GlimmerMan
Huge Member
I did a little digging for the Seagal story about the dog that saved him - here is part of an article from the UK movies magazine 'Empire', which interviewed Seagal a few months ago:
As part of Empire’s high-octane Action Special issue, we sat down to interview three one-man armies — Jean-Claude Van Damme, Steven Seagal and Dolph Lundgren, men with enough raw testosterone between them to take down a charging bull elephant. Each of them spoke for over an hour about smack-downs past, present and future, revealing everything from the secrets of their personal work-outs to which stars they’d like to kick in the head. Frankly there was too much goodness to fit in the magazine, so here are the rest of the best bits…
Your life has been a colourful one. The story goes that you began as a bodyguard…
Yeah, that is right.
Who did you protect?
I am kind of reticent to get into that, but I will say that I did do special security operations for some kings and queens and monarchs. Some important people.
Any truth to the rumour that you protected Steven Spielberg?
No, Steven is a friend of mine but I’ve never been his bodyguard and never been a bodyguard for any Hollywood person.
Did you have any training before you started acting?
I obviously did have some classes. I was concerned that I wouldn’t do as well as I wanted to do.
Are there any actors who have inspired you?
No. I never really tried to copy any other actors.
Or films that have influenced your screen image?
Sure, the films of Kurosawa. Yojimbo, Akahige, even Seven Samurai. If there’s a code to my movies, it goes back there.
Have you ever wanted to make a Kurosawa-type period epic yourself?
I definitely have and remain wanting to. Having been born in Japan, that country means a lot to me. I would like to tell the story of Will Adams. He was a British lord — whatever that means — who was asked by the queen of England to go and find gold. Or he might have asked her if he could go and find gold. It’s not clear who asked who.
Do you think that’ll ever get made?
Man, I hope so — he had some extremely interesting adventures. Also I would like to make Genghis Khan. I would love to star in a movie as Khan, that’s a passion I’ve had for a very long time.
It sounds like you’re a bit of a history buff…
I wouldn’t say I’m a brilliant historian. I just study life well. All aspects of life, and that includes history.
You’ve had your fair share of clashes with people on movie sets. Do any stand out?
Well, on Exit Wounds, DMX and I… (pause) We had some problems. And on Hard To Kill we had a bad director who wasn’t, in my humble opinion, a joy to work with. It wasn’t a war between the two of us but I will say there were some battles.
Would you say you’re a person who knows what he wants?
That’s true, I do most of the time.
Is it hard for you then if you and a director have different opinions on something?
As long as you’re on the film with professionals who are not retarded, it’s a process where you win some and you lose some. You have to understand that you’re just one humble piece of the puzzle, bobbing along.
What movie has been your happiest experience?
I thought that Fire Down Below came out exactly right. I think it’s one of the best movies I’ve done. The movie On Deadly Ground was also a really nice experience. I’ve had quite a few good experiences.
How was working with Michael Caine?
He’s a gentleman, a smart man. Very polite. A good human being. We didn’t really hang out.
You’re a Buddhist, yet you make very violent movies. How do you reconcile the two parts of your life?
Hey, hence the term “acting”! I get paid to act. Unfortunately, 99 per cent of the time I don’t make up the movies I star in. The studio hands them to me. So far, I just haven’t been rich enough to make them myself.
It’s been reported that you’ve had some trouble with stuntmen trying to take you down for real…
Yeah, once in a while things like that have happened, but in general everybody knows what they can get away with and what they can’t.
Have you ever needed to take people aside on set and threaten them with physical force?
Yeah, that’s accurate.
Going back to Genghis Khan, is there anything you feel you have in common with him?
I don’t know that we have anything in common, other than that he was the most brilliant military strategist in the history of mankind. He was a very, very smart man.
He was also pretty wild. Do you still have a wild side?
I wouldn’t like to compare myself to Genghis Khan, but I still enjoy life. That said, I don’t go to bars and I don’t go to clubs. I guess you’re gonna get the impression that I’m just a boring kinda guy. I love to play music and I’ll go and play anywhere. I have a lot of friends all over the world.
You do a lot of work for PETA and other animal rights organisations. Why?
(Puts on wussy voice) They have that sad look when they look at you. No, I love animals as much as I love any sentient beings. I’ve been able to do a lot of good work for animals that have been abused and I hope to continue to do this.
There’s a story about an encounter you had with a dog back in Japan…
Yeah that’s a true story, I don’t know how you heard about that. He was a white dog who showed up in my dojo one day and just wouldn’t leave. I said, “Okay, I guess you want to stay here a little while” and I fed him and he used to stay at the front of the ginkung.Then one night he started barking, I came out and the front of the dojo was on fire. And I thought, “Wow, that’s great, he saved me.” And then the next day he was gone. (Laughs) It’s kinda funny.
Do you think all animals have that same awareness?
I think animals are like people. I don’t know who that dog was or what he was, but he saved my life.
Do you have pets yourself?
Many. We have several Shepherds, Great Danes, Rottweillers, Boxers, all kinds of other dogs…
Probably no cats then…
No, I do have cats. I have cats and I have llamas and I have cows. Lots of animals.
Do you have to keep the cats away from the Rottweilers?
