As a "lifelong practitioner of the martial arts," Steven Seagal says he is trained to remain calm in the face of adversity and danger.
"When the world is speeding by for others, I see things for what they are," the aging action hero intones in an episode of his new A&E show, “Steven Seagal: Lawman,” which premieres tonight. "A cock of the head, a foot planted forward or back, a flick of the wrist -- they all tell me something." Yeah, well, as a lifelong practitioner of journalism, I'm also trained to see things for what they are. And for what they're not. And Seagal's new show seems almost as far-fetched as his movies, which include "Under Siege," "Hard to Kill" and "Above the Law."
The show's conceit is that Seagal the movie star has also been Seagal the cop for the last two decades, working "major cases" in Jefferson Parish, La. This is no publicity stunt, promoters say. Seagal wore the badge with a quiet pride, "under most people's radar."
No longer. Viewers will now "ride shotgun" with Seagal and his "hand-selected elite team of deputies" as they cruise the streets in search of trouble.
The actor's relationship with the sheriff's office began about 20 years ago when Seagal was shooting a movie locally. According to Seagal, then-Sheriff Harry Lee asked him to teach some of his officers martial arts.
"He was so pleased with what I was doing he asked me to come onto the force and be one of his cops," Seagal recalled in one episode.
As the actor speaks, a black-and-white photo of him raising his right hand in what looks like a swearing-in ceremony appears on the screen, creating the impression it was taken when he first joined the department. At closer inspection, however, it appears the photo was taken 20 years -- and at least 20 pounds -- after the fact.
Seagal says he attended a police academy in Los Angeles and has a certificate from Peace Officer Standards & Training (POST), an organization that accredits police officers. POST officials in California and Louisiana said they had no record of Seagal being certified.
Attempts to reach Seagal were unsuccessful and a spokesman for the show did not respond to queries about his qualifications.
Though the show's promotional materials described Seagal as a "fully commissioned deputy" and Seagal introduces himself as a "deputy sheriff," he is in fact part of the department's reserve program of about 200 volunteers. His rank of deputy chief is purely ceremonial.