Steven Seagal AKA Chungdrag DorjeΩ
[April 10, 1952-] [related: BitCoinGate]
An American/Serbian/Russian martial arts specialist, actor, producer, screenwriter, musician, spiritual guru, and environmental activist, Steven Seagal is one of the most profitable and prolific screen stars of his generation. Seagal claims to be a 7th-degree blackbelt in Aikido and the only caucasian to open a dojo in Japan. His initial run of films, beginning with Above the Law (1987) and ending with Under Siege (1992) experienced great commercial and critical success. Beginning in the mid-1990's, Seagal began releasing an almost endless stream of direct-to-video (D2V) releases of decreasing quality and coherence - films that gradually traded edge-of-your-seat martial arts action for more cerebral, environmentally-based content [1]. His entertainment career was derailed over the course of the next decade as multiple women stepped forward with sexual assault allegations - many stemming from late night "casting sessions" with a silk-robed (or sometimes Kimono'd) Seagal. Although the actor issued a blanket denial of culpability, the resulting "hush" settlement payments decimated his substantial wealth. Concurrently, a number of Seagal's stuntmen made public accusations of abuse and unprofessionalism, claiming the actor purposefully struck them while filming in retaliation for questioning his skills and training. The situation culminated in an altercation between Seagal and his stunt double Gene LeBell on the set of the 1991 film Out for Justice. After claiming that aikido training rendered him immune to choke holds, LeBell placed his arms around Seagal's neck and choked him into unconsciousness, at which point Seagal reportedly soiled himself. In the period following, Seagal conducted a notorious Black Belt Magazine interview in which he disparaged Bruce Lee and Chuck Norris and made a number of hyperbolical boasts, including the assertion that he would "fight to the death" anyone questioning his abilities. In response, the martial artist/stuntman Robert Alan Wall formed his "dirty dozen", a group of established martial artists eager to battle Seagal. Wall later dismantled the group, alluding to threats he had received from what appeared to be the organized crime community.
Outside of acting and martial arts Seagal, has launched many business initiatives, including an energy drink line entitled "Steven Seagal's Lighting Bolt" and an aftershave called "Scent of Action". He was an early adopter of the controversial pseudo-currency BitCoin. Seagal was found guilty by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for not disclosing payments made to him by Bitcoiin2Gen (B2G) in exchange for "wholeheartedly" touting the value of the ICO via bulletin board posts (BBS) and press releases. The incident became known as BitCoinGate and resulted in Seagal receiving a $157,000 fine and a lifetime ban on promoting any type of digital currency.
Seagal claims the foundation of his martial arts training to be a deep spiritual practice. A devout Buddhist, the actor has deep ties in the Nyingma community. Lama Penor Rinpoche, a kadam from the Palyul monastery, announced in 1997 that Seagal was in fact the reincarnation of Chungdrag Dorje, a 17th-century terton (treasure revealer AKA discoverer of hidden texts) descended from the most ancient branch of Tibetan Buddhism. In addition to fathering seven children by four women, Seagal is the guardian of Yabshi Pan Rinzinwangmo, the child of the 10th Panchen Lama of Tibet. Throughout Yabshi's time studying and traveling in the United States, Seagal served as her official bodyguard and minder.
href#[redacted] :: Seagal in Dreamland.
- ↑ Perhaps related to the actor's weight gain beginning in the waning years of the 21st-century.