When Jean-Claude Van Damme kickboxed his way down the main street of Broken Hill, he was potentially leading the way for rhinoceroses, cheetahs and lions to follow him to the NSW outback.
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The "Muscles from Brussels" was on Friday in the remote town, scouting a potential site for a new international wildlife conservation project.
The Hollywood veteran and wildlife activist is spearheading an as-yet unnamed foundation of wealthy benefactors who will fund endangered species to be brought to Australia, where, with close scientific monitoring, it is hoped they will successfully breed in protection.
"We are trying to give lots of freedom to those big animals by having some sort of land where it should not be exploited by the tourism.
“They have a chance to breed, to be free," he exclusively told Fairfax Media.
"This country is a country, I believe, which can give chances for people and animals to have … total freedom."
He said Africa's railroads, which cut through prime wildlife breeding areas, are just one example of the continent's inability to protect its indigenous species.
Deforestation and game hunting add to the severity of the problem, which has forced Van Damme to look at sanctuary locations many miles from Africa.
While in Broken Hill, he met and dined with Steve Radford, goldminer and owner of 8000 hectare-White Leeds Arid Wetlands, and his family, who shared spring rolls with the action hero, who has 59 films to his name.
White Leeds is one potential spot for a private animal sanctuary and a possible home
"We don't know if Broken Hill is the solution, it ... looks like heaven on earth but we have to see how the government will help us," Van Damme said.
On Thursday, he met with the Environment Minister, Josh Frydenberg, and Deputy Prime Minister, Barnaby Joyce, to discuss the safe passage of animals from all over the world to private Australian property using zoo importation programs.
Van Damme, who is financially invested in the project, called Frydenberg and Joyce "two amazing persons - different types of personality, but they both love nature and that's great".
The actor's two-week visit to Australia has so far taken in Melbourne, Canberra, outback NSW and Sydney, where he wooed government ministers and potential private investors to back his wildlife-loving "club of billionaires".
He suggested that members could hold a "VIP card, say, 'Saving the kingdom of the animals in Australia'" which would allow them to visit the sanctuaries and stay in "mini boutique hotels" on their peripheries.
The cost of fences and technology to keep the public and the wildlife secure, as well as the transport of animals and their veterinarian needs, would be covered by the private foundation and would in no way be passed on to the Australian taxpayer.
A passionate animal protection advocate, Van Damme in September lent his name to a program to adopt an Australian greyhound and last year condemned the infamous slaughter of Cecil the lion in Zimbabwe.
"At least I can use my 59 movies," he said of using his profile for his latest good - and urgent - cause. "[It's] the final point of my career. I'm 56 years old, am I gonna make another two, three, four movies to be more famous?
"Imagine you have lots of money and you've done everything in life ... what you're going to do before dying? Go to casino, Vegas, or put some money into a land so that when you're dead you know that you save lots of species?"
Not known for their openness towards foreign species, Australian authorities may have met their match in the Street Fighter star.
"Don't worry, I'll try my best to make [it] happen," he said.
"Everything is possible. If we don't move now, it's too late."
The story, Jean-Claude Van Damme's dream to bring rhinoceroses to Broken Hill, first appeared on the Sydney Morning Herald.
