The Sunday Times - December 24, 2006
Mark Anstead
Born in Michigan in 1951, Steven Seagal taught aikido in Japan before moving to Los Angeles. He made his action movie debut in Above the Law in 1988 and his most successful film was Under Siege (1992). He also directs and produces films, markets his own energy drink and will tour the UK with his blues band Thunderbox in 2007 (www.stevenseagal.com). He has six children, three with his third ex-wife, the actress Kelly LeBrock
You’d think Steven Seagal would have something to say about living an active sort of life. A black belt in aikido, karate, judo and kendo, he choreographs his own fight scenes. And before morphing into a death-defying action hero in hits such as Under Siege, he claims to have been the first westerner to open a martial arts school in Japan. He also does his own stunt driving and appears to be a dab hand with a Colt M1911 semi-automatic pistol.
But, when it comes to words Seagal is anything but quick on the draw. “I don’t know much about cars,” he drawls, following several attempts to elicit tales of high-speed derring-do. “I have drivers.”
He must have some pretty flash cars though? “I bought a Mercedes the other day,” he starts. “But I can’t tell you what it is. It came to me by accident: I was standing in a friend’s car lot when it was returned almost brand new. I got a great deal, but I don’t drive much because I don’t like traffic.
“I’m a simple guy,” he adds finally, after a long pause. “I like cars that have lots of room in them.”
Seagal has a reputation for being uninterested in interviews, often barely managing to conceal his boredom, a sentiment with which anyone who has sat through one of his recent straight-to-video fightfests will be more than familiar. The problem is, Seagal doesn’t really like the day job any more. “I’ve always been passionate about film-making but acting is not my favourite part of the process,” he says. “Producing and directing is far more interesting.”
Oh really? Why is that? Silence. Perhaps because you have more control over the end results? “Probably,” he says with another heavy sigh.
It was in Under Siege in 1992 that Seagal really arrived as an action hero to rival Stallone and Schwarzenegger. Before that he’d made a handful of police thrillers, playing maverick go-it-alone cops uncovering corruption or seeking revenge, but it was the pitting of his naval cook against Tommy Lee Jones’s outrageous villain that forged what remains his biggest box-office hit to date.
Seagal was nearly 41 when he made Under Siege. His receding hairline was already working its way into the prominent widow’s peak (plus ponytail) that became his trademark. As the 1990s wore on and middle age kicked in, Seagal became an increasingly static action star, prone to casting himself as a man so gifted in self-defence that all it took was a few deft flicks of his wrist to send his attackers flying. His waistline expanded and his films started bypassing the box office for Blockbuster. Asked if he’s still passionate about martial arts the 55-year-old equivocates. “I try and practise aikido every day.” Really? “Well, I did say ‘try’; I don’t always manage it.”
Smelling danger, he finally volunteers some information. He was once in a car crash after he aquaplaned on a wet freeway and finished up “in a little wreck”.
I’m not entirely gripped by this anecdote so Seagal has another stab.
“I do a lot of the car work in my movies. It has sometimes put me in dangerous situations. In Under Siege 2 I could have gone off the road at one point driving along a steep cliff, and in Out for Justice there was some crazy driving I had to do under a bridge. I enjoy it.”
After this burst of enthusiasm we move on to the subject I’m assured Seagal simply loves to talk about: music. Unbeknown to most of his fans, this is Seagal’s first love. A singer and guitarist, he has released two blues albums and performed with the likes of BB King and Bo Diddley. “I’ve been playing since I was a boy,” he says. “I practise the guitar every chance I get — it’s the first thing I pick up. I see myself essentially as a musician.”
With his blues band Thunderbox Seagal kicks off a “world tour” (UK and Denmark) in January, performing in venues such as the Market Harborough leisure centre, Cliffs Pavilion in Southend-on-Sea and the Assembly Hall theatre in Tunbridge Wells. “I’m happy to play small halls,” he says. “I’m very philosophical about it; that’s part of my Buddhist approach.”
At last Seagal is talking. So how does he reconcile his peaceful Buddhist beliefs with the violence in his films? “If people really understood Buddhism they would know none of that really matters,” he says. “It’s one of the dumbest questions I get asked. It just shows a lack of understanding. People should realise that when I’m acting I’m pretending, but I use my movies to make spiritual points.”
I’m about to ask what precisely these might be, but Seagal’s face has dropped again. I’m out for the count.
