James Coburn

James Coburn (1928–2002) was an American film and television actor known for his lean, laconic screen presence and roles in Westerns, war films, and action comedies.

The Magnificent Seven: A 1960 Western in which seven gunfighters defend a Mexican village from bandits. Coburn played Britt, the quiet knife-throwing gunfighter in this ensemble Western.
Sam Peckinpah: An American film director known for violent, elegiac Westerns and action films. Peckinpah directed Coburn in Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid and Cross of Iron.
La Jolla Playhouse: A professional theatre in La Jolla, California, founded in 1947. Coburn studied acting there before building his film and television career.
Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor: An annual Academy Award honoring an actor’s performance in a supporting role in a film. Coburn received this award for Affliction in 1999.
The Great Escape: A 1963 war film about Allied prisoners planning a mass escape from a German camp during World War II. Coburn played Australian prisoner of war Louis Sedgwick, known as the Manufacturer.
Steve McQueen: An American actor and racing driver who became a major film star in the 1960s and 1970s. McQueen and Coburn appeared together in The Magnificent Seven and The Great Escape.
Stella Adler: An American acting teacher whose approach emphasized imagination, circumstances, and script analysis. Coburn studied with Adler, whose training shaped his early approach to acting.
Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture: A Golden Globe category honoring a supporting performance in a motion picture. Coburn also won this award for his performance in Affliction.
The Nutty Professor: A 1963 comedy film directed by and starring Jerry Lewis as a shy professor who transforms into a swaggering alter ego. Coburn played the professor’s rival, marking an early comic role beyond his Western image.
Yul Brynner: A Russian-born American actor whose film roles included the gunfighter Chris Adams in The Magnificent Seven. Brynner led the ensemble in which Coburn played fellow gunfighter Britt.

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Charles BronsonCompared with: Coburn shared major ensemble casts with Bronson while projecting a more wry screen presence.