The savviest movie stars give the people what they want. And in the late '80s, the people wanted action movies in which drug dealers and international criminals got kicked and punched and shot at by a sort-of-mystical, stone-faced martial arts expert with a ponytail—in other words, Steven Seagal. He ruled the box office for years with huge hits like Hard to Kill, Above the Law, and Under Siege, but tastes change, and eventually, Seagal faded from movie star prominence. Here's a look at what he's been up to since receding from the spotlight.
He still makes movies. Lots of movies
Seagal's contract with Warner Bros. ended with the release of the environmentally-themed thriller Fire Down Below in 1997. He still makes action movies, and he still puts them out at a rapid clip. Since 1998, however, most (but not all) have gone directly to DVD and/or streaming services. Among those projects: The Patriot, Exit Wounds, Half Past Dead, Out for a Kill, Into the Sun, Submerged, Black Dawn, Attack Force, Urban Justice, Kill Switch, Code of Honor, and Driven to Kill. In all, Seagal has churned out more than 30 movies in less than 20 years.
In 2016 alone, he starred in a whopping seven non-theatrically-released (or barely theatrical-released) films: Contract to Kill, End of a Gun, Code of Honor, Sniper: Special Ops, The Asian Connection, Cartels, and The Perfect Weapon.
He had a reality show
Starting in the late '80s, Seagal took a side job as a police consultant in Jefferson Parish, Louisiana. Sheriff Harry Lee, a big Seagal fan, had asked the action star to train his force in martial arts and marksmanship, and he did it for so long that Lee eventually enlisted Seagal as a reserve deputy. In 2009, Seagal's side gig became the basis for a reality show on A&E called Steven Seagal: Lawman. It was similar to Cops in that a film crew tagged along while police officers investigated local crimes as they happened—yet different, in that Steven Seagal was there, usually hanging out in the police car observing the cops from a safe distance.
Sadly, Seagal reportedly resigned from the force after he found himself the subject of an internal affairs investigation that, according to the Phoenix New Times, sought to uncover the truth about "allegations of sex trafficking and sexual assault." Gross.
He also starred in a TV cop show
Seagal took his crime-fighting, butt-kicking cop act to TV with his 2011 action series True Justice, which he created and starred in as Eljah Kane, head of an elite undercover Seattle task force. (The show was actually taped in Vancouver, Canada.) True Justice first aired in Spain on a cable channel called Nitro before showing up on the American movie network Reelz, which renewed the show and funded a second season. True Justice ran for a total of 26 episodes.
He's an entrepreneur with widely varying business interests
Many celebrities have their own vanity wines—including Seagal, sort of. He owns an estate in California's Santa Ynez Valley, where 200 acres are set aside to grow Cabernet grapes that he then sells to other wineries. From 1999 to 2007, he also owned a 995-acre lavender farm in northern California where he grew the raw materials for Diamond Lotus Essentials, a line of "therapeutic oils." And in 2005, Seagal's company Steven Seagal Products launched Steven Seagal's Lightning Bolt, a line of canned energy drinks which was proudly marketed as the first of its kind to contain "Tibetan Goji Berries" and "Asian Cordyceps." Flavors include Cherry Charge, Root Beer Rush, and Asian Experience.
He even teamed up with a Cold Steel, a California knife manufacturer, to create the "Steven Seagal Series" of knives and swords. A katana sword with sheath costs a mere $1099.99, while a shorter "Steven Seagal Helmet Breaker" runs just $499.999.
He's had some romantic ups and downs
Seagal has been married four times. His third and most prominent marriage was with another nostalgic icon, model and actress Kelly LeBrock, most famous for being the dream woman created by teen scientists in Weird Science (and for saying "don't hate me because I'm beautiful" in a long-running series of Pantene commercials). Seagal and LeBrock divorced in 1996—he reportedly had an affair with their nanny, and she got pregnant. In 2009, he married his personal assistant, Erdenetuya Batsukh.
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