Generally speaking, press tours are terrible and boring, but when it’s Steven Seagal doing them, anything can happen. For one thing, there’s the minefield of potentially touchy subjects, from Seagal’s history of harassment accusations to his status as an apologist both for Vladimir Putin and even Chechen strongman Ramzan Kadyrov. Then there’s Seagal himself, who always seems like a bear that’s been roused from hibernation and is grouchy about the all bright lights. Which in turn is always paired with a delusional sense of his own importance, and a “what offensive thing will grand dad say next” tension. It’s magnificent.
During an interview with The Guardian, Seagal made a surprising claim about his ethnic background. When the interviewer suggested that Seagal’s films might make him appear superhuman, the actor responded, “I don’t know about that. I’m just a simple country boy.” However, when the interviewer asked him to repeat that, Seagal raised his voice and said, “A SIMPLE COUNTRY BOY.”
The idea of the action star portraying a “simple country boy” is certainly a far cry from his on-screen persona as a tough, no-nonsense martial artist.
From RottenTomatoes:
“Me, I’m Asian. I was raised in Asia and, to be honest with you, my favorite films of all time are really [Akira] Kurosawa films. He was a friend of mine.”
In another interview with AintItCoolNews, Seagal sang the praises of director Keoni, whom he described as “one of the brightest young men out there” and “a wonderful director who understands editing, looping, dubbing, mixing, foley… he just understands all of that stuff.”
Seagal also referred to Keoni as “a great friend: very ethical and very moral” and declared himself “his biggest fan.” This level of admiration and respect for a “fellow” Asian filmmaker only adds to the speculation that Seagal may have been hinting at his own Asian heritage during the earlier interview.
Seagal was born on April 10, 1952, in Lansing, Michigan,the son of Patricia Anne Fisher, a medical technician, and Samuel Seagal, a mathematics teacher. His mother was of Irish descent, while his father was Jewish.His paternal grandparents were Russian Jewish immigrants.
Of course, Seagal is no stranger to controversy, and his comments during these interviews are just the latest in a long line of eccentric and sometimes questionable statements. Whether he was truly claiming to be of Asian descent or simply engaging in his usual brand of rambling, self-aggrandizing dialogue, one thing is certain: Steven Seagal remains a fascinating and unpredictable figure.
