Steve McQueen Faked a Car Crash to Get Out of One Western and Star in Another (2024)

Few actors in Hollywood history have embodied the definition of cool more than Steve McQueen. The Oscar-nominated actor and star of such iconic movies as The Great Escape, The Cincinnati Kid, Bullitt, The Getaway, The Thomas Crown Affair, Le Mans, Papillon, and others lived on the edge of danger throughout his life and career. In 1980, McQueen died from a heart attack at age 50, cutting short one of the all-time great cinematic acting careers on record.

While McQueen fans know his penchant for driving and racing cars, many may be unaware of how he orchestrated his casting in the 1960 ensemble western The Magnificent Seven. Before launching a career on the silver screen, McQueen did several TV episodes, including a 3-season run on the hit Western TV show Wanted: Dead or Alive. To get out of filming Wanted so he could make his movie debut, McQueen staged a car crash, faked an injury, got away with the ruse, and never looked back in the rearview mirror as his career took off. The Hollywood tale only adds to McQueen's legend and deserves a closer look.

Who Is Steve McQueen?

Steve McQueen is a revered American actor who personified ultra-coolness on screen. He began his career in 1952, honing his craft on television for roughly half a decade. Aside from a few uncredited movie roles, McQueen's notable TV appearances included Trackdown, West Point, and Climax! In 1958, McQueen was cast as the lead in the Western TV drama Wanted: Dead or Alive. In Wanted, McQueen played Joseph Randall, a hardened Civil War-era bounty hunter known for his quick trigger and sawed-off Winchester rifle. McQueen portrayed Randall for 94 episodes between 1958 and 1961 and became a household name.

While under contract for CBS and continuing to star in Wanted, McQueen transitioned to film in 1958, taking minor parts in such movies as Never Love a Stranger, The Blob, The St. Louis Bank Robbery, and Never So Few. The latter film, Never So Few, was directed by John Sturgess, who was so impressed by McQueen's onscreen presence that he promised him a larger role in his follow-up film, The Magnificent Seven.

A huge, expensive Western remake of Akira Kurosawa's classic Seven Samurai, McQueen saw The Magnificent Seven as a great opportunity to expand his acting chops, increase his visibility, and advance his movie career. As such, he went to creative lengths to ensure he was cast in the film despite his contractual obligations to CBS.

How Did Steve McQueen Stage a Car Crash?

After being cast by Sturges to star in The Magnificent Seven opposite Yul Brynner, Charles Bronson, Eli Wallach, and others, McQueen discovered that the film was scheduled to be filmed concurrently with Wanted: DOA. The head of Four Star Productions, Dick Powell, refused to relieve McQueen of his contract and insisted he stay on to complete Wanted. Knowing that the only way he could star in the movie and earn his big breakout Hollywood role, McQueen demonstrated daring ingenuity. McQueen believed the only way he could get out of filming Wanted was to fake an illness or injury and get a medical leave of absence.

According to McQueen's first wife, Nellie Adams, McQueen got out of obligations to Wanted by staging a minor car accident after his agent advised him to do so. As an expert car driver who considered a racing career at the time, McQueen drove his vehicle into a tree at a measured speed, ensuring that he would sustain such injuries as minor bruises, lacerations, and muscle spasms.

He claimed to have suffered whiplash in the crash and sported a phony neckbrace in public to play up the injury. The creative ruse worked as planned, enabling McQueen to star as the second lead, laconic drifter Vin Tanner. The Magnificent Seven became McQueen's first big hit movie, leading to his Wanted departure.

The Magnificent Seven (1960)

Where to Watch

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Release Date

October 12, 1960

Director

John Sturges

Cast

Yul Brynner , Steve McQueen , Charles Bronson , Eli Wallach , Robert Vaughn , Brad Dexter

Runtime

2h 8m

Main Genre

Western

Steve McQueen's Post-Magnificent Seven Career

McQueen's outstanding performance as Vin Tanner was praised by critics, leading to McQueen and Sturges reuniting in The Great Escape three years later. The all-time great prison escape movie cemented McQueen's status as an A-list Hollywood leading actor, a legendary status that may have never come about had he not staged his car accident. Although McQueen and Sturges planned to make a Formula One movie called Day of the Champion in the 1960s, it never materialized due to McQueen's busy schedule on The Sand Pebbles. Of course, McQueen's affinity for driving is shown in such classic movies as Bullitt and Le Mans.

A throwback to a bygone era, Steve McQueen lived fast and died hard. In 1978, McQueen developed a cough resulting from his subsequent mesothelioma diagnosis, a form of cancer caused by asbestos exposure. Despite radical medical treatments, the cancer spread in 1980, prompting McQueen to seek treatment in Mexico.

Following a four-month stay, McQueen passed away at age 50 on November 7, 1980. Despite logging 44 credits from 1952 to 1980, Steve McQueen remains one of the coolest actors in Hollywood history and a man unafraid to march to his own drum. That he faked an injury to get out of Wanted and star in The Magnificent Seven only adds to the legend of Steve McQueen.