Terence Steven “Steve” McQueen was born in Beech Grove, Indiana, U.S on March 24, 1930. He was called ‘The King of Cool.’ In 1974, he became the highest-paid movie star in the world, although he did not act in films again for four years. McQueen was combative with directors and producers, but his popularity placed him in high demand and enabled him to command large salaries. His “anti-hero” persona, developed at the height of the Vietnam War-era counterculture, made him a top box-office draw of the 1960s and 1970s. He died in November 7th, 1980 in Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, Mexico at the age of 50.

1. I worked hard, and if you work hard you get the goodies.

2. You only say what’s important and you own the scene.

3. An actor is a puppet, manipulated by a dozen other people. Auto racing has dignity. But you need the same absolute concentration. You have to reach inside yourself and bring forth a lot of broken glass.

4. Stardom equals freedom. It’s the only equation that matters.

5. In my own mind, I’m not sure that acting is something for a grown man to be doing.

6. I would rather wake up in the middle of nowhere than in any city of the world.

7. I’m not that interesting of a person.

8. My influences come from real life. I’m not interested in cinema for cinema’s sake. I’m interested in life – what one does and how one interacts.

9. I learned that life is a long and difficult road, but you have to keep going, or you’ll fall by the wayside.

10. If I hadn’t made it as an actor, I might have wound up a hood.

11. When I believe in something, I fight like hell for it.

12. When a horse learns to buy martinis, I’ll learn to like horses.

13. I believe in me. I’m a little screwed up but I’m beautiful.

14. I’m not sure whether I’m an actor who races or a racer who acts.

15. [His last words] I did it.