The action movies were a ten-year detour between running a dojo in Osaka and becoming a Kremlin envoy.
At a glance
- Known for
- *Under Siege*, direct-to-video action films, aikido, pro-Kremlin advocacy
- Before fame
- Ran an aikido dojo in Osaka as the first non-Japanese American to operate one in Japan
- Off-screen
- Holds triple citizenship in the US, Russia, and Serbia
Rise to Fame
His most important student wasn't on the mat. Michael Ovitz, one of the most powerful agents in 1980s Hollywood, took aikido lessons at Seagal's West Hollywood dojo and decided he could turn his instructor into a movie star. Ovitz financed a screen test, Warner Bros. offered a contract, and Above the Law hit theaters in 1988 before Seagal had a single acting credit.
The formula worked because he didn't move like other action stars. Four hits in three years, then Under Siege (1992) grossed $156.6 million and picked up two Oscar nominations. His directorial debut, On Deadly Ground, ended with a seven-minute environmental sermon delivered to a captive theater audience. Warner Bros. kept him for two more films. Fire Down Below tanked in 1997. The studio didn't call back.
In the Spotlight
Triple citizenship tells the whole story. Putin personally granted him Russian citizenship in 2016 after he'd been, in the Kremlin's words, 'asking quite insistently and over a lengthy period.' By 2018 he was serving as Russia's special envoy to the US.
The Order of Friendship arrived in 2023. He'd earned it by appearing on Russian state TV in 2022 to push Kremlin narratives about Ukraine and headlining a pro-war concert. Ukraine banned him as a national security threat, a title none of his movies ever earned. The SEC separately fined him $314,000 for promoting a crypto scam without disclosing payment, and at least eleven women accused him of sexual misconduct, all denied. Whatever he's selling, the audience has changed.
Side Notes
A Tibetan Buddhist lama declared him the reincarnation of a 17th-century treasure revealer in 1997. Lorne Michaels reportedly called him the worst Saturday Night Live host in the show's history after his 1991 episode, where sketch pitches included playing a therapist whose patient had been raped.
He owns more than 400 guitars, including instruments that belonged to Jimi Hendrix and BB King, and released two blues albums, with Stevie Wonder appearing on the first. The Gambino crime family shook him down for at least $700,000 over a soured deal with his own producer. Even certified saints pay up.