10 Things You Didn't Know About Steve McQueen

9. He Routinely Upstaged Yul Brynner

Yul Brynner, lead star in 1960's The Magnificent Seven, had a significant amount of input into the film's casting decisions, but later regretted his insistence that McQueen be cast as Vin Tanner. Their relationship was shaky from the outset, leading to a much-publicised feud. The problems began when McQueen noticed Brynner's pistol, lavishly decorated with an ivory handle. He complained that "Nobody's gonna look at anything else with that goddamn gun in the picture". Combined with Brynner's significantly larger horse and habit of standing on mounds of dirt to look taller, this led McQueen to take every opportunity he could to upstage his co-star, using unscripted ad-libs such as tipping his hat and shaking shotgun shells to attract viewers attention away from him. But years later, as McQueen's health began to deteriorate, he contacted Brynner to thank him, well aware that the much more established star could have had him kicked off the set at any time. "You let me stay, and that picture made me, so thanks."