No, my dogs are told what they’re allowed to do. And that doesn’t include eating cats.
As part of Empire’s high-octane Action Special issue, we sat down to interview three one-man armies — Jean-Claude Van Damme, Steven Seagal and Dolph Lundgren, men with enough raw testosterone between them to take down a charging bull elephant. Each of them spoke for over an hour about smack-downs past, present and future, revealing everything from the secrets of their personal work-outs to which stars they’d like to kick in the head. Frankly there was too much goodness to fit in the magazine, so here are the rest of the best bits…
Your life has been a colourful one. The story goes that you began as a bodyguard…
Yeah, that is right.
Who did you protect?
I am kind of reticent to get into that, but I will say that I did do special security operations for some kings and queens and monarchs. Some important people.
Any truth to the rumour that you protected Steven Spielberg?
No, Steven is a friend of mine but I’ve never been his bodyguard and never been a bodyguard for any Hollywood person.
Did you have any training before you started acting?
I obviously did have some classes. I was concerned that I wouldn’t do as well as I wanted to do.
Are there any actors who have inspired you?
No. I never really tried to copy any other actors.
Or films that have influenced your screen image?
Sure, the films of Kurosawa. Yojimbo, Akahige, even Seven Samurai. If there’s a code to my movies, it goes back there.
Have you ever wanted to make a Kurosawa-type period epic yourself?
I definitely have and remain wanting to. Having been born in Japan, that country means a lot to me. I would like to tell the story of Will Adams. He was a British lord — whatever that means — who was asked by the queen of England to go and find gold. Or he might have asked her if he could go and find gold. It’s not clear who asked who.
Do you think that’ll ever get made?
Man, I hope so — he had some extremely interesting adventures. Also I would like to make Genghis Khan. I would love to star in a movie as Khan, that’s a passion I’ve had for a very long time.
It sounds like you’re a bit of a history buff…
I wouldn’t say I’m a brilliant historian. I just study life well. All aspects of life, and that includes history.
You’ve had your fair share of clashes with people on movie sets. Do any stand out?
Well, on Exit Wounds, DMX and I… (pause) We had some problems. And on Hard To Kill we had a bad director who wasn’t, in my humble opinion, a joy to work with. It wasn’t a war between the two of us but I will say there were some battles.
Would you say you’re a person who knows what he wants?
That’s true, I do most of the time.
Is it hard for you then if you and a director have different opinions on something?
As long as you’re on the film with professionals who are not retarded, it’s a process where you win some and you lose some. You have to understand that you’re just one humble piece of the puzzle, bobbing along.
What movie has been your happiest experience?
I thought that Fire Down Below came out exactly right. I think it’s one of the best movies I’ve done. The movie On Deadly Ground was also a really nice experience. I’ve had quite a few good experiences.
How was working with Michael Caine?
He’s a gentleman, a smart man. Very polite. A good human being. We didn’t really hang out.
You’re a Buddhist, yet you make very violent movies. How do you reconcile the two parts of your life?
Hey, hence the term “acting”! I get paid to act. Unfortunately, 99 per cent of the time I don’t make up the movies I star in. The studio hands them to me. So far, I just haven’t been rich enough to make them myself.
It’s been reported that you’ve had some trouble with stuntmen trying to take you down for real…
Yeah, once in a while things like that have happened, but in general everybody knows what they can get away with and what they can’t.
Have you ever needed to take people aside on set and threaten them with physical force?
Yeah, that’s accurate.
Going back to Genghis Khan, is there anything you feel you have in common with him?
I don’t know that we have anything in common, other than that he was the most brilliant military strategist in the history of mankind. He was a very, very smart man.
He was also pretty wild. Do you still have a wild side?
I wouldn’t like to compare myself to Genghis Khan, but I still enjoy life. That said, I don’t go to bars and I don’t go to clubs. I guess you’re gonna get the impression that I’m just a boring kinda guy. I love to play music and I’ll go and play anywhere. I have a lot of friends all over the world.
You do a lot of work for PETA and other animal rights organisations. Why?
(Puts on wussy voice) They have that sad look when they look at you. No, I love animals as much as I love any sentient beings. I’ve been able to do a lot of good work for animals that have been abused and I hope to continue to do this.
There’s a story about an encounter you had with a dog back in Japan…
Yeah that’s a true story, I don’t know how you heard about that. He was a white dog who showed up in my dojo one day and just wouldn’t leave. I said, “Okay, I guess you want to stay here a little while” and I fed him and he used to stay at the front of the ginkung.Then one night he started barking, I came out and the front of the dojo was on fire. And I thought, “Wow, that’s great, he saved me.” And then the next day he was gone. (Laughs) It’s kinda funny.
Do you think all animals have that same awareness?
I think animals are like people. I don’t know who that dog was or what he was, but he saved my life.
Do you have pets yourself?
Many. We have several Shepherds, Great Danes, Rottweillers, Boxers, all kinds of other dogs…
Probably no cats then…
No, I do have cats. I have cats and I have llamas and I have cows. Lots of animals.
Do you have to keep the cats away from the Rottweilers?
No, my dogs are told what they’re allowed to do. And that doesn’t include eating cats.
