Steven Seagal

Steven Seagal
Steven Seagal in 2007
Born	Steven Frederic Seagal April 10, 1952 (1952-04-10) (age 58)[1] Lansing, Michigan, U.S.
Other names	Chungdrag Dorje, Albs Oft, Takeshigemichi
Occupation	Actor, film producer, martial artist, musician, writer
Years active	1987–present
Spouse	Miyako Fujitani (1975–1986) Adrienne La Russa (1984–1987) Kelly LeBrock (1987–1996)
Website
http://www.stevenseagal.com

Steven Frederic Seagal^[2][3] (pronounced /sɨˈɡɑːl/; born April 10, 1952)^[4] is an American action film actor, producer, writer, martial artist, guitarist and a reserve deputy sheriff. A 7th-dan black belt in aikido, Seagal began his adult life as an aikido instructor in Japan. He became the first foreigner to operate an aikido dojo in Japan.^[5] He later moved to the Los Angeles, California, area where he made his film debut in 1988 in Above the Law. He became a major action star due to his blockbuster films of the 1990s, such as Under Siege (1992) and Under Siege 2 (1995), where he played Navy SEALs counter-terrorist expert Casey Ryback, but since then starred mainly in direct-to-video action films.

Seagal is also a recording artist and guitarist and the founder of Steven Seagal Enterprises.^[6] In addition to his professional achievements, he is also known as an environmentalist, an animal rights activist and a supporter of the 14th Dalai Lama Tenzin Gyatso, and the Tibetan independence movement.

Contents 1 Early life 2 Aikido 3 Hollywood career 3.1 1990s 3.2 Direct-to-video work 3.3 Return to the big screen 4 Music 5 Law enforcement work 6 Business ventures 7 Activism 8 Personal life 9 2010 lawsuit 10 Filmography 11 Discography 12 References 13 External links

Early life

Seagal was born in Lansing, Michigan, where he lived until he was five years old. His mother, Patricia (1930–2003), was a medical technician, and his father, Samuel Steven Seagal (1928–1991), was a high school math teacher.^[7] His mother was Irish American and his father was Jewish.^[8] The family relocated to Fullerton, California, where Seagal attended Buena Park High School in Buena Park, California.

Aikido

Seagal, a 7th dan degree or Shihan in aikido, moved to Japan in his late teens and became the first foreigner to operate an aikido dojo in Japan. He is trained by Morihei Ueshiba and received 1st dan degree or Shodan, therefore he is the youngest foreign student of Ueshiba to receive Shodan (the youngest student of Morihei Ueshiba to receive Shodan is Michio Hikitsuchi, received when he was 17). He continued studying aikido with Seiseki Abe, Koichi Tohei (Seagal refused to join Tohei's Ki Society and remained at Aikikai), Kisaburo Osawa, Hiroshi Isoyama and Kisshomaru Ueshiba.

He married Miyako Fujitani in Japan and earn a living there. Miyako's father is an aikido instructor; when her father wants to retire from being an instructor, Segal became the new head of the organization known as Tenshin Aikido (affiliated by Aikikai). He is known by his students as Take Sensei. Seagal initially returned to Taos, New Mexico, with his student—and later a film stuntman—Craig Dunn. There, they opened a dojo, but Seagal spent much of his time pursuing other ventures. After another period in Japan, Seagal returned to the U.S. in 1983 with senior student Haruo Matsuoka. They opened an aikido dojo, initially in Burbank, California, but later moved it to the city of West Hollywood. Seagal left Matsuoka in charge of the dojo, which he ran until the two parted ways in 1997. He currently trains three students: Craig Dunn, Elliot Freeman, and Jorge Angulo.

Initially, he worked as the martial arts coordinator for the films The Challenge (1982) starring Scott Glenn and Toshirô Mifune, and Never Say Never Again (1983) starring Sean Connery. He later helped train UFC Middleweight Champion Anderson Silva and was in his corner at UFC 117 in August 2010. They were seen bowing to each other just before the fight.^[9]

Hollywood career

1990s

In 1987, Seagal began work on his first film, Above the Law (titled Nico in Europe), with director Andrew Davis and reportedly as a favor to a former aikido student, the agent Michael Ovitz, who believed he could make anyone a star.^[10] Following its success, Seagal made three more movies – Hard to Kill, Marked for Death, and Out for Justice – that were box office hits, making him an action hero. Later, he achieved wider, mainstream success in 1992 with the release of Under Siege (1992). That film reunited Seagal with director Andrew Davis, and was a blockbuster in the U.S. and abroad, grossing $156.4 million worldwide.^[11]

Seagal then directed On Deadly Ground (1994). This film, in which he also starred, emphasized environmental and spiritual themes, signaling a break with his previous persona as a genre-ready inner-city cop. The film featured Michael Caine and a small role by Billy Bob Thornton.

