Kickboxer Director David Worth Dies, Van Damme Pays Tribute
American director and cinematographer David Worth, known for Kickboxer, has died at 86. Van Damme, the star of his films, paid tribute to him in an emotional Instagram post.
American director and cinematographer David Worth died on September 7, 2026, at the age of 86, according to B92. The news was also reported by the specialized film outlet Film Combat Syndicate, which described him as one of the people who shaped the look of action cinema in the late 1980s and early 1990s.
Worth left behind a career spanning more than three decades, working on more than twenty films both as director and as cinematographer. His deepest mark was left on martial arts cinema. As cinematographer, he shot 1988’s Bloodsport, the film that launched Jean-Claude Van Damme into the top ranks of action stardom. A year later, Worth moved into the director’s chair for Kickboxer, again starring Van Damme in the lead role. Shot on location in Thailand, the film is now considered a genre classic. According to Film Combat Syndicate, Worth did more than direct on that shoot: he personally operated the camera during the fight scenes, which Van Damme choreographed himself.
Before turning to directing, Worth spent years working as a cinematographer. He shot Bronco Billy and Any Which Way You Can, both released in 1980 and both starring Clint Eastwood. That collaboration, together with his later work on Bloodsport, was part of the experience that eventually led him to his first director’s chair.
Van Damme: “You will forever be part of my journey”
Van Damme shared the news of Worth’s death on his Instagram profile, saying goodbye with a personal message.
“From Bloodsport to Kickboxer, David’s talent and vision helped create two martial arts classics that changed my life. Thank you for your friendship and for the magic we created together. Rest in peace, my friend. You will forever be part of my journey,” Van Damme wrote.
The two collaborated on two films that, in Van Damme’s own words, marked the start of his international career. Without his role in Bloodsport, which Worth shot, Van Damme would likely never have gotten the chance to carry Kickboxer as its lead a year later.
The films that defined his career
Beyond Bloodsport and Kickboxer, Worth also directed Lady Dragon, Lady Dragon 2, Warrior of the Lost World, Hard Knocks, American Tigers, True Vengeance, Chain of Command, Shark Attack 2 and Shark Attack 3. Most of these were genre, low budget productions from the 1990s and 2000s that kept Worth working for decades after his biggest success.
Today, colleagues in the action film world describe his body of work as a template that defined the look of martial arts cinema in that era, from the way he framed movement on camera to the style behind the now famous underground “kumite” fight in Bloodsport. According to Film Combat Syndicate, that scene alone turned a low budget film into an international cult hit and launched both Van Damme and Bolo Yeung to worldwide recognition.
For Van Damme, Worth remains the man who, as he put it himself, changed his life through their work on two films together. For audiences who grew up on action movies watched off VHS tapes, Worth remains the name behind the camera on some of the most recognizable fight scenes of that era.
