The huge Steven Spielberg movie Steve McQueen turned down
Over the past half-century, Steven Spielberg has climbed to the very top of the movie industry as one of the most revered filmmakers of the so-called New Hollywood era. The 76-year-old made his theatrical debut as a movie director in 1974 with The Sugarland Express but broke through the following year with Jaws.
Today, Spielberg remains active in the industry with E.T., Schindler’s List, Saving Private Ryan and Jurassic Park among the strongest strings in his bow. These movies are just the very tip of an iceberg oeuvre that places Spielberg in a deserved position of cinematic divinity.
Following the monumental reception of Jaws, the cinematic world became Spielberg’s oyster, with A-list stars a familiar presence in his subsequent blockbusters. With Tom Hanks, Whoopi Goldberg, Tom Cruise, Julia Roberts, Harrison Ford, Liam Neeson, Leonardo DiCaprio, Meryl Streep, Robin Williams and Christian Bale among the many famous names appearing in Spielberg’s movies over the years, he certainly has little to lament.
That said, the missed chance to work with the legendary Steve McQueen must still play on the director’s mind from time to time. McQueen, or ‘King of Cool’ as he was nicknamed, was one of Hollywood’s most sought-after stars during the 1960s, appearing in such classics as The Magnificent Seven, The Great Escape, The Thomas Crown Affair and Bullitt during this prolific spell.
Not only was McQueen a solid actor as a macho leading man, but he cut costs by taking on most of his character’s death-defying stunts. Spielberg had grown up watching McQueen on the big screen, and in the late 1970s, while casting for Close Encounters of the Third Kind, he saw a golden opportunity to work with one of his heroes.
In the documentary, The Making of Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Steven Spielberg and Richard Dreyfuss list several stars considered to play the part of Roy Neary. Ultimately Dreyfuss took the lead role as Neary, an Indiana electric lineman whose life takes a wild turn after an encounter with a UFO.
According to the pair, Dustin Hoffman, Gene Hackman, and Al Pacino were among the titans considered for the role, but Spielberg’s first choice was McQueen. Alas, when Spielberg met up with the actor to discuss the role, he declined because he claimed he couldn’t cry on cue.
Whether it was a bid to protect his tough guy visage or that he genuinely couldn’t conjure a tear on set, McQueen regrettably put his foot down. In his desperation, Spielberg offered to remove the crying scenes from the movie, but McQueen protested that they were too integral to the emotion of the script, which he admitted made him shed a tear upon reading.
Watch the trailer for Steven Spielberg’s Close Encounters of the Third Kind below.
