On the set of the 1960 classic The Magnificent Seven, Steve McQueen‘s usual on-set antics were no match for Yul Brynner’s formidable presence, and their feud became legendary. So much so that reports about their clashes even made it into the press.

At the time, The King & I star was the big headliner, although the film was stacked with major names, many of whom would go on to become even bigger stars themselves. James Coburn and Brad Dexter’s names didn’t even make it on to the posters, while Charles Bronson and Robert Vaughan’s were printed in normal typeface. Brynner’s appeared at the top, of course, followed by McQueen, Horst Bucholz and Eli Wallach, who played the bandit leader Calvera, all printed in attention-grabbing bold typeface.

Brynner was known throughout his career for being a diva and even encouraged his reputation with grandiose declarations and by pronouncing that he prepared breakfast in a silk kimono. McQueen was not impressed.

Brynner was notorious for demanding absolute stillness and silence when delivering his lines, prompting McQueen to deliberately disrupt scenes by tipping his hat, innocently flipping coins, rattling bullet shells and playing with his gun, even mastering elaborate gun-twirling just to irk his co-star.

During ensemble scenes, such as the iconic river crossing on horseback, McQueen would grab the spotlight. In this case he leaned down to dip his hat into the water, drawing the audience’s attention away from the rest of the cast, which naturally frustrated more than just Brynner. Even in the classic shot below, look who is standing to one side, separated out, fully lit and the only one not wearing a hat.

Vaughn later said: “Steve was intensely competitive. It wasn’t enough just to be successful — he had to be more successful than anyone else.”

The bald Brynner, who himself kept his head shaved to stand out in Hollywood, eventually exploded, warning: “If you don’t stop that I’m going to take off my hat, and then no one will look at you for the rest of the film.”

In a Hollywood era dominated by strapping tough guys, Brynner was also sensitive about his stature, standing just shy of 5’7. On the Magnificent Seven set he would scuff up small mounds of earth to stand on during outdoor shoots to appear taller. Naturally, McQueen seized every opportunity to flatten these mounds as he casually strolled by.

He alter said of their strained working relationship, “When you work in a scene with Yul, you’re supposed to stand perfectly still, 10 feet away. Well, I don’t work that way.

“We didn’t get along. Brynner came up to me in front of a lot of people and grabbed me by the shoulder. He was mad about something. He doesn’t ride well and knows nothing about guns, so maybe he thought I represented a threat. I was in my element. He wasn’t.”

True to his own combative personality, McQueen made no concessions when it came to tolerating any manhandling from his co-star.

The fiery actor added: “I don’t like people pawing me. ‘Take your hands off me’, I said. What had I got to lose from a little fight? I’ve got a busted nose and teeth missing and stitches in my lips and I’m deaf in the right ear.”

Further exacerbating the situation, Brynner hired an aide solely to keep track of McQueen’s on-set disruptions and count the number of times he fidgeted during filming.

As a riposte, McQueen made a fuss about Brynner’s horse being larger than his and mocked his co-star’s ornate, ivory-handled firearm as a pathetic bid for attention.

When tales of their contentious relationship started making rounds in the media, Brynner addressed the matter bluntly via a press release with his typical arrogance, declaring: “I never feud with actors. I feud with studios.”

The film catapulted McQueen to stardom, but their feud persisted until his final days when he was battling cancer in 1980.

In his last months, he sought to make amends and reached out to his former Magnificent Seven co-star in a personal phone call and told him: “You coulda had me kicked off the movie when I rattled you but you let me stay and that picture made me, so thanks”.

Brynner magnanimously accepted the overture but still managed to keep the other actor in his place with the outrageous reply: “I am the king and you are the rebel prince: every bit as royal and dangerous to cross.”

The Magnificent Seven is on BBC2 on Sunday at 12.55pm