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Steve McQueen was many individuals wrapped in one. He was honest, dishonest,loving, hating, caring, devious, simple, complex, intelligent, uneducated, modest, cocky, mature, childish. he was capable of espousing his love for his wife, and truly mean it, then suddenly have an affair. He would be extremely cheap to his friends while being generous to strangers. He would preach about the dangers of taking drugswhile he could not stop himself from taking them. Paradoxes fascinate everyone and Steve McQueen is the ultimate paradox.
His Great Escape screen image of the sympathetic rebel seemed to tap into a generations collective unconscious. His vulnerability, which can be identified with, was balanced by a toughness to be admired. His boyish manner, his fascination with motorcycles and fast cars, his mischevious expression seemed to show even as an adult it was possible to get in touch with the child inside yourself and to allow that child to get out.
After his death from cancer in 1980, details emerged about his private life, his temper, his womanising, his abuse of alcohol and drugs proving he was an even better actor than anyone imagined. The real Stve McQueen was too often removed from the his sympathetic screen character. Further revelations made sense out of his character flaws and a life that seemed doomed from the start because of the abuse he suffered as a child, emotional assaults from which he never recovered. His flaws made his talent seem more extraordinary and his life more fascinating.
