When it comes to the biggest big screen stars of the 1960s and 1970s, even a short list would have to include Steve McQueen. He’s rarely mentioned in the same acting league as contemporaries like Paul Newman and Robert Redford, but his early death in 1980 at just 50 years old is arguably the biggest reason for that. Still, even without later performances that would have surely continued to flex his acting muscles, his existing filmography shows an immense and interesting talent bristling with both energy and calm.
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It’s McQueen’s control between the relaxed and the electric, along with his genuine and visible appreciation for life, that led to the actor being dubbed “the King of Cool.” The persona served him well in roles that saw him playing underdogs and disrupters, men who refuse to abide by the established order and instead forge their own path, and it’s part of what makes him an indelible and unforgettable screen presence.
McQueen entered the public consciousness as the star of a popular television western called “Wanted Dead or Alive,” but it’s the big screen where he became a legend, and here, we’ve assembled a list of Steve McQueen’s 12 best movies.