The Bitter Feud: Yul Brynner and Steve McQueen’s Hatred Unleashed

Yul Brynner, a versatile actor with a diverse background, was renowned as one of the greatest actors of his time.

With Russian, French, Swiss, and American roots, Brynner had an impressive repertoire as an actor, singer, director, producer, model, photographer, and writer.

While Brynner's filmography consisted of various notable movies from the mid-20th century, he is best remembered for his role as King Mongkut in the Rodgers and Hammerstein stage musical, The King and I.

This portrayal earned him two Tony Awards, and when the production was adapted into a feature film, Brynner also clinched an Academy Award for Best Actor at the 1957 Oscars.

The King and I marked only his second feature film, but it kickstarted Brynner's remarkable Hollywood career.

He went on to star in renowned movies like The Ten Commandments (1956), The Brothers Karamazov, and The Sound and the Fury, concluding the decade on a high note.

However, it was in the early 1960s that Brynner's success soared to new heights with the release of The Magnificent Seven, a western remake of Akira Kurosawa's Seven Samurai.

In this film, Brynner shared the screen with esteemed actors such as Charles Bronson, Eli Wallach, James Coburn, and Steve McQueen.

The ensemble cast, brimming with big personalities, became a breeding ground for tension, particularly when McQueen grew dissatisfied with his character's limited dialogue in the original script.

Yielding to pressure, director John Sturges granted McQueen some control behind the camera.

Unfortunately, McQueen abused this power, using it to upstage Brynner and draw attention to himself.

Childish acts, like flipping a coin and rattling shotgun shells during Brynner's speeches, diverted the camera's focus from Brynner to McQueen.

One of McQueen's most infuriating pranks involved kicking away the dirt mound Brynner had created for himself to appear as tall as the other actors.

The feud between the two actors reached its boiling point during production.

Marc Eliot, in his 2005 book Steve McQueen: A Biography, recounted an incident where Brynner “grabbed” McQueen in a threatening manner.

Reflecting on their tumultuous relationship, McQueen revealed, “We didn't get along.

Brynner came up to me in front of a lot of people and grabbed me by the shoulder.

He was mad about something.

He doesn't ride well and knows nothing about guns, so maybe he thought I represented a threat.”

McQueen continued, asserting his own stance, “I was in my element.

He wasn't.

When you work in a scene with Yul, you're supposed to stand perfectly still, 10 feet away.

Well, I don't work that way.”

Robert Vaughn, their co-star, shed further light on their on-set feud in his 2008 biography, A Fortunate Life.

Vaughn revealed that McQueen was envious of Brynner's character's gun in the movie.

It seemed that the feud was driven by McQueen's intense competitiveness.

Vaughn wrote, “Steve was intensely competitive.

It wasn't enough just to be successful—he had to be more successful than anyone else.”

Despite their bitter hatred and constant clashes, Yul Brynner and Steve McQueen's performances in The Magnificent Seven remain iconic, showcasing their