Steven Seagal’s name is well known to the fans of Hollywood action movies. Seagal has dominated 90s action movies with his karate moves. Appearing in over 46 movies, he has made his name among the Hollywood action legends like Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sylvester Stallone, and Jean-Claude Van Damme.
Despite being a successful star, Seagal’s movies often failed to impress critics. His Under Siege and Executive Decision are two movies that reached the expectation of the critics. However, he has many successful movies under his belt including, The Keeper, Fire Down Below, The Glimmer Man, Half Past Dead, and On Deadly Ground. Despite being popular, Seagal has been in the conversation of many throughout his career. Sometimes even accused of sexual harassment and questioned for his behavior on the set.
When Michael Jai White Revealed Stuntman’s Reaction in Steven Seagal’s Action Scene
Michael Jai White also made his name in the industry as a prominent action star. He is also a martial artist and director. His first role with a breakout performance was in the 1995 HBO film Tyson. White has also been the first African American actor to portray a major comic book superhero in a major motion picture when he appeared in the 1997 film Spawn. Flexing his martial art skill, White gave a taste of gruesome action in Undisputed II: Last Man Standing and later Blood and Bone. He also appeared in Quentin Tarantino’s Kill Bill: Volume 2 and briefly played the role of the mob boss Gambol in Christopher Nolan’s 2008 film The Dark Knight.
In an interview with DJ Vlad, White disclosed the situation of stuntmen working for Steven Seagal’s movie. “Steven Seagal hits the s*** out of people, that’s a unique situation,” White said.
White also revealed that he had worked with Seagal in three movies and admitted seeing the plight of the stuntmen. According to him, some stuntmen wouldn’t make an issue out of Seagal’s behavior and take it quietly. “They’d try to deal with it because they’re stuntmen. And so, there’s a certain ethic where you try to grin and bear it,” he said.
“One of the movies I did with him, Steven Seagal was the director of On Deadly Ground. And he was laying into people. So, what are you gonna do? You gonna complain to the director that the director’s hitting you? So, there’s a certain line where people go, ‘Ok, that’s my badge of honor, I’m tough. I can take it.”
On the set, Seagal’s way of doing a movie and treating his stuntmen is an issue raised by some celebrities who have witnessed it with their own eyes.
Morris Chestnut Also Had an Issue With Seagal’s Treatment of Stuntmen
The Boyz n the Hood actor Morris Chestnut was also vocal about Seagal’s treatment towards his stuntmen. Chestnut worked with Seagal in the 1995 film Under Siege 2: Dark Territory. In the set of the movie, Chestnut witnessed how Seagal would go real hitting hard and real to his stuntmen.
“He doesn’t hold back. I was talking to one of my stunt coordinators for V the other day. He doesn’t hold back and he really goes at it with the people he’s fighting against, which is wrong. You’re not supposed to do that.” Chestnut once said.
“What happens is when he’s on the set he’s the star of the movie. So, if you’re a stunt man trying to make a living, you’re really not going to complain because, number one, you’re working, and two, you’re working on a Steven Seagal movie. So that kind of helps you get your next job. (But) he really would go after those stunt cats.”
The Best Man actor also said that Seagal would get away due to his celebrity status and being the star of the movie which is wrong.
Why Charlize Theron Called Steven Seagal an “Incredibly Overweight” Fraud
Mad Max: Fury Road actor Charlize Theron once called Seagal an “Incredibly Overweight” fraud. She also questioned his martial art background.
Appearing in the promotion of Theron’s movie The Old Guard on The Howard Stern Show, she criticized the actor saying that Seagal’s fighting scenes are a “whole setup.” According to Theron, she was not at all “impressed” with videos of Steven Seagal fighting during Aikido- a Japanese martial art tournament event around the world.
“When I make a movie like this, at night, I’ll go online just to watch fighters or watch people fight. You always come across that odd Seagal video of him fighting in Japan, but he really isn’t,” Theron said.
“He’s just incredibly overweight and pushing people. He’s overweight, and he barely fights. Look it up. It’s ridiculous. He’s just shoving people in the face. It’s like a whole setup.”
She even questioned Seagal’s black belt in karate. Further, she said that Seagal is not very nice to women, “I have no problem talking s**t about him because he’s not very nice to women, so f**k you.”
As per reports, Seagal has been accused of sexual assault and harassment. However, the actor and his attorney denied the allegation stating that there is no substantive material supporting the allegations, so they are false.
Source: Showbiz CheatSheet.
