Steven Seagal is a striking and somewhat boyishly handsome looking (often with ponytail) and usually impeccably dressed action star who burst onto the martial arts film scene in 1988 in the fast-paced Warner Bros. film Above the Law (1988). The enigmatic Seagal commenced his martial arts training at the age of seven under the tutelage of well-known karate instructor and author Fumio Demura, and in the 1960s commenced his aikido training in Orange County, CA, under the instruction of Harry Ishisaka. Seagal received his first dan accreditation in 1974, after he had moved to Japan to further his martial arts training. After spending many years there honing his skills, he achieved the ranking of a 7th dan in the Japanese martial art "aikido" and was instructing wealthy clients in Los Angeles when he came to the attention of Hollywood power broker Michael Ovitz.Ovitz saw star value in the imposing-looking Seagal. The high-octane action movie genre was in full swing in the late 1980s, and Seagal's debut movie, "Above the Law", was wildly received by action fans and actually received some complimentary critical reviews. He followed up "Above the Law" with another slam-bang thriller, Hard to Kill (1990), as a cop shot in an ambush by the mob who revives from a coma to take his revenge. The movie also starred Seagal's wife at the time, leggy Kelly LeBrock, who was married to him from 1987 to 1996 and is the mother of three of his children. His next outing was battling voodoo-using Jamaican drug "posses" in the hyper-violent Marked for Death (1990), before returning to fight psychotic mob gangster William Forsythe in the even more punishing Out for Justice (1991). Seagal was by now enormously popular, and his next movie, the big-budgeted Under Siege (1992), set aboard the battleship USS Missouri and also starring Tommy Lee Jones and Gary Busey, was arguably his best film to date, impressing both fans and critics alike.Seagal's fighting style was rather different from that of other on-screen martial arts dynamos such as Bruce Lee, Chuck Norris and Jean-Claude Van Damme, who were predominantly fighters from striking arts background such as karate or tang soo do. However, aikido is built around using an opponent's inertia and body weight to employ various locks, chokes and holds that incapacitate him. Seagal carries himself differently, too, and often appears wearing Italian designer clothes and usually favors an all-black outfit, generally with a three-quarter-length coat with an elaborate trim. Additionally, Seagal's on-screen characters were often seemingly benign or timid individuals; however, when the going gets rough they reveal themselves to be deadly ex-CIA operatives, or retired Special Forces soldiers capable of enormous destruction!As his box-office drawing power grew, Seagal began to infuse his film projects with his personal and spiritual beliefs, especially concerning the abuse of the environment. He appeared as an oil fire expert who turns against his corrupt CEO (played by Michael Caine) in On Deadly Ground (1994) to save the Eskimo population from an oil disaster; in Fire Down Below (1997) he plays an environmental agency troubleshooter investigating the dumping of toxic waste in Kentucky coal mines, and in the slow-moving The Patriot (1998) he plays a medical specialist trying to stop a lethal virus unleashed by an extremist group.Action fans struggled to come to terms with social messaging being built into bone-crunching fight films; however, Seagal's box-office clout remained fairly strong, and more traditional chopsocky projects followed with the "buddy cop" film The Glimmer Man (1996), then almost a cameo role as a Navy SEAL alongside CIA analyst Kurt Russell before Seagal is sucked out of a jet at 35,000 feet in Executive Decision (1996).In 1999 Seagal took a different turn in his film projects with the surprising genteel Prince of Central Park (2000), about a child living inside NYC's most famous park. He returned to more familiar territory with further high-voltage, guns-blazing action in Exit Wounds (2001), Half Past Dead (2002), Out for a Kill (2003) (V) and Belly of the Beast (2003) (V).Unbeknownst to many, in 1997 Seagal publicly announced that one of his Buddhist teachers, His Holiness Penor Rinpoche, had accorded Seagal as a tulku, the reincarnation of a Buddhist Lama. This initial announcement was met with some disbelief until Penor Rinpoche himself gave a confirmation statement on Seagal's new title. Seagal has repeatedly discussed his involvement in Buddhism and how he devotes many hours studying and meditating this ancient Eastern religion.While his box-office appeal has somewhat declined from his halcyon blockbusters of the mid-'90s, Seagal still has a very loyal fan base in the action movie genre and continues to remain a highly bankable star.

Is the first foreigner ever to own and operate an Aikido dojo in Japan. Known as "Master Take Shigemichi", he was the chief instructor at the Aikido Tenshin Dojo in the city of Osaka.Has been married 3 timesHas three children with Kelly LeBrock: Annaliza, Dominick, and Arissa.Is an Aikido-master - 7th Dan.Father of Kentaro Seagal and Ayako Fujitani.His love of guitar and appreciation of rasta music led him to study with a teacher in Jamaica, where he owns a vacation home.His Santa Inez (CA) home includes 200 acres planted with cabernet grapes, which are sold to wineries after harvesting.Master in Japanese KendoHas been a bodyguardBroke Sean Connery's wrist when he was teaching him martial arts during the filming of Never Say Never Again (1983).His first seven films were all starring roles, ending with Executive Decision (1996).Is good friends with Jackie Chan.Is a singer and guitarist. In 2005, he released an album titled "Songs from the Crystal Cave".Has worked with Damian Chapa and Byron Mann in two of his films as his teammates. He worked with Chapa in Under Siege (1992), in which Chapa is a fellow sailor, and with Mann in Belly of the Beast (2003) (V), in which Mann's character is his friend and partner.Owns a very large collection of guitars and samurai swords.While his acting in Above the Law (1988) gained praise from the likes of Roger Ebert, Seagal has repeatedly faced criticism from both critics and fans who accuse him of playing the same character in many of his movies, as well as displaying a lack of emotional range. In fact, some people refer to embracing typecasting as "Seagalism."The February 17, 1989 draft of the screenplay for Hard to Kill (1990) credits Steven Pressfield & Ronald Shusett & Steven Seagal as writers. Pressfield & Shusett are not credited in the final film and Seagal only received an acting credit.Speaks Japanese fluentlyAll of his main leading role movies have been a rated "R" except for Half Past Dead (2002) which was the only Seagal film to be a "PG13".He and Jackie Chan are friends and Chan offered him the role of the villain in Rush Hour 3 (2007), but Seagal turned it down.Used to own a production company with Julius R. Nasso called Seagal/Nasso Productions from 1994-2000.As of 2006, his movies have earned $600 million worldwide.Discovered by then-head of Creative Artists Ageny (CAA), Michael Ovitz, who was one of Seagal's martial arts students.Father of Savannah Seagal with Arissa Wolf.He agreed to star in Under Siege 2: Dark Territory (1995) if Warner Bros. allowed him to direct On Deadly Ground (1994).Owns new production company Streamroller Productions with Bing Dang and Joe Halpin after his old production company Seagal/Nasso Productions dissolved.Made his film debut in Above the Law (1988).Although he is a master in Aikido and Kendo, he also holds black belts in Karate and Judo.As of 2009, all of his movies had been released direct to video since 2003 (although The Patriot (1998) and Ticker (2001) had the same fate). This will end with Robert Rodriguez's Machete (2010).Was asked to play a cameo in Sylvester Stallone's The Expandables (2010) but had to turn it down because of the fallout relationship with producer Avi Lerner. However, Seagal will join in another big ensemble film, Machete (2010).For almost 20 years, Seagal has been working as a fully commissioned deputy with the Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office in Louisiana.Was already 36 when he made his acting debut in Above the Law (1988).