The beef between Jean-Claude Van Damme and Steven Seagal isn’t medium rare, folks. It’s well done to the point that even Sylvester Stallone weighed in on the juicy matter. You know who else had a say about it once upon a time? The late, great Chuck Norris.
In 1993, Norris appeared on The Dick Cavett Show. Several topics came up for discussion, including Seagal’s martial arts prowess and whether he was as good a fighter as he claimed to be. (Remember, in those days, Seagal carried himself as a martial arts master, and he made certain to mention his skills to anybody who interviewed him.)
“I don’t truthfully know,” Norris said. “I don’t know Steven. I’ve only met him once. Jean-Claude’s pretty good.”
When pressed about Seagal’s abilities, Norris added, “Most of Seagal’s movies, his action is done close-up. You can’t see everything. Real quick cuts. So you don’t get a chance to really see exactly what he’s doing. Van Damme trained with me for a year and a half when he came over from Brussels, so I know him quite well, and he’s a good martial artist.”
That’s not where the topic of Seagal would end in the conversation, though. Cavett asked if Seagal’s nasty tough-guy image was all for show, and Norris said it wasn’t an act. “He carries it over into his whole life,” he said with a laugh. “Unfortunately. For a martial artist, it kind of surprises me.”
After Cavett briefly mentioned an unfortunate incident between Seagal and an acquaintance of his, Norris added, “He carries a gun on him.”
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Publicly, Seagal never responded to what Norris said about him on The Dick Cavett Show. In fact, one of the only times Seagal spoke about Norris at a junket was when an interviewer asked him if Norris could defeat him in a fight. Seagal responded, “I mean, Chuck is in his mid-70s, so I don’t know. I have heard that he’s not… I mean, I don’t really want to get into it on film anyway.”
What did Seagal supposedly hear about Norris? Well, he chose to keep his lips sealed this time, but he still made sure to leave a little dig in there. Truthfully, it would be difficult to take anything derogatory about Norris’ skills as a martial artist seriously. The man had black belts many times over in various disciplines. He wasn’t just a Hollywood action star; he was a championship fighter.
One person who always had immense respect for Norris was Van Damme. In fact, after the Walker, Texas Ranger actor died, Van Damme took to Instagram and posted the following message: “Deepest condolences on the passing of my friend, Chuck Norris. We knew each other from my early days, and I always respected the man he was. My heart and prayers are with his family. He will never be forgotten.”
| Chuck Norris | Jean-Claude Van Damme | Steven Seagal | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Martial art | Tang Soo Do, Judo, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu | Shotokan karate | Aikido |
| Rank | Multiple black belts; founded Chun Kuk Do | 2nd Dan black belt | 7th Dan black belt, shihan |
| Competitive titles | 6x Professional Middleweight Karate Champion | 1979 European Pro Karate Association middleweight champ | None — built career as instructor, not competitor |
| Notable distinction | Hall of Fame karate champion turned action star | Trained under Norris (per Norris’s own account) | First non-Japanese instructor to run a dojo in Japan |