Following the general critical disappointment of On Deadly Ground,^[12] Seagal filmed a sequel to one of his most successful films, Under Siege, titled Under Siege 2: Dark Territory (1995), and cop drama The Glimmer Man (1996). In 1996, he had minor role in the Kurt Russell film Executive Decision, in which he played a special ops soldier who was killed in the film's first 45 minutes. He subsequently made another environmentally conscious film, Fire Down Below (1997), wherein he was an EPA agent fighting industrialists dumping toxic waste in the Kentucky hills, but the movie was commercially unsuccessful. This film ended his original multi-picture contract with Warner Bros.

Direct-to-video work

The next year, Seagal made The Patriot, another environmental thriller which was his first direct-to-video release in the United States (though it was released theatrically in most of the world). Seagal produced this film with his own money, and the film was shot on-location on and near his farm in Montana.

After producing Prince of Central Park, Seagal returned to cinema screens with the release of Exit Wounds in March 2001. The film had fewer martial arts scenes than Seagal's previous films, but it was a commercial success, taking almost $80 million worldwide. However, he was unable to capitalize on this success and his next two projects were both critical and commercial failures. Ticker co-starring Tom Sizemore and Dennis Hopper, and filmed in San Francisco before Exit Wounds, went straight to DVD while Half Past Dead, starring rap star Ja Rule, made less than $20 million worldwide.

All of the films Seagal has made since the latter half of 2001 have been released direct-to-video (DTV) in North America, with some theatrical releases to other countries around the world. Seagal is credited as a producer and sometimes a writer on many of these DTV movies, which include Black Dawn, Belly of the Beast, Out of Reach, Submerged, Kill Switch, Urban Justice, Pistol Whipped, Against the Dark, Driven to Kill, A Dangerous Man, and The Keeper, a movie released in Japan fifteen weeks earlier than the United States.^[13] His latest film, Born To Raise Hell, was in post-production as of 2010.

Return to the big screen

In 2010, Seagal appeared in his first theatrically released film in nearly a decade, as the main villain in Robert Rodriguez' Machete. He was also offered a part in The Expendables, but turned it down due to a conflict with the film's producer Avi Lerner. He is also rumored to be co-starring with Dolph Lundgren in his latest project Skin Trade, anticipated for a 2011 release.

Music

In addition to acting and aikido, Seagal also plays the guitar, and his songs have been featured in several of his movies (such as Fire Down Below and Ticker). In 2005, he released his first album, Songs from the Crystal Cave, which has a mix of pop, world, country and blues music. It features duets with Tony Rebel, Lt. Stichie, Lady Saw, and Stevie Wonder. The soundtrack to Seagal's 2005 film Into the Sun features several songs from the album. One of his album tracks, "Girl It's Alright", was also released as a single in parts of the world alongside an accompanying music video created for it.

Seagal's second album, titled Mojo Priest, was released in April 2006. Subsequently, he spent summer 2006 touring the United States and Europe with his band, Thunderbox, in support of the album.

Law enforcement work

Seagal is currently a Reserve Deputy Chief of the Sheriff's Office in the community of Jefferson Parish, Louisiana. Seagal has a second home in Louisiana, and spends several months a year there.^[14] He claims to have graduated from a police academy in California over twenty years ago and has a certificate from Peace Officer Standards & Training (POST), an organization that accredits California police officers. In November 2008, A&E announced that they had begun taping Steven Seagal: Lawman, which follows his work in the Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office. The series premiered on A&E on December 2, 2009. Seagal stated that "I’ve decided to work with A&E on this series now because I believe it’s important to show the nation all the positive work being accomplished here in Louisiana—to see the passion and commitment that comes from the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office in this post-Katrina environment." The series premiere drew 3.6 million viewers, ranking as best season opener for any original A&E series ever.^[15]

On April 14, 2010, the series was suspended indefinitely by Jefferson Parish, Louisiana Sheriff Newell Normand due to the sexual trafficking lawsuit filed against Seagal, a case later dropped.^[16]

Business ventures

Seagal Enterprises markets an energy drink known as Steven Seagal's Lightning Bolt, as well as an herbal oil product line.^[17] Seagal personally endorses this drink, saying, "I have traveled the world creating this drink; there is none better that I know."^[17] He also has his own aftershave called Scent of Action.

Activism

Seagal has described his activism method as "shaming companies into changing," a theme that is visible in such films as On Deadly Ground and Fire Down Below. He has worked with People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) to discourage the fur trade, and has written to the Prime Minister of India to seek increased legal protection for cows. Seagal worked effectively towards saving dogs destined to drown in Taiwan.

