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Bruce Leehad a rich and storied friendly relationship — and competition — with fellow prominent screen icon Steve McQueen . Both Lee and McQueen were two of the with child actors of their era , but they also hailed from two unlike worlds . Lee was a rising star in the martial arts movie industry , while McQueen was an A - listing actor in Hollywood and a family name .
Today , Bruce Lee is remembered as a martial art legend who wowed audiences with his performances in five kung fu movies , one of which being the Hollywood classic , Enter the Dragon . However , it took him a while to derive this reputation , whereas his Quaker , Steve McQueen , had been making movies in Hollywood for several years and was high - in - demand by some of the with child studios in the industry . During the sixties , McQueen star in magnanimous moving-picture show likeThe Magnificent Seven , Bullitt , The Thomas Crown Affair , andThe Great Escape . He also received critical acclaim for his persona in the anti - Vietnam War film , The Sand Pebbles , which bring in him an Oscar nominating speech for Best Actor .
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Sometime after the cancellation ofThe Green Hornetin 1967 and long before his breakout role in 1971’sThe Big Boss , Bruce Lee was out of work ; he befriend McQueen , who was ten years his senior and already fabulously celebrated . They see through their reciprocal friendly relationship with celebrity stylist Jay Sebring . Their connexion began withMcQueen employ Lee to teach him kung fu . The two did n’t become fast ally , as McQueen biographer Marshall Terrill has note that the actor was “ too paranoid ” to make friends with the great unwashed easily , so his friendship with Lee had to grow from the time they drop train together . At first , McQueen spend time with Lee because he felt that that he had something he could learn from the martial artist . During their education school term , Lee was greatly impressed with McQueen , a person who he said “ does n’t know the signification of quitting . ”
As their bond heighten and the regard that they had for each other grew solid over time , the two formed what Terrill called a “ professional sibling rivalry . ” Lee ’s finish was always to become a Brobdingnagian star in Hollywood , and he was n’t shy about his intention to become even more famous than McQueen himself . His ambitiousness to surpass McQueen increased whenLee and James Coburn start developingThe Silent Flute . It was Lee ’s program for McQueen to asterisk in the movie , but he refused to take the part , explaining that he did n’t need to use his fame to “ make other people stars ” [ viaCloser Weekly ] .
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