Steve McQueen

Steve McQueen's list of classic movies is almost as impressive as his string of sexual conquests. More amazing that either, however, was the mixture of wit, cunning and ego that transformed a gaol-bound juvenile delinquent into the highest-paid film-star of the 1970s. Twenty years after his death at the age of just 50, the star of Bullitt remains for many an icon of cool.

Behind the steely stare and motor racing machismo hid a man tortured by superstition and frustrated by his scrawny physique. But McQueen's awesome screen presence guaranteed his reputation as one of Hollywood's greatest stars. His motor racing career and struggle with cancer, meanwhile, suggest that McQueen's real-life courage matched even his most outlandish on-screen heroics.

The Pocket Essential Steve McQueen analyses all 27 of the actor's big screen performances, as well as his TV work and unrealised projects. An introductory essay examines McQueen's success on the car and bike racing circuits, his martial arts training under the tutelage of Bruce Lee and, bizarrely, his encounter with 'Helter Skelter' killer Charles Manson.