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What Made Steve McQueen So Cool?
10-13-2013, 05:07 PM
I often see steve mcqueen called the king of cool...
However, hes never blown me away as someone super awesome.
I see modern day people like Gosling and Brad Pitt and Depp to be quite cool. Or classics like James Dean.
McQueen was cool I guess, but I dont see him as anything remarkable. it also seems he was pretty messed up in real life.
I guess I have only seen Bullitt.. and a few clips online .. so I haven't seen a fari sampling of the guy.
But I'd love to hear everyone's input.
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What Made Steve McQueen So Cool?
10-13-2013, 06:12 PM
"The great secret of happiness in love is to be glad that the other fellow married her." – H.L. Mencken
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What Made Steve McQueen So Cool?
10-14-2013, 09:52 AM
Quote: (10-14-2013 04:31 AM)RioNomad Wrote:
I don't see many modern day actors as being very cool. Gosling is always talking about ballet and having the mind of a woman in interviews. I think of Depp as being a gay pirate in eyeliner. Pitt I see as being married to a lunatic who enjoys collecting different colored babies.
When I think of "cool", this is always the first thing that pops into my head:
I don't know much about McQueen to say what made him cool, but just seeing his photos in Google images he come off as much cooler than most modern day actors, IMO.
This is Paul Newman, from Cool Hand Luke.
Paul Newman is also pretty damn cool, although I think he messed up when he got married.
Steve McQueen was cool because he was an antihero on film and in real life. The dude lived by his own code and answered to no one.
You want to know the only thing you can assume about a broken down old man? It's that he's a survivor.
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What Made Steve McQueen So Cool?
10-14-2013, 10:47 AM
Yeah, I know it is Paul Newman. Cool Hand Luke is a great movie. I actually ate a bunch of hard boiled eggs today.
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What Made Steve McQueen So Cool?
10-14-2013, 03:37 PM
THanks for the input guys. I guess i better watch some more of his flicks.
Yeah I am not hatin on the guy I just didn't see where he differentiated strongly from other "cool" guys.
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What Made Steve McQueen So Cool?
10-14-2013, 03:46 PM
The biggest difference between movie stars today and the ones of yesteryear who were legitamtely cool, was that they were cool in real life and tis transcended into their films.
McQueen raced cars, motorcycles, partied and raised hell, fucked the hottest women is his day AND was a movie star. Even if he would have been a mechanic his whole life and never famous he would have still done the same shit, albeit on a smaller level.
Today's 'stars' I.e. Robert Pattinson have oneitis and take a cheating ugly ex back (Kristin Stewart) and have rarely had the real world experiences to take them to that next level of being a man and a true star.
Watch all of his films and you'll probably start seeing the difference.
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What Made Steve McQueen So Cool?
10-14-2013, 06:08 PM
He tried to soup up the engine of his tank and ruined it while in the military.
Watch any of his movies. Tell me you wouldn't want to be him or hang out with him.
Some people just have a charisma. McQueen had a DGAF attitude born out of a rough upbringing and lived to get as much out of life as possible.
My favorite movies with him:
Magnificent Seven (charisma, skill)
The Great Escape (charisma, humor, DGAF, having fun, awesome motorcycle scene)
Tom Horn (wistful looking back at life, McQueen had lung cancer when he made the movie. In the movie an outsider who played by his own rules is made to pay the price for his lifetime of breaking the rules)
Maybe not the greatest actor but one of the greatest movie stars of all time.
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What Made Steve McQueen So Cool?
10-14-2013, 07:02 PM
Thomas Crown Affair - must own movie and watch. Epitome of Cool.
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What Made Steve McQueen So Cool?
10-14-2013, 11:38 PM
Hmmm, I always thought it was the salad dressing..,fuck!
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What Made Steve McQueen So Cool?
10-15-2013, 12:58 AM
I wondered what happened to him.
Looking it up after reading this thread, it turns out he was killed by cancer driven by asbestos exposure. The man died when he was just 50 years old.
Reminds me of the Oliver Reed discussion, another alpha male. But in this case, McQueen didn't engage in willfully self-destructive behavior like Reed's alcoholism. Nobody knew about asbestos in those days.