Forrest Taft

Forrest Taft is the hero of the 1994 Action Thriller, On Deadly Ground. He was played by Steven Seagal.



A specialist in dealing with oil drilling-related fires, to extinguish the fire. Taft refuses to believe Hugh’s story of faulty equipment, but discovers that it’s true after accessing the company’s computer records. Michael Jennings, the villainous CEO of Aegis, believes that Hugh's carelessness is to blame and arranges for him to be ‘dealt with’ killed by his henchmen MacGruder and Otto.

Jennings is then alerted of Taft's activities and orders that he be also removed. MacGruder and Otto torture and murder Palmer. Taft is set up for a trap by investigating a supposedly damaged pump station. He is badly wounded by an explosion, but livess and is rescued by Masu, the daughter of Silook, the chief of her tribe.

MacGruder and Otto can't find Taft's body, and Jennings assumes that he is still alive. Taft is being cared for by Silook's tribe. After unsuccessfully trying to leave, using a dogsled, Silook has Taft undergo a vision quest in which he sees the truth. When made to choose between two women, Taft opts for the elderly, clothed grandmother, forgoing the erotically-charged nudeIñupiaq seductress. The grandmother warns Taft that time is running out for those who pollute the world. Taft realizes that he has no choice but to destroy the refinery. He leaves, with MacGruder and Otto hot on his trail.

At Silook's village, they demand to know where Taft is. Silook refuses to give the information and is fatally shot by MacGruder. Jennings scolds MacGruder for killing Silook. Then they bring in a group of New Orleans-based mercenaries led by Stone to kill Taft before he can stop Aegis 1 from going on-line. They also have an FBI Anti-Terrorist Unit at the refinery.

Accompanied by Masu, Taft (who is probably ex-CIA and an expert on sabotage and demolition), collects weapons and explosives and manages to enter the refinery complex. MacGruder (who was killed by Taft by throwing him in the helicopter's propeller for killing Hugh and Silook), Otto (who was killed earlier at Hugh's cabin) and Jennings’ vicious female assistant Liles (who crashed her truck on a gasoline tank), are unable to stop him and are all killed in various gruesome ways.

Taft and Masu confront Jennings and string him up, dropping him into the oil, effectively drowning him in his own wealth. A series of explosions destroy the rest of Aegis 1.

At the end of the movie, Taft, far from being arrested for sabotage and multiple murders (self defense), is asked to deliver a speech at the Alaska State Capitol about the dangers of oil pollution, and the companies that are endangering the ecosystem. This speech is reminiscent of Charlie Chaplin's monologue at the end of The Great Dictator. During the speech they show a scene of one of the first commercial hydrogen fuel cell systems developed by Perry Energy Systems.