A look inside Hollywood and the movies : THE SOUNDS OF SEAGAL : Music to Hijack Battleships By

The oeuvre of Steven Seagal is ever-expanding.

In between shooting action-adventure movies--his latest is “Under Siege”--the martial-arts-expert-turned-actor has turned his passions to music: He’s the executive producer of “Music From the Films of Steven Seagal.”

For $12.95 (the CD) or $8.98 (the tape), the kind of hard, kick-boxing music that pumps up audiences in the theaters can be heard on 18 tracks from the “Above the Law,” “Hard to Kill” and “Out for Justice” movies. Composer David Michael Frank characterizes the scores as “very forceful” and “heavy on percussion” but also having “some tender music that no one would expect from a Steven Seagal action film.”

More unexpected is what’s to be heard on track No. 19: A 25-minute interview with Seagal conducted by Neil Norman, vice president of the independent Los Angeles label GNP/Crescendo Records, which put out the recording.

The straight Q&A; format--emphasis on the straight--is billed as a “candid” conversation with the movies’ current box-office champ. And by the end, listeners might come to understand Seagal as a more complex man than the two-dimensional ones he plays on screen, said Norman, an avowed fan.

What’s behind this unusual marketing ploy? The idea that the star’s fans would buy a soundtrack knowing a friendly, intimate chat was also included. (Soundtracks from heavy-action movies are never big sellers.)

For starters, Seagal roams over such biographical territory as where he makes his home (Santa Barbara, New York and a Mendocino ranch), his youth spent in Lansing, Mich. (without mentioning he was born Gino Felino), and his earlier career as an aikido instructor (without mentioning his former student was CAA super-agent Michael Ovitz). Asked how he would complete the question “I am most happy . . . ,” he answers “. . . when I’m spending a quiet day with my family up on the ranch.”

Among his heroes is Mother or Sister Teresa (he’s unsure); among the directors he admires are John McTiernan, Jim Cameron and Dick Donner. His preferred form of recreation is to “ride horses, shoot guns and teach aikido.”

Sounding very mellow, the actor talks freely about his craft. One snappy response: “I like writing the most, I like acting the least.” He’s hurt that movies he wanted to make about the environment and AIDS have been rejected. Instead, he’s back to the genre that’s made him a star. Next up: “Man of Honor,” about the Mafia.

Claiming a love of world music but taking no credit to the melodies used in “Music From the Films of Steven Seagal,” the actor modestly remembers having an ear at a young age for the drums. He recalls doing a stint playing percussion in Jimmy Cliff’s backup band at the Greek Theatre two years ago.

To push sales of the CD (initial release: 15,000 copies), composer and actor are contemplating a gig on “The Arsenio Hall Show,” where Seagal is a frequent guest.

Let’s see. Might they play “Just Passing By” (track No. 3)?