Action Odd Couple: DMX, De-Robed Seagal

Producer Joel Silver’s new Warner Bros. movie, “Exit Wounds,” features DMX, a hip-hop star. But DMX’s co-star isn’t another rap icon--it’s Steven Seagal, the pudgy martial-arts master who has faded from view after his days as an early ‘90s action hero. The odd-couple pairing is classic Silver, who in the past has had action hits with such unlikely teams as Arnold Schwarzenegger and Carl Weathers (“Predator”), Mel Gibson and Danny Glover (the “Lethal Weapon” series) and Bruce Willis and Damon Wayans (“The Last Boy Scout”).

DMX was in “Romeo Must Die,” a Jet Li picture Silver produced last year. Silver says audiences “went crazy” when he died in the film, convincing the producer that X, as Silver calls him, was a star. Getting Seagal, who’d been mocked for his ponytail and propensity for wearing billowy robes in public, back up to speed was a more formidable task. Rumors abound that Seagal only got the part--and at a minimal salary--after agreeing to lose 50 pounds.

“There was no specific financial incentive,” Silver says. “But I told Steven, ‘If you want the part, you gotta lose the weight, get a haircut and change your wardrobe.’ Wait till you see the film. He’s not fat and he’s not wearing any Navajo blankets. It’s a great part because he’s not playing what you think he is. I just thought mixing up hip-hop and martial arts would be a great combination.”

Eager for audiences to see the new slimmed-down Seagal, Warner Bros. spent $2 million to debut the film’s trailer on the Super Bowl telecast. Although Seagal won’t talk to print journalists, he’s been showing up in public, including an appearance at a DMX concert special that is airing on MTV. DMX has also done TV press, though his publicity options were limited by a recent 15-day stay in jail for driving without a license.

Warner Bros. is high enough on the film that it’s already looking for another DMX project--one possibility being a crime thriller teaming DMX with Eminem. At least now Warner’s top brass knows who DMX is. When they first saw “Exit Wounds,” Silver says, “they were blown away. They kept saying, ‘He’s incredible. He’s a movie star. Where did he come from?’ ”