Steve McQueen’s grandson grew as handsome as the legend – and he’s already a TV star
Steven R. McQueen, who was born with the same Hollywood tough guy blood as the famed King of Cool, Steve McQueen, is an amazing actor at the age of 34, having inherited the ability and beautiful looks of the grandfather he never met.
Chad McQueen, a race car driver and former actor, is the son of the renowned Steve McQueen. Steven R. McQueen is his descendant.
Eight years after the legendary granddad passed away from a heart attack while undergoing surgery to remove several malignancies, the young Steven was born in 1988.
The “low key tough guy” McQueen was recognized as one of the 50 Most Stylish Men in 2017 and ranked by Forbes as one of the highest paying dead celebrities in 2017.
An unidentified fan paid $2.3 million for one of his favourite items, a 1963 Ferrari Berlinetta Lusso, at auction in 2008, and another fan paid $70,200 for a pair of McQueen’s Persol sunglasses from The Thomas Crown Affair in 2006.
The hunky senior McQueen, whose steely blue eyes mesmerized audiences, was a Hollywood bad boy whose roles in movies like Bullitt, Sand Pebbles, The Magnificent Seven, and The Great Escape cemented his place in history.
“I love his career. He chooses really cool, awkward films and he’s always very interesting to watch, so I’d like to–not mimic–but kind of use him as an example,” Steven told the New York Post of his grandfather. “I love everything I’ve seen that he was in…My favorites are probably Papillon and The Thomas Crown Affair.”
The actor Steven, who has brown eyes and dark hair, is an exact replica of his late grandfather.
Explaining the “bane and boon” of being the grandson to the great Steve McQueen, Steven said, “Knowing that my grandad was a highly respected actor wasn’t necessarily intimidating, but it definitely meant there was always a pressure to live up to his reputation. I think that’s why acting wasn’t something I even considered doing, as a kid,” he said, adding that he spent a lot of time travelling with his mom and stepfather, a retired professional hockey player.
Steven’s mother Stacia Toten, who separated from his father Chad in 1990, is now wed to hockey legend and Hall of Famer Luc Robitaille. Steven considers Luc Robitaille to be his father.
“My stepdad has been more like a biological dad in my life. I’m pretty close with my biological dad, but I think of him more like an uncle. It’s a good relationship,” said Steven, the R in his name standing for Robitaille.
His father Chad, a successful race car driver who had roles in several films like Firepower (1993) and The Karate Kid I and II (1984, 1986), inherited his father’s love of bikes and vehicles.
In 2010, Chad founded McQueen Racing, LLC, a company that sells luxury cars and limited-edition bespoke vehicles. Steve McQueen, the late actor’s son, appeared in and produced the documentary Filming at Speed: The Making of the Motion Picture Le Mans.
It was in his mid-teens that Steven started watching his grandfather’s movies. “Seeing him in those films was inspiring but so, too, was watching other actors, like Marlon Brando and James Dean, in a whole bunch of other films. That’s what made me want to try acting,” Steven explained. “From there, my passion for it slowly unfolded. I went to a couple of classes and I grew to love it.”
At the age of 17, Steven started his acting career after his grandfather. However, Neile Adams, the great aunt of Steven’s cousins Julio Iglesias Jr. and Enrique, shows that the arts are deeply ingrained in Steven’s family.
Steven made his television debut in the sci-fi drama Threshold as a guest star. Then, Steven had a recurring part as a bad boy teenage piano prodigy on WB’s Everwood.
The Vampire Diaries, a tremendously popular supernatural TV series, gave him his breakout role in 2009. For six years, he played Jeremy Gilbert, a mortal who battles ghosts and vampires in an effort to save his haunted village of Mystic Falls.
“…I think it’s the supernatural element which makes it fun to watch–and shoot–because you aren’t limited to the usual film-making rules, like life and death.” He continued about the show that ended in 2015, “It’s like anyone can die and then come back to life, including me. I think I’ve died three times now but I’m still here–even though I play a human character. So, for me, it’s that escapism–the ability to project yourself into a whole different realm–mixed with eternal youth and endless possibilities.”
Additionally, he starred in the classic horror movie Piranha and lent his stylish appearance as a model to the clothing brand Abercrombie & Fitch. He played a significant part on Chicago Fire and Chicago PD from 2015 to 2016, and in Legacies, the spinoff of The Vampire Diaries, Steven returned to the role of Jeremy for one episode in 2018.
Additionally, he appears in the real-life war stories anthology series Medal of Honor.
Speaking again to his namesake, Steven said, “There’s definitely a level of pressure because of it, but it’s the name I was born with so I figured I may as well stick with it…Anyway, I’m quite a competitive person, so it pushes me to not only live up to any expectations, but to climb out of the shadow and cut a path of my own.”
You must watch one of Steven R. McQueen’s shows if you haven’t already. He is a stunning young talent, and his grandfather would undoubtedly be very proud of him.
