In 1992, Steven Seagal starred in Under Siege, an action flick that grossed over $150 million
worldwide.
Eleven years later, he starred in The Foreigner, a movie with a 0% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
Basically, this guy has come a long way — down — since the 1990s.
But in addition to his messy movie career, Seagal has been involved in a long string
of weird incidents both behind the scenes and off the set entirely.
While his career is often derided by critics, there's no denying Seagal lives one wild life.
Steve, the on-set diva
According to multiple actors, Steven Seagal is an incredibly difficult coworker.
John Leguizamo found out the hard way.
While in rehearsals for Executive Decision, Leguizamo laughed at something Seagal had
said — so Steven responded with an executive decision of his own.
"And he came up and he Tae Kwon Do-ed my ass against a brick wall.
He's 6 foot 5 and caught me off guard and knocked all the air out of me.
I was like, why?
Why?"
Then there's The Glimmer Man, where the script calls for Seagal's character to kill a serial
murderer, played by legendary character actor Stephen Tobolowsky.
"Am I right, or am I right, or am I right, right, right, right?"
Seagal decided he didn't want to kill so many people in movies anymore, and even tried convincing
Tobolowsky that his serial killer character should live.
The scene was eventually filmed as-written, and Tobolowsky's murderer met his maker.
"My entire chest explodes like my heart explodes.
Like blood flies out of the camera.
And I fall out of frame, and smoke rises."
Of course, as filming progressed, Seagal improvised lines about how he sure was glad he didn't
kill that guy in the church.
The film's director called Tobolowsky in to record some extra dialogue to make it seem
like his character's on-screen death was a little less permanent.
What'd he settle on?
"I ended up shouting out 'Finish me off you son of a...
Come on!
Don't leave me like this!
Kill me!"
Breaking Bond
Steven Seagal has done quite a bit of fight choreography.
According to IMDb, most of the films he's choreographed are his own, but in the early
'80s, Seagal worked on the James Bond film Never Say Never Again, having been brought
onboard to teach Sean Connery some aikido.
Meanwhile, Connery was already well-versed in karate, having been awarded an honorary
third-degree black belt while preparing for 1967's You Only Live Twice.
Connery explained what went down when the pair worked together in an interview on Jay
Leno's Tonight Show in 1996:
"I got a little cocky, because I thought I knew what I was doing.
Because you know the principle is it's defense, so it's a pyramid.
And then I go a little bit fast and I did that and he broke my wrist."
"Wow"
Martial arts master...lousy fighter?
"I have something in my pocket right now that'll completely clear up that bruise on your forehead."
"What bruise?"
"That bruise."
There's no denying that Steven Seagal is an accomplished martial artist.
He's a legit seventh dan in aikido, a martial art that relies on joint locks and the redirection
of momentum.
He was even the first American to teach aikido in Japan.
But more than a few fighters think that aikido is actually kinda worthless when it comes
to self-defense.
Fight analyst Jack Slack says that aikido only works if your "opponent is running straight
at you," something most smart fighters never actually do.
UFC commentator and fighting fan Joe Rogan adds that aikido "would never work against
a trained fighter, never, not in a million years."
Mafia target
Steven Seagal has battled all sorts of bad guys on the silver screen, from terrorists
to the yakuza.
But Seagal has also faced some scary villains in real life — namely the Mafia.
According to a New York Times story from 2002, Seagal was once brought before a Gambino crime
family captain named Anthony "Sonny" Ciccone.
The mob boss ordered him to start working with producer Julius R. Nasso, with whom he'd
had a successful working relationship in the '90s before the two had a falling out.
Seagal was so freaked out that he gave the gangsters over half a million bucks.
The scandal came to light in 2003, and Nasso was sentenced to one year in federal prison.
Seagal's insane raid
If you couldn't tell from his filmography, Steven Seagal is fascinated with law enforcement.
Well, with the exception Under Siege.
"Are you like some Special Forces guy or something?"
"I'm just a cook."
"A cook?"
Anyway, Seagal actually served as a cop in Jefferson Parish, Louisiana, for about 20
years.
Then, in 2009, Seagal took things to the next level by starring in a reality show called
Steven Seagal: Lawman.
In the third season, Seagal teamed up with the controversial Sheriff Joe Arpaio of Maricopa
County in Arizona.
In 2011, Arpaio orchestrated a raid against Jesus Llovera, a local man suspected of cockfighting.
But when the cops showed up, they had a lot more than just a warrant.
There were up to 40 SWAT officers, a bomb squad, K-9 units, and even armored vehicles.
"We hope to take the suspect and anybody else who is inside the house by surprise."
And what could be more surprising than the police tanks that tore down the gates to Llovera's
property?
Or the damage done to parts of his house during the raid?
This peacock had no idea what to expect.
Llovera eventually pled guilty to cockfighting.
And the 115 roosters that he kept at his house were saved, right?
Wrong.
Apparently the police actually euthanized them all.
So that's...something.
Sweet moves, Steven
With a career as varied as Steven Seagal's, it's important to remember that he's not just
about punching, kicking, and killing lots of chickens.
The dude also plays the guitar in a blues band:
(playing guitar)
And sometimes, he does...well, whatever this is:
Thanks for watching!
Click the Grunge icon to subscribe to our YouTube channel.
Plus check out all this cool stuff we know you'll love, too!