The Predator is one of the most iconic aliens in all of pop culture, but it’s long since gone down in history that the role was originally set to be played by Jean-Claude Van Damme on stilts, before Kevin Peter Hall was drafted in when the creative team decided they needed to change things up.

In a new interview with The Murder Master Music Show, star Bill Duke confirmed why the Muscles from Brussels was relieved from his duties as Predator‘s big bad.

“The Predator that you saw was not the original predator did you know that? The original Predator was a much smaller creature and they were gonna put the special effects on his body in post-production. He had a stealth suit on and they put him in wires and he flew in the trees with the wires on his back looking like he was flying. He had passed out twice from dehydration. The producer said, ‘If you pass out again I’m gonna fire you!’. Two weeks go by and the guy passes out and the producer goes over and fires him. That person was Jean-Claude Van Damme.”

Rare Photo Shows Jean-Claude Van Damme As Original Predator1 of 2

It worked out pretty well for all involved in the end, with Predator going on to find major success and kick off a series that’s still going strong almost 35 years later, while Van Damme eventually managed to get his foot in the industry door to launch his own long-running tenure as an action hero, so no harm no foul.

Lol. Dude didn’t want to look bloated from drinking water. It happens a lot in my field of work. Some men are so ignorant that they refuse to drink half a bottle of water despite sweating bucketloads.