Celebrity News

Seagal’s friendship with Putin compared to Rodman

The two are seen visiting Sambo-70, a Russian martial art and combat sport school, March 13, 2013 in Moscow, Russia.

The two are seen visiting Sambo-70, a Russian martial art and combat sport school, March 13, 2013 in Moscow, Russia. (Getty Images)

Steven Seagal hung out with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow today, drawing comparisons to another random celebrity who made friends with a world leader: Dennis Rodman.

The ponytailed action star is being compared to the eccentric NBA player who bizarrely buddied up to North Korean supreme leader Kim Jong Un and is now making an effort to chat up the next pope.

However, Seagal and Putin are not the new celeb-politician odd couple – the two go way back.

Last August, Putin, a known judo enthusiast, honored Seagal’s contributions to martial arts at the S-70 mixed martial arts tournament (see video). They also kicked it at the Moscow International Film Festival closing ceremony back in June 2003.

Today, Seagal and Putin were on hand to open a Soviet-style martial arts and combat sport school.

Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov told Russian reporters that the Soviet leader and Seagal have been friends “for a long time” and regularly meet.