
- Language
- English
- Genre
- Martial arts film, Boxing film
- Director
- Sheldon Lettich
- Screenplay
- Jean-Claude Van Damme, Sheldon Lettich
- Producer
- executive producer
- Music
- John Scott, Jerry Goldsmith
- Editing
- Mark Conte
- Starring
- Jean-Claude Van Damme, Ashley Johnson, Michel Qissi, Brian Thompson, Harrison Page, Deborah Rennard, Lisa Pelikan, Ash Adams
- Running time
- 104 minutes
- Production company
- Universal Pictures
- Distributor
- InterCom, Netflix
- Box office
- $24.3 million
- Budget
- $6 million
- Set in
- Los Angeles
Lionheart is a 1990 American martial arts film directed by Sheldon Lettich, starring Jean-Claude Van Damme, Deborah Rennard, Harrison Page, Lisa Pelikan and Brian Thompson. It also features the acting debut of Ashley Johnson. Van Damme plays a French Foreign Legionnaire stationed in Africa, who must desert to the United States and enter the underground fighting circuit to raise money for his murdered brother's family.
The film premiered in France on August 1, 1990, and opened in the United States on January 11, 1991. It received lackluster reviews, but marked Van Damme's breakthrough as a theatrical leading man in North America. It was released in the United Kingdom as A.W.O.L: Absent Without Leave, and in Oceania as Wrong Bet, two early titles considered by the producers.
Cast
- Jean-Claude Van Damme
- Ashley Johnson
- Michel Qissi
- Brian Thompson
- Harrison Page
- Deborah Rennard
- Lisa Pelikan
- Ash Adams
- Abdel Qissi
- Scott Spiegel
- Lawrence Bender
More films directed by Sheldon Lettich
- Double Impact 1991
- Only the Strong 1993
External links
Facts from Wikidata Q581960 (CC0); quoted introduction from English Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Data retrieved 2026-10-22.
Data: Wikidata (CC0 1.0); Wikipedia (English) (CC BY-SA 4.0). Retrieved 2026-10-22.