Bruce Lee regarded one Hollywood actor as his biggest rival. Today, Lee is recognized as a cinematic legend, but throughout most of his career, there were so many other actors whose fame eclipsed his own. It wasn’t until the last few years of Lee’s life that he was finally considered a superstar, and even then, his stardom was limited primarily to Hong Kong.
In the 1960s, Lee was a struggling TV actor determined to break into the movie business. He managed to turn heads with his performance as Kato in ABC’s The Green Hornet show, but was nowhere near the level of countless actors in the entertainment industry. During this time, several Hollywood stars were thriving, with actors like Paul Newman, Clint Eastwood, Charlton Heston, Sean Connery, and Richard Burton all at high points in their respective careers. But while there was no shortage of actors more popular than him, Lee identified only one Hollywood actor as a true rival.
Bruce Lee Wanted To Surprass Steve McQueen
Interviews with both actors and people who knew them reveal that Steve McQueen is who Lee viewed of as his rival. McQueen, who was on the rise in the mid-1960s and easily one of the biggest stars of the decade, was one of several celebrities taking kung fu lessons from Lee during this time. But though they enjoyed a close friendship, there was also a deep, competitive element of their relationship which Lee was rather open about. According to Bruce Lee: A Life by Matthew Polly, Lee told some of his friends, such as screenwriter Stirling Silliphant, of his intentions to become a bigger star than McQueen. Given the latter’s reputation as the King of Cool and immense popularity, it certainly seemed like a lofty claim at the time.
A big part of what fueled Lee’s determination to surpass McQueen’s fame was a disagreement over a movie role. Unable to land any major parts in any upcoming films, Lee set out to make his own martial arts film in Hollywood, The Silent Flute. Lee’s plan was to get McQueen to co-star in the movie with him, but McQueen refused. Curiously, it was the way in which McQueen turned him down that infuriated Lee. According to Polly’s book, McQueen told Lee that he wasn’t going to be in The Silent Flute just to make Lee a star.
Steve McQueen Didn’t Think Bruce Lee Was His Rival
While Lee certainly thought of McQueen as his rival, it’s worth noting that the feeling was anything but mutual. Given that Lee was a budding actor through most of their friendship, there wasn’t a good reason for McQueen to see Lee the same way. Supposedly, the actor McQueen considered his rival to be none other than Paul Newman, an actor whose stardom was at least comparable to his own [via The Digital Fix.]
As for where he stood on Lee, McQueen’s confidence regarding the martial arts actor’s chances of one day surpassing him was made clear by an exchange in 1970. After Lee’s Way of the Dragon movie became a box office hit, Lee allegedly phoned McQueen and bragged about how he had accomplished his goal. In response, McQueen mailed him an autographed photo of himself, complete with a note calling Bruce Lee his “biggest fan.“
