“I live for myself and I answer to nobody”
Hello, this time I made some corrections to a post about Steve Mcqueen I wrote a month ago. I hope you like it.
Known as "The king of cool", Steve McQueen was an American actor born in Indiana in 1930. He had a troublesome childhood; his father abandoned his mother when he was barely six months, his mother was an alcoholic that didn’t love him and who married abusive men who used to beat him. When he grew up he joined the US Marines. Later, in the 1950s, he moved to New York City where worked in a variety of odd jobs while studying acting with a scholarship. It was also during this time that he started to compete in motorcycle races. His first movie was the science-fiction cult classic The Blob in 1958; he also worked on TV, but his big break came in 1963 with the release of The Great Escape. He enjoyed a successful acting career, starting in such classics as The Magnificent seven (1960), The Sand Pebbles (1966), The Thomas Crown Affaire (1968), The Getaway (1972) and Papillon (1973). The Sand Pebbles earned him his only Oscar nomination for best actor. Sometimes he combined his acting career with his passion for motorcycle racing. It was in the mid-1960s when he began to be known as The King of cool.
Here are 25 personal quotes from Steve McQueen for you to read and get inspired:
25."Stardom equals freedom. It's the only equation that matters".
Rex / Shutterstock
24.“I worked hard, and if you work hard you get the goodies”.
Steve McQueen entering his 1962 Ferrari 250 GT Lusso.
23.“Just say you don’t know. Don’t be a phony. I hate phonies”. (To his interviewer in his last interview in 1980).
Steve McQueen takes a walk with Pat Johnson, his personal trainer. (Photo credit: Barbara Minty McQueen)
22.“The Marines gave me discipline I could live with. By the time I got out I could deal with things on a more realistic level. All in all, despite my problems, I liked my time in the Marines”.
In The Sand Pebbles (1966)
21.“I'll be walking down the street and some guy spots me and flips out. You can see it happen. He goes temporarily crazy just from looking at me. I know what's going through his head: He's got to make his move. He's got to do it because there's a movie star right in front of him and it may be the only chance in his whole life. After a while, they all turn out to be the same person: some guy flipping out, trying to get to you, trying to eat you, man, because he just can't let you get away!”
A photo from a GQ Magazine cover.
20.“Just make sure you’re clean, son. Just make sure everything’s clean”. (To his son, Chad, about his style and clothing)
Steve McQueen wearing his Harrington jacket.
19.“I'm not sure whether I'm an actor who races or a racer who acts”.
A leather jacket and a motorcycle, you just can’t get any manlier than that.
18.“When I believe in something, I fight like hell for it”.
US poster of Tom Horn (1980)
17.“When I was a kid, an old guy told me only the strong survive. That’s somethin’ you gotta believe, man”.
McQueen worked out at the gym at Paramount Pictures while making the movie Love With the Proper Stranger opposite Natalie Wood, 1963. John Dominis; Life Pictures/Shutterstock
16."When a kid didn't have any love when he was small, he begins to wonder if he's good enough. You know if my mother didn't love me, and I didn't have a father, I mean, well, I guess I'm not very good".
In the 1970s.
15. "I don't know why it (stardom) happened--but it's kinda nice. Maybe it's because I'm someone off the streets. Maybe people relate to me".
Simple: khakis with a button-down shirt and sport coat.
14."When I did 'The Great Escape,' I kept thinking, if they were making a movie of my life, that's what they'd call it - the great escape".
The Great Escape (1963)
13.“If you compromise one thing, it’s up there on the screen".
McQueen wearing his Persols.
12.“To me, a woman's ass is important. Jane Fonda always works out and keeps her ass in A-1 condition”.
Working out. Photo credit: John Dominis/The LIFE Picture Collection.
11.“In my own mind, I'm not sure that acting is something for a grown man to be doing”.
Maybe signing an autograph.
10.“In life, you gotta pay back. You owe, so this is what I do.” (About his charity work).
In the last period of his life.
9.“Sometimes kids ask me what a pro is. I just point to the Duke.” [John Wayne]
The Duke in the poster of McLintock! (1963)
8.“I'd rather wake up in the middle of nowhere than in any city on Earth”.
McQueen on the set of Papillon (1973), wearing his Rolex Submariner.
7.“Every time I look in the rear-view mirror, I see Robert Redford".
In Bullit (1968).
6.“Acting's a good racket. And let’s face it, you can't beat it for the bread”.
Poster for The Sand Pebbles (1966)
5.“They call me a chauvinist pig. I am . . . and I don't give a damn!”
Rocking his khakis and gun at his bungalow in Palm Springs, 1963. John Dominis; Life Pictures/Shutterstock.
4.“You only go around once in life and I'm going to grab a handful of it”.
McQueen with his first wife, Neile.
3.“I just want the pine trees and my kids and the green grass. I want to get rich and fat and watch my children grow”.
With his dog, a Malamute named Mike, by his side, Steve McQueen in California, 1963. John Dominis; Life Pictures/Shutterstock
2.“I did it”. (His last words)
In Le Mans (1972)
1.“I live for myself and I answer to nobody”.
The King of Cool.
Bonus quote: “I believe in me. I'm a little screwed up but I'm beautiful”.
A happy McQueen.
Trivia about Steve McQueen:
-Married three times. His two children, a son and a daughter, were from his first marriage with Neile Adams.
-He was the first actor to ever make the transition from TV star to movie star.
-He was good friends with Bruce Lee. Lee was McQueen’s first martial arts instructor.
-He exercised regularly and liked to keep himself in shape. His personal trainer was Pat Johnson who played the burly, mustached referee in The Karate Kid (1984).
-Along with Martin Sheen and James Dean, is mentioned in the song "Electrolite" by R.E.M..
-His favorite car was the Jaguar XKSS. He had a collection of more than 100 vehicles, including cars, motorcycles and airplanes.
-He was an expert mechanic, “he could fix pretty much everything, in fact he was in the motor pool in the Marines”, recalls his son.
-He didn’t like to watch his own films.
-Some of the few movie stars he admired were Humphrey Bogart, James Cagney, Spencer Tracy and John Wayne.
-Daniel Craig has stated that he based his James Bond character on Steve Mcqueen.
-He quit smoking cigarettes in 1978, although he continued to smoke cigars.
-Turn down roles in ‘Apocalypse Now', ‘A Bridge Too Far' and ‘Close Encounters of the Third Kind’.
-His star sign was Aries.
-He made 27 films altogether.
-At the time of his death he was worth 30 million dollars.
-He died of cancer in Mexico in 1980, at 50 years old. His legacy, his movies, his great sense of style, his wisdom are still with us.
Check this video from Alux.com for further references:
15 Things You Didn't Know About Steve McQueen
And check this one from Gentleman's Gazette on how to dress like the great McQueen:
How to Dress Like Steve McQueen
So, what do you think? What's your favorite quote from Steve McQueen? Let me know in the comments section and don't forget to like this post, please, it's a big help for me.
Until next time.
Take care.
The reading man.