How Steve McQueen Met the ‘King of Kings’: ‘The King of Cool Realized He Need Christ’
By Movieguide® Staff
Actor Steve McQueen remains an icon of Hollywood, even 42 years after his death.
Often referred to as the ‘King of Cool,’ McQueen was best known by fans worldwide for his roles like BULLITT, PAPILLON, and THE GREAT ESCAPE.
However, less talked about and monumentally more critical was McQueen’s salvation.
Pastor Greg Laurie—who revealed McQueen’s salvation story and life of faith in the documentary AMERICAN ICON—recently discussed the actor’s legacy.
“I started delving into Steve’s life more, and I had heard that he had become a Christian, and I believed it to be true, but I had never checked it out,” he told CBN.
“I had seen a documentary film last year. And it talked about his rise from the worst childhood imaginable to superstardom, where he was the number one star in the world, in films like Bullitt, The Great Escape, The Magnificent 7, The Thomas Crown Affair, et cetera, and then how he walked away from Hollywood and became a Christian, and I thought it this true?”
“…the name popped up Leonard DeWitt. Leonard is the pastor that led Steve to Christ and I thought, I wonder if this guy is alive still? So, we tracked him down and I said, ‘Are you the Leonard DeWitt that prayed with Steve McQueen?’ And he said, ‘Yes I am.'”
“I was amazed that Leonard did not have like a website that said, the preacher who led McQueen to Christ, that’s kind of an accomplishment,” he joked.
Laurie said that on his deathbed, McQueen held a Bible given to him by Billy Graham.
“One thing Steve said before he died was, ‘My only regret in life is that I was not able to tell people about what Christ did for me.’ So, I wrote a book that is out now and I am doing this documentary film because I wanted to right that wrong,” Laurie said. “Steve McQueen, the ‘King of Cool’, realized he needed Christ. So the ‘King of Cool’ met the ‘King of Kings.'”
A portion of Movieguide®’s review of AMERICAN ICON reads:
STEVE MCQUEEN: AMERICAN ICON is one of those unique documentaries that’s both entertaining and informative. Steve McQueen grew up in a dysfunctional family where his father left the family when Steve was 6 months old, and he had a troubled youth. From a young age, Steve showed an affinity for racing. After a brief stint in the military, he tried his hand at acting. Some successes in movies eventually led to huge successes because of movies like and the BLOB and THE GREAT ESCAPE. However, a self-destructive lifestyle eventually led Steve to leave his Hollywood career behind. Then God began to work in transformative ways in Steve’s life.
STEVE MCQUEEN: AMERICAN ICON does a very entertaining job of revealing the real Steve McQueen. Holding the viewer’s attention, it’s almost a drama. Some of the interviews are terrific with people such as Mel Gibson, but some are repetitious. Even so, this is a great movie for those interested in Hollywood. Finally, it’s a must-see movie for everyone to see the power of grace and God’s providence in moving inexorably in a man’s life.
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