Steven Seagal, the American actor, musician, and martial artist who holds citizenship in at least three countries has to be one of the most fascinating figures in all of pop culture. From his martial arts action films that went from the silver screen to the straight-to-video bins, his career in law enforcement, and even his decades of practicing aikido, it's safe to save that Seagal has accomplished quite a bit his life.
There are certain aspects of Seagal's life, however, that seem like they're just too preposterous to be true, but let me tell you, most of what you hear about the star of such films as Above The Law, Hard To Kill, and Under Siege, is just too crazy to be made up.
So, in order to get a full picture of the pure insanity that is Steven Seagal, here are seven of his craziest facts about his life and career.
Steven Seagal Is Considered To Be The Worst Saturday Night Live Host Ever
There have been plenty of terrible hosts on Saturday Night Live over the years, but perhaps none will ever compare to Steven Seagal's appearance back during the 1991 season of NBC's long-running sketch comedy show.
During a 2015 appearance on Watch What Happens: Live, former cast-member David Spade was asked to name the person he liked working with the least, he quickly spat off one name: Steven Seagal:
Maybe the host. Steven Seagal. He was a little tough. I mean, he was actually tough, and he was tough to work with. It was hard. He did not want to play along.
But Spade wasn't alone in his displeasure in Seagal's attitude during his appearance, as former SNL cast-member Tim Meadows revealed in a 2007 interview with Bullz-Eye.com. During this tell-all, Meadows had this to say about the martial arts star:
He had his ideas about what was funny, and you just wanted to go, 'Well, what have you done that's funny that I should actually trust what you think?'
Hell, even Lorne Michaels, the show's creator and executive producer got in on the fun. During Nicholas Cage's 1992 appearance, the actor joked about being the worst host in SNL history only for Michaels to yell out: "No, no — that would be Steven Seagal."
How Steven Seagal Became A Russian Citizen
When most people want to become a citizen of a foreign country, they have to go through a long and difficult process before they are finally granted their passport. Steven Seagal isn't most people, though.
According to a 2016 report from Vanity Fair, it was revealed that Seagal and Russian President Vladimir Putin have been friends for some time now and the two even grew so close that Putin granted the actor and martial artist Russian citizenship and even personally handed Seagal his Russian passport.
Steven Seagal Collaborated With Stevie Wonder For His Debut Album
In addition to buddying up with world leaders, Steven Seagal has also worked with the titans of the music industry, most notably with legendary singer-songwriter Stevie Wonder, who played harmonica on the actor's music debut Songs From The Crystal Cave.
I don't know what's more surprising, the fact that Steven Seagal and Stevie Wonder worked together or the fact that Seagal has a music career. Is there anything he can't do?
Steven Seagal Is A Sheriff's Deputy In New Mexico
What's even crazier than Steven Seagal's music career is the fact that he has been involved with law enforcement in some capacity as far back as the 1980s when he was brought on to train the Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Department in hand-to-hand combat and marksmanship. Seagal would even use his law enforcement experience for a reality show of his very own, Steven Seagal: Law Man.
But Seagal wasn't officially a member of the law enforcement community until he was deputized by the Doña Ana County Sheriff's Department in January 2013. According to a Los Angeles Times story on the matter, Seagal was made a deputy of the small department in southern New Mexico that rests along the United States-Mexico border in order to train the other deputies in a number of different disciplines.
He Led A School Shooting Simulation In Arizona
Just one month after he was deputized in New Mexico, Steven Seagal was invited to the neighboring state, Arizona, to assist the Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio and a posse of volunteers carry out a school shooting preparedness drill.
According to ABC News, the Arpaio Posse sparked controversy after the embattled sheriff said he would deploy the group of 3,450 volunteers to 50 schools in the Phoenix area to monitor for suspicious activity. Seagal was there to make sure they all had proper training to help the volunteers better protect students, who he called precious assets and treasures that need protection.
He Broke Sean Connery's Wrist While Filming Never Say Never Again
Long before he became an action star of his own, Steven Seagal was brought on to get an aging Sean Connery back into fighting shape prior to the filming of Never Say Never Again in 1983, which saw Connery return as James Bond 12 years after his previous appearance in Diamonds Are Forever. By all accounts, the production of the 007 film was dreadful as Connery and the movie's producer Jack Schwartzman weren't the best of friends. Matters were only made worse during a training session when Seagal, who was the fight choreographer, accidentally broke Connery's wrist.
Don't feel too bad for Connery, as he revealed during a 1996 appearance on The Tonight Show With Jay Leno that he didn't know his wrist was broken until over a decade after the fact. I think I feel worse for Seagal after this one.
How Steven Seagal Got Sued For Driving A Tank And Killing A Dog
Remember how I said Steven Seagal had teamed up with Sheriff Joe Arpaio for the school shooting drill? Well, that wasn't the first time the two polarizing figures teamed up for something that resulted in a great deal of controversy. No, that honor goes to the time in 2011 Seagal and Arpaio drove a tank into a house belonging to a man suspected of being part of a cock-fighting ring.
To make matters worse, the entire "driving a tank into a house" episode resulted in the death of the man's dog, which resulted in a $100,000 lawsuit being filed against the action star for his role in the incident. The lawsuit, however, was dismissed in 2013 after the victim failed to file the proper paperwork.
So those are enough Steven Seagal facts to spinkick you in the face. Did I forget your favorite Steven Seagal fact? Let me know in the comments.
