Steve McQueen was just fifty years old when he died, but he crammed more living into that time than most people could manage in a century.

More than forty years after his death, McQueen remains a true counter-cultural icon and one of the first people that most think of when they’re asked what it means to be cool. So what is it about McQueen that endures to this day?

From his cars to his clothes, the word “classic” could have been conceived to describe Steve McQueen. The Mustang GT 390 that he chose to drive in Bullitt, which recently sold for a whopping $3.4 million, looks as good today as it did back in 1968. 

Steve wasn’t one for trends, instead embracing a look that’s legitimately timeless. His Harrington jacket remains popular with everyone from modern day mods to Stranger Things’ Steve Harrington (no relation to the jacket…). 

In a case of art imitating life, a process that usually goes the other way around, McQueen even made a 1971 film about racing in the 24 Hours of Le Mans after trying to compete in the actual race the previous year. It’s hard to know whether acting or racing was his first love.

From his popularity with the ladies to his racing prowess, it’s easy to see why McQueen remains the King. While he certainly wasn’t the first actor to do his own stunts, there’s an argument to be made that it was his machismo that inspired many modern actors to do so. 

Tom Cruise, for example, continues to do many of his own stunts into his 50s. Cruise recently made headlines by hurtling off the side of a mountain on a motorbike for Mission Impossible 7, a stunt that made The Great Escape’s jump look tame. 

In fact, even though the DVD commentary for the film says that finding a lookalike rider as good as McQueen was difficult, this is one of few stunts that Steve didn’t tackle himself. Not because he didn’t want to, but because the film’s insurance wouldn’t cover it.

McQueen was a heavy smoker, drinker and, according to those who knew him, a user of marijuana and cocaine. He also worked out for a couple of hours every day, with a regimen that included everything from running and lifting weights to martial arts. 

Whether work or play, McQueen didn’t do things by halves. That even extended to his tragic battle with an aggressive form of cancer, which saw him adopt unconventional treatments and undertake ill-advised surgery in Mexico that ultimately led to his death.