On his Cd changer
King of Blues, by BB King, and The Story of Bo Diddley, left. Aretha Franklin (I like a bit of soul) and Hubert Sumlin, who is a holy man to me
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suzi
Mark Anstead
Born in Michigan in 1951, Steven Seagal taught aikido in Japan before moving to Los Angeles. He made his action movie debut in Above the Law in 1988 and his most successful film was Under Siege (1992). He also directs and produces films, markets his own energy drink and will tour the UK with his blues band Thunderbox in 2007 (www.stevenseagal.com). He has six children, three with his third ex-wife, the actress Kelly LeBrock
You’d think Steven Seagal would have something to say about living an active sort of life. A black belt in aikido, karate, judo and kendo, he choreographs his own fight scenes. And before morphing into a death-defying action hero in hits such as Under Siege, he claims to have been the first westerner to open a martial arts school in Japan. He also does his own stunt driving and appears to be a dab hand with a Colt M1911 semi-automatic pistol.
But, when it comes to words Seagal is anything but quick on the draw. “I don’t know much about cars,” he drawls, following several attempts to elicit tales of high-speed derring-do. “I have drivers.”
He must have some pretty flash cars though? “I bought a Mercedes the other day,” he starts. “But I can’t tell you what it is. It came to me by accident: I was standing in a friend’s car lot when it was returned almost brand new. I got a great deal, but I don’t drive much because I don’t like traffic.
“I’m a simple guy,” he adds finally, after a long pause. “I like cars that have lots of room in them.”
Seagal has a reputation for being uninterested in interviews, often barely managing to conceal his boredom, a sentiment with which anyone who has sat through one of his recent straight-to-video fightfests will be more than familiar. The problem is, Seagal doesn’t really like the day job any more. “I’ve always been passionate about film-making but acting is not my favourite part of the process,” he says. “Producing and directing is far more interesting.”
Oh really? Why is that? Silence. Perhaps because you have more control over the end results? “Probably,” he says with another heavy sigh.
It was in Under Siege in 1992 that Seagal really arrived as an action hero to rival Stallone and Schwarzenegger. Before that he’d made a handful of police thrillers, playing maverick go-it-alone cops uncovering corruption or seeking revenge, but it was the pitting of his naval cook against Tommy Lee Jones’s outrageous villain that forged what remains his biggest box-office hit to date.
Seagal was nearly 41 when he made Under Siege. His receding hairline was already working its way into the prominent widow’s peak (plus ponytail) that became his trademark. As the 1990s wore on and middle age kicked in, Seagal became an increasingly static action star, prone to casting himself as a man so gifted in self-defence that all it took was a few deft flicks of his wrist to send his attackers flying. His waistline expanded and his films started bypassing the box office for Blockbuster. Asked if he’s still passionate about martial arts the 55-year-old equivocates. “I try and practise aikido every day.” Really? “Well, I did say ‘try’; I don’t always manage it.”
Smelling danger, he finally volunteers some information. He was once in a car crash after he aquaplaned on a wet freeway and finished up “in a little wreck”.
I’m not entirely gripped by this anecdote so Seagal has another stab.
“I do a lot of the car work in my movies. It has sometimes put me in dangerous situations. In Under Siege 2 I could have gone off the road at one point driving along a steep cliff, and in Out for Justice there was some crazy driving I had to do under a bridge. I enjoy it.”
After this burst of enthusiasm we move on to the subject I’m assured Seagal simply loves to talk about: music. Unbeknown to most of his fans, this is Seagal’s first love. A singer and guitarist, he has released two blues albums and performed with the likes of BB King and Bo Diddley. “I’ve been playing since I was a boy,” he says. “I practise the guitar every chance I get — it’s the first thing I pick up. I see myself essentially as a musician.”
With his blues band Thunderbox Seagal kicks off a “world tour” (UK and Denmark) in January, performing in venues such as the Market Harborough leisure centre, Cliffs Pavilion in Southend-on-Sea and the Assembly Hall theatre in Tunbridge Wells. “I’m happy to play small halls,” he says. “I’m very philosophical about it; that’s part of my Buddhist approach.”
At last Seagal is talking. So how does he reconcile his peaceful Buddhist beliefs with the violence in his films? “If people really understood Buddhism they would know none of that really matters,” he says. “It’s one of the dumbest questions I get asked. It just shows a lack of understanding. People should realise that when I’m acting I’m pretending, but I use my movies to make spiritual points.”
I’m about to ask what precisely these might be, but Seagal’s face has dropped again. I’m out for the count.
On his Cd changer
King of Blues, by BB King, and The Story of Bo Diddley, left. Aretha Franklin (I like a bit of soul) and Hubert Sumlin, who is a holy man to me
--------------------------------------------------------
suzi