Fear at full throttle with Steve McQueen

Finally, those piercing blue eyes hidden behind dark glasses, he came to a halt beside me and sat there, twisting the throttle provocatively. 'Wanna ride?' I hesitated. It was 30 years since I'd ridden pillion and, having ended up in hospital as a result, had sworn I'd never do it again. But national honour was at stake and I knew I couldn't refuse the challenge. 'You bet,' I said heartily. There's a belief that screenwriters disliked [Steve McQueen] because he was always angling to make his parts bigger. That, in my experience, was untrue. He was forever fighting to cut lines because he knew, better than anyone, that one telling look is worth any amount of dialogue. Because I'd been delayed, it seemed strange not to see him when I arrived. About to sit down, I caught sight of a ravaged old man beckoning from one of the bar stools. A shiver ran through me: the old man was Steve.