Steven Seagal Got Covered in Monkey Feces, ‘Hard to Kill’ Co-Star Says
Hard to Kill was only Steven Seagal‘s second movie, following his debut in Above the Law. He was still developing his persona, but already nailed down the spiritual martial arts rooting out police corruption. William Sadler played the corrupt senator orchestrating an attack on Mason Storm (Seagal with his best screen name ever)’s family, so Storm would have to avenge them.
Sadler spoke with Showbiz Cheat Sheet about his return as Death himself in Bill & Ted Face the Music. While speaking about some of his classic villain roles, Sadler told a funny story about Seagal that would humble his cool on screen image.
The Steven Seagal movie helped typecast William Sadler before ‘Bill & Ted’
Bill & Ted’s Bogus Journey didn’t open any more doors for Sadler to do comedy until its sequel. The actor says he’d already established himself as movie villains, but he has no regrets.
“I had gotten myself pretty firmly established as an evil action evil guy which I’m grateful for that too,” Sadler said. “I don’t mind playing them.”
After Hard to Kill would come Die Hard 2, in which Sadler played Col. Stuart, who took over Dulles Airport during the Christmas rush. Coming after Hans Gruber (Alan Rickman) in Die Hard was daunting for Sadler.
Yes, because I thought Alan Rickman was phenomenal. He was so unctuous and smarmy and funny and dangerous. He was just fantastic. The movie was great. I love the first Die Hard movie. So it was a little daunting. Those are pretty big shoes to fill. At the end of the day, you can’t worry about that. You can’t think about it. You can only do the movie that you’re doing and hope that what you come up with is memorable too, is scary or stands on its own. Yeah, that was daunting because I love Alan Rickman in that.”
William Sadler, interview with Showbiz Cheat Sheet, 8/15/2020
Col. Stuart is the only Die Hard villain who was an actual terrorist. All the others were actually thieves, so Stuart stands out in that regard.
“I thought it was because I was the only one that was nude,” Sadler joked.
Making an action hero ‘Hard to Kill’
They called it Hard to Kill because they try to kill Mason Storm. He has evidence against Senator Trent, but they only silence him for seven years while he’s in a coma. Unfortunately they do kill his wife. When Storm wakes up, he rehabs himself using a combination of acupuncture and martial arts in classic Seagal form.
“I have Steven Seagal stories,” Sadler said. “I think he lives in Russia now, doesn’t he? I think I know why too.”
Steven Seagal IS covered in feces
Hard to Kill has a set piece in the zoo where Storm faces Trent.
“Okay, quick,” Sadler said. “There’s a scene where we’re shooting at the zoo. We’re in front of the ape enclosure. There’s a moat and then there’s this cliff and all these apes, all these chimps are sitting there watching us film. So Steven and I are on this hill and he, of course, is seven feet tall already and he took the uphill side, of course.”
Seagal wasn’t quick enough to dodge what the apes started throwing.
“Halfway through the scene, behind us are these apes and in the middle of the take I heard the cameraman yell, ‘Incoming,’” Sadler said. “The apes had apparently all crapped in their hands and thrown it. It was raining monkey sh*t. I thought wow, everyone’s a critic.”
