ITVThere's nothing like a surprise and bizarre interview from Steven Seagal to drop-kickstart your day.
The Internet, namely Twitter, had a field day Wednesday after the 65-year-old Under Siege action star and martial arts expert, who rarely makes public appearances, spoke via satellite from Moscow on ITV's Good Morning Britain. Seagal, who became a Russian citizen last year, weighed in on President Donald Trump and recent political events.
But it was the actor's physical appearance—his dyed black widow's peak haircut and matching goatee, black wool jacket buttoned to the top and black-framed oval glasses—that sparked the most chatter on Twitter. And memes. So many memes.
Some compared Seagal to a Batman and James Bond villain.
Others noted the similarities between the actor and his animated self on South Park.
During the interview, Seagal defended Trump.
"I think, you know, that we have a really unfortunate situation in the sense that even though he was democratically elected, there are so many people out there who don't feel that that's the case and we have just, you know, a ton of enemies within," he said. "We have these, you know, democrats that have this whole other agenda...this whole group of leftover Obama-ites and people who feel that they should really sort of, kind of, overthrow Trump and any decisions he makes, anything that he tries to do, he gets blocked so often from, you know, sort of the enemies within. So it's very difficult for him to do anything."
Seagal also talked about the U.S. leader's call to fire NFL players for kneeling during the national anthem—a political protest against what they believe to be racial and social injustice.
"I believe in free speech, I believe that everyone's entitled to their own opinion but I don't agree that they should hold the United States of America or the world hostage by taking a venue where people are tuning in to watch a football game and imposing their political views," the actor said. "I think it's outrageous, I think it's a joke, it's disgusting. I respect the American flag and I myself have risked my life countless times for the American flag and I don't understand or agree with this kind of behavior. I think it's an outrage."
Vladimir Putin awarded Segal Russian citizenship in 2016. The actor is a fan of the president and even once called him "one of the greatest world leaders."
On Good Morning Britain, Seagal was asked about the Justice Department's investigation into Russia's meddling in the presidential election and possible collusion by Trump's associates. Putin has denied such allegations.
"Every country is involved in espionage. Every single country. The American spy, the British spy, the Russian spy—we all spy on each other," Seagal said. "Let's be honest."
"However. For anyone to think that Vladimir Putin had anything to do with fixing the elections or even that the Russians have that kind of technology is stupid," he said, saying the president's name with a Russian accent.
He also said he thinks Russia and the U.S. should be "great allies."