In 1999, Seagal was awarded a PETA Humanitarian Award.^[18] In 2003, Seagal wrote an open letter to the leadership of Thailand, urging them to enact law to prevent the torture of baby elephants.^[19]

Outside of his film work, Seagal has volunteered, lending his voice as a narrator for an activist film project, Medicine Lake Video, which seeks to protect sacred tribal ground near his ranch in Siskiyou County.^[20]

Personal life

An only son, Seagal has three sisters, one older and two younger. He owns a dude ranch in Colorado and a home in the Mandeville Canyon section of Brentwood, a wealthy neighborhood in Los Angeles. He has adopted many animals from shelters.^[21]

After Seagal left his first wife Miyako Fujitani to go back to the United States,^[22][23] he married former Days of our Lives actress Adrienne La Russa, despite his divorce to Fujitani not yet being finalized. During his marriage to La Russa he met actress/model Kelly LeBrock, with whom he began a relationship and who eventually became pregnant with his child. When news of this emerged, Seagal's marriage to La Russa was annulled and he then married LeBrock on September 5, 1987. In 1994, LeBrock filed divorce papers citing "irreconcilable differences". During this time it emerged that Seagal was having an affair with Arissa Wolf, who was hired to be a nanny to Seagal and Lebrock's children.^[24][25]

Seagal has six children from three relationships. With Fujitani, he had a son, model and actor Kentaro Seagal, and a daughter, writer and actress, Ayako Fujitani. His three children with LeBrock are daughters Annaliza and Arissa, and son Dominic. Seagal and Arissa Wolf have one daughter, Savannah.

In addition to his biological children, Seagal's Tibetan Buddhist beliefs^[26] have also placed him in the role of guardian to a Tibetan child, Yabshi Pan Rinzinwangmo. Rinzinwangmo, or "Renji", is the only child of the 10th Panchen Lama of Tibet. Renji studied in the United States at American University, and Seagal was her guardian and bodyguard.^[27]

2010 lawsuit

On April 12, 2010, 23-year-old Kayden Nguyen, a former executive/personal assistant of Seagal, filed a lawsuit claiming sexual harassment, illegal trafficking of females for sex, failure to prevent sexual harassment, retaliation, wrongful termination and false representation about employment. Nguyen claims that she was asked to join Seagal's harem which included two Russian women and was to be a replacement of one of the Russian women who had sex with Seagal.^[28] Seagal's attorney Marty Singer released this statement on April 13, 2010, "The lawsuit filed by Kayden Nguyen against Steven Seagal is a ridiculous and absurd claim by a disgruntled ex-employee who was fired."^[29][30] Nguyen is suing for over one million dollars.^[31]

On April 14, Jefferson Parish, Louisiana Sheriff Newell Normand announced he will not launch an investigation into Seagal unless a criminal complaint is filed in Jefferson Parish by the accuser.^[16] On July 14, 2010, it was announced that the case had been dismissed.^[32]

Filmography

Year	Title	Role	Director
1988	Above the Law	Nico Toscani	Andrew Davis
1990	Hard to Kill	Mason Storm	Bruce Malmuth
	Marked for Death	John Hatcher	Dwight H. Little
1991	Out for Justice	Det. Gino Felino	John Flynn
1992	Under Siege	Casey Ryback	Andrew Davis
1994	On Deadly Ground	Forrest Taft	Steven Seagal
1995	Under Siege 2: Dark Territory	Casey Ryback	Geoff Murphy
1996	Executive Decision	Lt. Colonel Austin Travis	Stuart Baird
	The Glimmer Man	Lt. Jack Cole	John Gray
1997	Fire Down Below	Jack Taggart	Félix Enríquez Alcalá
1998	The Patriot	Dr. Wesley McClaren	Dean Semler
1999	Get Bruce	HimSelf	Andrew J. Kuehn
2001	Exit Wounds	Orin Boyd	Andrzej Bartkowiak
	Ticker	Frank Glass	Albert Pyun
2002	Half Past Dead	Sasha Petrosevitch	Don Michael Paul
2003	The Foreigner	Jonathan Cold	Michael Oblowitz
	Out for a Kill	Prof. Robert Burns	Michael Oblowitz
	Belly of the Beast	Jake Hopper	Siu-Tung Ching
2004	Out of Reach	William Lansing	Po-Chih Leong
	Clementine	Jack Miller	Du-yeong Kim
2005	Into the Sun	Travis Hunter	mink
	Submerged	Chris Cody	Anthony Hickox
	Today You Die	Harlan Banks	Don E. FauntLeRoy
	Black Dawn	Jonathan Cold	Alexander Gruszynski
2006	Mercenary for Justice	John Seeger	Don E. FauntLeRoy
	Shadow Man	Jack Foster	Michael Keusch
	Attack Force	Cmdr. Marshall Lawson	Michael Keusch
2007	Flight of Fury	John Sands	Michael Keusch
	Urban Justice	Simon Ballister	Don E. FauntLeRoy
2008	Pistol Whipped	Matt Conlin	Roel Reiné
	The Onion Movie	Cock Puncher	Tom Kuntz
	Kill Switch	Jacob	Jeff King
2009	Against the Dark	Tao	Richard Crudo
	Driven to Kill	Ruslan	Jeff King
	Steven Seagal:Lawman	Himself	Steven Seagal
	The Keeper	Roland	Keoni Waxman
2010	A Dangerous Man	Shane Daniels	Keoni Waxman
	Machete	Torrez	Robert Rodriguez
	Born to Raise Hell	Agent Bobby Singer	Lauro Chartrand
2011	Southern Justice	Elijah Kane	Wayne Rose
	Skin Trade		Dolph Lundgren

Discography

• 2005: Songs from the Crystal Cave
• 2006: Mojo Priest

References

External links

• Official website
• Steven Seagal at the Internet Movie Database