The savviest movie stars give the people what they want.
And in the late '80s, the people wanted a sort-of-mystical, stone-faced martial arts
expert with a ponytail—in other words, Steven Seagal.
"I have something in my pocket right now, to completely clear up that bruise on your
forehead."
"What bruise?"
"Ah!"
"That bruise."
He ruled the box office for years with huge hits like Hard to Kill, Above the Law, and
Under Siege, but tastes change and eventually, he faded from movie star prominence.
So what ever happened to Steven Seagal?
He Still Makes Lots Of Movies
Seagal's contract with Warner Bros. ended with the release of the environmentally-themed
thriller Fire Down Below in 1997.
"Cracked my wood, that's no good."
He still makes action movies, though, it's just that most of them have gone straight
to DVD or streaming.
In fact, Seagal has churned out more than 30 movies in the last two decades, with awesome
titles like Urban Justice, Out for a Kill, and Half Past Dead.
Awesome.
"We got a problem."
"How do I look?"
"Like a big fat prom queen."
Two Cop Shows: One Real, One Fake
In the late '80s, Jefferson Parish, Louisiana Sheriff Harry Lee asked Seagal to train his
force in martial arts, eventually enlisting Seagal as a reserve deputy.
In 2009, Seagal's side gig became the basis for a reality show on A&E called Steven Seagal:
Lawman.
"This is not good."
It was similar to COPS, except that Steven Seagal was there, which had to be really weird
for the criminals.
"Steven Seagal!
My wife loves you.
I don't like you, but my wife loves you!"
Sadly, Seagal reportedly resigned from the force after he found himself the subject of
an internal affairs investigation that, according to the Phoenix New Times, sought to uncover
the truth about "allegations of --- ----------- and ------ -------." But in 2011, Seagal used
the lemons life gave him to make lemonade with the action series True Justice, which
he created and starred in as Elijah Kane, head of an elite undercover Seattle task force.
It ran for 26 episodes on the network Reelz before being canceled.
Entrepreneur
From 1999 to 2007, Seagal owned a 995-acre lavender farm in northern California where
he grew the raw materials for Diamond Lotus Essentials, a line of "therapeutic oils,"
and he currently owns an estate in California's Santa Ynez Valley, where he grows Cabernet
grapes that he then sells to other wineries.
"You've done well."
Plus, there's Steven Seagal's Lightning Bolt, a line of canned energy drinks that was proudly
marketed as the first of its kind to contain "Tibetan Goji Berries" and "Asian Cordyceps."
"It's good to be the king isn't it?
And guess what, this could happen to you, if you drank Lightning Bolt."
Real Life Drama
Seagal has been married four times.
His third and most prominent marriage was with another nostalgic icon, model and actress
Kelly LeBrock, most famous for being the dream woman created by teen scientists in Weird
Science.
Seagal and LeBrock divorced in 1996 after he reportedly had an affair with their nanny,
and she got pregnant.
In 2009, he married his personal assistant, Erdenetuya Batsukh, but a year later, another
of Seagal's former personal assistants, Kayden Nguyen, sued Seagal for $1 million, alleging
he harassed and abused her.
Those allegations were corroborated by two other female ex-employees who alleged similar
treatment by the actor, but the suit was dropped later in the year.
Missed Opportunities
In 2007, Seagal's pal Jackie Chan is rumored to have suggested that Seagal play the villain
in Rush Hour 3.
After that fell through, in 2010 Sylvester Stallone offered Seagal a part in the action
flick The Expendables, which was chock full of 80's action heroes.
Seagal refused, though, due to a feud with one of the film's producers, and missed out
on what would have been one of the biggest hits of his career.
World Citizen
Bizarrely, two of Seagal’s friends are Buddhist spiritual leader the Dalai Lama...and Russian
president Vladimir Putin, with whom Seagal is especially close.
"He is one of the greatest world leaders if not the greatest world leader alive today."
In addition, Seagal gained citizenship in Serbia in January 2016 after offering to set
up a martial arts studio there...to go along with his blues concerts.
(Steven Seagal plays the blues)
He probably wouldn't be able to live in Serbia, however, if he followed through on his plans
to someday run for governor of Arizona.
"I think our biggest problem is open borders."
Sorry, Steven.
Not every problem can be solved by kicking.
"Ow!"
Or whatever this is.
(Steven Seagal plays the blues...again)
Thanks for watching!
Subscribe to our YouTube channel to watch more videos like the one you just saw.
And leave us a comment to let us know which Steven Seagal movie is your favorite, aw ya!