A stern-looking martial
arts wizard who studied and later
taught his craft in Japan, Seagal
(pronounced say-GAL) got his feet
wet in motion pictures as a fight
coordinator on John Frankenheimer's
"The Challenge" (1982) and later set
up a popular martial arts school in
West Hollywood. He caught the
attention of Michael Ovitz (then
head of Creative Artists Agency) who
arranged a martial arts
demonstration for Warner Brothers
president Terry Semel. Impressed by
Seagal, Ovitz arranged a screen test
and he was somewhat unexpectedly
catapulted to action stardom. His
first feature was the low-budget,
urban cop drama "Above the Law"
(1988), for which he provided the
story, served as producer and played
a CIA operative in Vietnam who later
exposes the corruption of Chicago
government officials.
Seagal cemented his
popularity as an avenging action
hero with the follow-up
action/Aikido films "Marked for
Death", "Hard to Kill" (both 1990)
and "Out For Justice" (1991), in
which his larger-than-life presence
alternates between meditative
serenity and vigilante violence. His
persona represented an odd mix of
the mainstreaming of Chinese and
trendy New Age philosophizing with
the contemporary taste for good guys
who seemed sinister and yet
satisfied an increasing taste for
simplified notions of instant
justice in a troubled USA, justified
heroes who enjoy dispatching their
enemies in as dispassionate a manner
as possible.
The canny, pony-tailed
actor has enhanced his mystique by
creating a public image shrouded in
mystery and surrounded by
speculation about his possible past
links with the CIA. Although critics
have carped at Seagal's modest
acting abilities, Janet Maslin of
THE NEW YORK TIMES has summed up as
the aspects of his star persona:
"What Mr. Seagal offers is a clever,
uncategorizable hybrid of physical
prowess, fortune-cookie wisdom,
law-and-order politics, street-smart
bravado and, above all, the
confident insouciant manner of a
natural-born star." Segal earned
mainstream status with "Under Siege"
(1992), a "Die Hard"-style thriller
that grossed over $80 million. Its
villains were played with relish by
Tommy Lee Jones and Gary Busey and
it possessed welcome moments of
deadpan humor. Seagal followed up
this success with his directorial
debut, "On Deadly Ground" (1994), a
well-intentioned eco-thriller
featuring Seagal as Alaska's last
hope. The inevitable sequel to his
earlier smash, "Under Siege 2: Dark
Territory" (1995), followed, with
the inscrutable but increasingly
accepted star receiving the
occasional kudo for some lively
action scenes. Indeed, although many
critics found Seagal to be unchanged
for his "guest star" supporting turn
in the Kurt Russell actioner
"Executive Decision" (1996), some
found his cool dispatch, taken in
measured doses, to constitute some
of the best moments of his career to
date.
Seagal took a break
from the big-screen scene to
concentrate on his love for music.
After signing a seven year contract
with OutWest Entertainment, Seagal
returned back to his first love. He
took on and mastered the role of
Orin Boyd, a Detriot police
detective in "Exit Wounds" (2001).
The surprise success of "Exit
Wounds" served as a breakout
Wounds" served as a breakout
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