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A stern-looking martial arts wizard who studied and later taught his craft in Japan, Seagal (pronounced say-GAL) got his feet wet in motion pictures as a fight coordinator on John Frankenheimer's "The Challenge" (1982) and later set up a popular martial arts school in West Hollywood. He caught the attention of Michael Ovitz (then head of Creative Artists Agency) who arranged a martial arts demonstration for Warner Brothers president Terry Semel. Impressed by Seagal, Ovitz arranged a screen test and he was somewhat unexpectedly catapulted to action stardom. His first feature was the low-budget, urban cop drama "Above the Law" (1988), for which he provided the story, served as producer and played a CIA operative in Vietnam who later exposes the corruption of Chicago government officials. Seagal cemented his popularity as an avenging action hero with the follow-up action/Aikido films "Marked for Death", "Hard to Kill" (both 1990) and "Out For Justice" (1991), in which his larger-than-life presence alternates between meditative serenity and vigilante violence. His persona represented an odd mix of the mainstreaming of Chinese and trendy New Age philosophizing with the contemporary taste for good guys who seemed sinister and yet satisfied an increasing taste for simplified notions of instant justice in a troubled USA, justified heroes who enjoy dispatching their enemies in as dispassionate a manner as possible. The canny, pony-tailed actor has enhanced his mystique by creating a public image shrouded in mystery and surrounded by speculation about his possible past links with the CIA. Although critics have carped at Seagal's modest acting abilities, Janet Maslin of THE NEW YORK TIMES has summed up as the aspects of his star persona: "What Mr. Seagal offers is a clever, uncategorizable hybrid of physical prowess, fortune-cookie wisdom, law-and-order politics, street-smart bravado and, above all, the confident insouciant manner of a natural-born star." Segal earned mainstream status with "Under Siege" (1992), a "Die Hard"-style thriller that grossed over $80 million. Its villains were played with relish by Tommy Lee Jones and Gary Busey and it possessed welcome moments of deadpan humor. Seagal followed up this success with his directorial debut, "On Deadly Ground" (1994), a well-intentioned eco-thriller featuring Seagal as Alaska's last hope. The inevitable sequel to his earlier smash, "Under Siege 2: Dark Territory" (1995), followed, with the inscrutable but increasingly accepted star receiving the occasional kudo for some lively action scenes. Indeed, although many critics found Seagal to be unchanged for his "guest star" supporting turn in the Kurt Russell actioner "Executive Decision" (1996), some found his cool dispatch, taken in measured doses, to constitute some of the best moments of his career to date. Seagal took a break from the big-screen scene to concentrate on his love for music. After signing a seven year contract with OutWest Entertainment, Seagal returned back to his first love. He took on and mastered the role of Orin Boyd, a Detriot police detective in "Exit Wounds" (2001). The surprise success of "Exit Wounds" served as a breakout platform for newcomer rapper/actor DMX as well as a reclaiming-of-status for Seagal. In 2002, Seagal teamed up with Morris Chestnut and rapper Ja Rule for the action crime feature "Half Past Dead," portraying an undercover agent in a new high tech Alcatraz prison. In the months prior to the film's release, Seagal also made headlines when he was sued for $60 million by his longtime producing partner Julius Nasso, for allegedly backing out of a deal to star in four films, a development which took an unusual turn in June 2002 when Nasso was arrested and charged with extorting money from the action star. Federal investigators alleged that Nasso was acting in league with New York's notorious Gambino crime family, reportedly headed by Nasso's brother Anthony "Sonny" Ciccone, to extort $150,000 from Seagal for every film he made with the producer. The on-screen action hero said he was threatened with violence if he didn't cooperate. Later, allegations surfaced that Segall had hired private detective-to-the-stars Anthony Pellicano to stage a threatening incident against a Los Angeles Times reporter to make it look as if Nasso was behind it. More legal trouble dogged the action star in 2005 when Nu Image and Kill Master Productions sued Seagal for $14 million for purportedly causing production delays on two movies, "Today You Die" and "Mercenary."
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