Steven Frederic Seagal (
;
born April 10, 1952) is an American actor, producer, screenwriter,
martial artist, and musician who holds American, Serbian, and Russian
citizenship.
Seagal was born in
Lansing, Michigan. A 7th-
dan black belt in
aikido, he began his adult life as a martial arts instructor in
Japan,
[1] becoming the first foreigner to operate an aikido
dojo in the country.
[2] He later moved to
Los Angeles,
California, where he had the same profession. In 1988, Seagal made his acting debut in
Above the Law. By 1991, he had starred in four successful films. In 1992, he played
Navy SEAL counter-terrorist expert
Casey Ryback in
Under Siege. During the latter half of the 1990s, Seagal starred in three more feature films and the
direct-to-video film
The Patriot.
Subsequently, his career shifted to mostly direct-to-video productions.
He has since appeared in films and reality shows, including
Steven Seagal: Lawman, which depicted Seagal performing his duties as a reserve deputy sheriff.
Seagal is a guitarist and has released two studio albums,
Songs from the Crystal Cave and
Mojo Priest, and performed on the scores of several of his films. He has worked with
Stevie Wonder and
Tony Rebel,
who both performed on his debut album. He has also been involved in a
line of "therapeutic oil" products and energy drinks. In addition,
Seagal is a known
environmentalist,
[3] animal rights activist, and supporter of 14th
Dalai Lama Tenzin Gyatso.
[4][5] He is known for his outspoken political views and support of
Vladimir Putin, to whom he once referred as "one of the great living world leaders".
[6] He was granted
Russian citizenship in 2016.
[7] In 2018, he was appointed Russia's special envoy to the U.S.
[8]
From 1996 to 2018, multiple women
accused Seagal of sexual harassment or assault
