Steven Seagal

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After watching the 'Glimmer man' my brothers opinions of the action movie actor Steven Seagal is....

"He's a one dimensional s**t head"

"A strange actor"

"The most pathetic actor of all time"


Do you share similar views about him or not?

This post made me realize I've never seen a movie with Steven Seagal in it. I should probably watch one.

Never saw any of his movies but I have heard he's a sh***y person in real life.

But then again so are a lot of celebrities who work in Hollowood.

He stars in 'Don't even bother to chuck it in the bargain bin' movies.

I'm of that age where I know him and Jean-Claude Van Damme from loads of 80's action movies.

After having spent over a decade in an Inosanto blend of arts (really Kali, Arnis, Wingchun, Kuntao/Silat, some JKD sets) I think the thing he did which was unusual was that he actually made Aikido look really practical. Any time I've seen it taught locally, especially when it's something like Daito Ryu (close cousin), it's just... good theatre maybe? Really arcane self defense situations seem a lot less likely in the modern world (or in less organized warlike societies such as Filipino Morro). Morihei Ueshiba and some of his direct students were probably amazing but in a lot of cases it's a thing of these guys actually being great natural fighters to begin with, and without building that foundation first it's really tough to guide yourself on how to use techniques in a way that make timing, reach, and effectiveness sense.

So I give him credit for making Aikido look boss in ways that I hadn't seen before. I still haven't seen the schools and lesson plans though that create the missing link from mental chi / ki exercises and stopping a palace guard from drawing his sword/dagger on one hand and doing what Seagal does which... almost looks like a forerunner of Russian Systema Spetsnaz where aggressive application of Aikido mixed with other things is a given.


For acting though - a lot of martial artists will be Michelle Rodriguez equivalents, ie. they get scripted not to act but play some variant of themselves along alternate narrative arcs and it's really unlikely you'll see a movie with them in it and not realize it was them unless they were half lens-blurred feeding pigeons in the background somewhere for a few moments.

You might not like his acting and you don't have to. But underneath the actor is a real person. His real charactor could be totally different to how he is seen in the films.
Please allow some respect for that.

Do you know that some actors never play the "Good guys" and always play the criminals becauze they are good at it and were asked to play more and more "Bad guy" parts. This does NOT mean they are bad people in real life. Some are the nicest people in real life that you could get to meet!
If you want to know who is a genuine nice person and who is a horrible person in real life, start by listening to those who had to work with them, as some of Holywoods most famous actors were horrible people in real life and some were really nice people, and as they were all acting, one can never tell if one watches the films.
I have seen the same with TV newscastors that I have met during my time working on the railways. A few were right nasty people who would jump up and down in tempers if things were not right and were followed by a full host of film crew wherever they went tending to their every need and cared more for their "Image" then the people they interviewed who they treated like they didn't matter. (E.G. a well known BBC news presenter and team).

Yet some others who had to work solo were the kindest nicest people I have ever met and I am genuine when I say this, and they got the very best from the ones they interviewed and the ones being intwrviewed were made to feel wanted and special. (HTV Wales cameraman who did it all as a one man operation).

It really varies from individual to individual.

What I am saying is never judge a person until you get to know them from either personally meeting them, or by finding out from those who actually know and work with them.

You may be in for a few genuine surprises if you do this.

I don't know as I don't know the individual. Being accused does not mean the accusations are true. You have a court system to sort that out and those who are accused and the accusers are duty bound by God to tell the truth and the court system is set up and designed to find and bring out the truth.

I thought your court system was designed to look for truth?

I never thought much of Seagal or his movies, but when he gave up his American citizenship to become Putin's best pal, I really came to hate him.

Never heard of him.