30 Lesser Known Things You Should Know About Steven Seagal

Steven Frederic Seagal is an American producer, actor, screenwriter, musician, martial arts fighter, and director who holds the citizenship of 3 countries. He was born on April 10, 1952 in Lansing, Michigan, to Samuel Seagal, a Jewish maths teacher, and Patricia, an Irish medical technician. Here are some interesting facts about him:

1. He lived in Michigan until his family moved to Fullerton, California, when he was around 5 years old. Seagal completed his graduation in Buena Park high school, California.
2. At the age of 7, he started learning Shito-Ryu karate and Aikido. He lied to get a job of a dishwasher in a restaurant, when he was around 13 years old.
3. Seagal learned basics of karate from one of the co-workers, a Japanese cook, at the restaurant. After years of training, he moved to Japan the age of 17.
4. He was the chief instructor at the Aikido Tenshin Dojo in the city of Osaka, and was famous by the name "Master Take Shigemichi."
5. From 1994-2000, he owned a production company named Seagal/Nasso Productions, along with Julius R. Nasso. Later, when this company was dissolved, he joined with Bing Dang and Joe Halpin to form the new company "Streamroller Productions."
6. He started his career as a choreographer of martial arts in movies. It was in the late 1988, that he did is debut in the movie "Above the law." He acted in lead roles in movies "Hard to kill" & "Under Siege," which were a huge hit. "Under Siege" went on to collect $154 million globally.
7. Seagal considered to venture into directing films and his first and only directorial attempt - "On Deadly Ground" was a failure.
8. In 2001, his performance as Orin Boyd on "Exit wounds" was received well and the movie was a commercial hit collecting $80 million globally.
9. In 1975, Seagal married Miyako Fujitani, an aikido instructor, and later divorced in 1986. Before his divorce with Fujitani, he married Adrienne Larussa on May 31, 1984. However, this marriage was annulled in 1987. The same year he married Kelly LeBrock, whom he divorced in 1996.
10. In 2009, he married Erdenetuya Batsukh, a trained dancer, with whom he has a son name Kunzang. He has seven children - actor and model Kentaro Seagal, and writer and actress Ayako Fujitani, with his first wife Miyako Fujitani, - daughter Annaliza, son Dominic and daughter Arissa with Kelly LeBrock.
11. During the filming of "Never Say Never Again," in the year 1982, he accidentally broke Sean Connery's wrist while teaching him martial arts.
12. He has a passion for playing guitar and some of his songs were even featured in his movies “Ticker” and “Fire Down Below.”
13. He has released 2 music albums, the first album being “Songs from the crystal cave,” which was released in the year 2005 and the second album named “Mojo priest,” was released the next year. His most popular single “Girl, it's Alright,” was released worldwide.
14. His residence in Santa Ynez, California, includes 200 acres planted with cabernet grapes, which are sold to wineries after harvesting.
15. He worked as Reserved Deputy Chief in Jefferson Parish, Louisiana. He spends most of the months in the year in Louisiana where he owns a house.
16. In the 1980’s, he taught martial arts, shooting, hand to hand combats to other deputies. Senior Sheriff Mr. Harry Lee was really impressed with his skills, that Mr. Lee asked him to join the force.
17. He is an animal lover and it was reported that he wrote a letter to Thailand to propose a law & to protect baby elephants from torture. He was even recognized by PETA for adopting many pets.
18. In an effort to raise money for the New Orleans Children's Hospital, he once offered his fellow Sheriff's Deputies free tickets to a concert benefiting the hospital. The Deputies accepted the offer and attended the concert.
19. Segal graduated from a police academy over 20 years ago and owns a certificate of (POST) Peace Office Standards & Training. But there are no records found related to him being certified.
20. He collaborated with ORSIS, a Russian firearms manufacturer, in the year 2013, to represent the company. The company stated that Seagal would work with them for their signature long range rifle named as “ORSIS by Steven Seagal.”
21. He was involved in a relationship with the Arissa Wolf, who was the nanny during his marriage to Kelly LeBrock. He has two children with Arissa.
22. He stated in an interview with Reelz Channel that aired on January 4, 2013, that he has been working with St. Jude Children's Hospital in Memphis, for over 25 years.
23. He greatly appreciates Rasta music, and went on to study it in Jamaica, with a teacher. He even owns a vacation home in Jamaica.
24. He was awarded the “Worst Director” Award by Golden Raspberry, in the year 1994, for his work in his first and only directorial movie “On Deadly Ground.”
25. While filming an episode of "Steven Seagal: Lawman," the torso of one of his daughters can be seen in the background of a shot while the crew is filming the training of his two German Shepherds.
26. In the year 2005, he marketed his own energy drink "Lightning Bolt," through his own company Steven Seagal Enterprises.
27. Apart from American and Russian citizenship, he also holds a citizenship of Serbia, granted to him on January 11, 2016. Following his regular visits to the country, he was also asked to train the Serbian Special Forces, in Aikido.
28. Lama Penor Rinpoche from the Palyul monastery declared publicly Seagal as Tulku in 1997, specifically as the reincarnation of Chungdrag Dorje, a 17th-century terton of the Nyingma, the oldest sect of Tibetan Buddhism.
29. In September 2016, he was invited as a guest in Cholpon-Ata, Kyrgyzstan for World Nomad Games, where he performed some aikido.
30. For the past 25 years, he has been a regular visitor in children's hospitals. Once in an interview, he even claimed that he will continue to visit children's hospitals until the day he dies.
31. Steven Seagal Net Worth: $16 Million