John Leguizamo Isn’t the Only Actor Steven Seagal Has Argued With on Set
Back in the ’90s and early 2000s, Steven Seagal was one of the biggest box office draws. Although many of his movies didn’t have a sensible plot, he still made himself the guy directors could go to if they wanted a serious actor with fighting skills to kick things and people around in movies — and it worked.
Seagal became an A-lister, and the fame might have gone to his head as he reportedly wasn’t easy to work with. There have been reports of him fighting with co-stars on set, and Encanto star John Leguizamo confirmed it. However, Leguizamo isn’t the only actor Seagal has argued with on set.
John Leguizamo and Steven Seagal’s fight on ‘Executive Decision’ came to blows
Things were tense on the set of Executive Decision, and it had nothing to do with the movie having an intense plotline. In an interview with AV Club, Leguizamo looked back at his time on set and his unfortunate encounter with Seagal.
He told the outlet that despite the movie having accomplished actors, Seagal wanted to control everything. He said, “We start rehearsing, and he came in and was like, ‘I’m in command. What I say is law.” Leguizamo said he snorted in dismissal and began laughing saying. But Seagal didn’t take too kindly on Leguizamo’s actions.
He said, “I started laughing and he slammed me with an aikido elbow against a brick wall and knocked all the air out of me. I dropped to the ground and all I could say was, ‘Why? Why?” Leguizamo told the outlet that he wanted to inform Seagal that he ran “like a b—- and has no hair,” but was afraid of what Seagal would do to him.
Steven Seagal has a reputation for being a jerk
Seagal might be a talented actor and martial artist, but that doesn’t seem to shelter him from his earned reputation of being a huge jerk. According to Reel Rundown, Seagal once hired a model in an executive assistant position. However, the model soon learned that her job entailed doing massages on the actor and allegedly performing sexual favors.
When the model wouldn’t do her duties, he fired her. She filed a sexual harassment lawsuit against Seagal but dropped it without explanation in 2010. Seagal has been accused of sexual misconduct but denied all the claims.
The outlet also recounts the time Seagal was tapped to host Saturday Night Live. According to those involved, Seagal was so awful that producers thought about replacing him as a host. The actor reportedly pitched bad ideas to the rest of the cast and often complained if he didn’t understand jokes.
“He just wasn’t funny, and he was very critical of the cast and the writing staff,” SNL alum Tim Meadows once said. “He didn’t realize that you can’t tell somebody they’re stupid on Wednesday and expect them to continue writing for you on Saturday.”
Other times Steven Seagal has gotten into an altercation with a co-star
Leguizamo said no one has ever had a great time working with Seagal. Still on his time with Seagal on Executive Decision, Leguizamo recounted that Seagal liked hitting the stuntmen on purpose, which didn’t sit well with Gene LeBell, who called him out on it. The actor said that when Seagal refused to listen, LeBell “put him in a chokehold” and threatened to choke him to death, effectively stopping Seagal.
Michael Jai White also recounted a similar experience where Seagal would hit stuntmen in the film On Deadly Ground, knowing they wouldn’t report him since he was the director.
Jessica Alba once said in an interview that Seagal got offended when she referred to him as an actor. She stated that Seagal corrected her, asking her not to call him an actor but “an officer of the law.”
