Furious Magnificent Seven Stars Never Forgave Steve McQueen

The Magnificent Seven: A Tale of Feuding Stars

Yul Brynner and Steve McQueen were the dynamic duo at the center of the iconic film, The Magnificent Seven.

However, behind the scenes, their relationship was far from magnificent.

Brynner, the main star and driving force behind the movie, was notorious for his difficult personality and easily provoked pride.

It was on the set of The Magnificent Seven that he met his match in McQueen, a young actor whose presence on set was owed to Brynner himself – a decision he would come to bitterly regret.

Brynner had a penchant for making his presence known.

He made sure everyone knew that he prepared breakfast in a silk kimono and was “never far from a mirror.”

His on-set demands and dramas became legendary, and he even insisted on keeping his head shaved to draw attention to himself.

He went as far as demanding that he never be photographed with another bald man.

Being upstaged was something Brynner detested, and McQueen's calculated behavior on set was designed to drive him crazy – a goal that was achieved repeatedly.

Not only did this infuriate the other cast members, but it also led them to follow suit, leaving director John Sturges feeling like he had lost control over his actors.

While Brynner liked silence when delivering his lines, McQueen would deliberately remove his hat to shade his eyes or play with his gun, mastering fancy flourishes.

During group scenes, such as when the Seven crossed a river on horseback, McQueen would lean down to scoop up water with his hat, stealing the focus from everyone else.

This eventually prompted Brynner to exclaim, “If you don't stop that, I'm going to take off my hat, and then no one will look at you for the rest of the film.”

Height was also a sensitive issue for Brynner.

During the making of Anastasia with Ingrid Bergman, she stood over an inch taller than his own height of 5ft 6½in.

When she politely offered him props to stand on, he retorted, “I am not going to play this on a box, I'm going to show the world what a big horse you are.”

As they made The Magnificent Seven, the height issue became an ongoing battle, resulting in hilariously absurd situations.

Steve McQueen: The Troublemaker

McQueen had his own grievances and was not afraid to voice them.

He disliked being touched and once said, “Take your hands off me.”

This led to a physical altercation, resulting in a busted nose, missing teeth, stitches in his lips, and deafness in his right ear.

Brynner even went as far as hiring an assistant whose sole job was to monitor McQueen's behavior and count how many times he fidgeted during scenes.

In response, McQueen mocked Brynner's horse for being bigger than his own and ridiculed his fancy ivory-handled gun as a desperate cry for attention.

The feud between the two became so intense that it made its way to the press.

In a grand gesture, Brynner declared, “I never feud with actors; I feud with studios.”

The Legacy of Bad Blood

Despite The Magnificent Seven propelling McQueen to stardom, the animosity between him and Brynner persisted until Brynner's death from cancer in 1980.

McQueen called him to express gratitude, saying, “You could have had me kicked off the movie when I rattled you, but you let me stay, and that picture made me.

So thanks.”

Brynner allegedly replied, “I am the king, and you are the rebel prince – every bit as royal and dangerous to cross.”

Brynner forgave McQueen, as did James Cogburn, but Charles Bronson, equally stubborn, never did.

Another co-star, James Garner from The Great Escape, publicly criticized McQueen's behavior and provided insight into the reasons behind it.

In conclusion, the tumultuous relationship between Yul Brynner and Steve McQueen on the set of The Magnificent Seven is a testament to the clash of egos and personalities that can occur in the world of film.

While their feud may have been legendary, it also contributed to the dynamic energy and tension that made the film