[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/yulbrynner.jpg]]

->''"I really wanted to make a commercial, when I discovered that I was that sick, and my time was so limited. I wanted to make a commercial that says simply, 'Now that I am gone, I tell you: Don't smoke. Whatever you do, just don't smoke.' If I could take back that smoking, we wouldn't be talking about any cancer. I'm convinced of that."''
-->-- Excerpts from Brynner's appearance on ABC's ''Good Morning America'' on January 7, 1985, his final interview.

Yul Brynner (born Yuliy Borisovich Briner, Russian: Юлий Борисович Бринер, July 11, 1920 – October 10, 1985) was a UsefulNotes/{{Russia}}n-[=born=] American actor.

He was born in Vladivostok, though after his father left the family, his mother took him to Manchuria and Paris before they moved to the USA in 1940. During UsefulNotes/WorldWarII, Brynner used his French language skills to broadcast American propaganda to occupied France. He became an American citizen in the [[TheForties 1940s]] and began working as an actor and model.

Brynner's StarMakingRole was as [[UsefulNotes/{{Thailand}} King Mongkut of Siam]] in ''Theatre/TheKingAndI'', which he first played in 1951 and would play 4633 times, not only on stage but also in the LiveActionAdaptation and a TV version. Brynner would end up winning both a Tony and an Oscar for this role. It was for this role that he shaved his head, and the bald head would become Yul Brynner's iconic look.

He also starred in 1956 as Pharaoh Ramses in ''Film/{{The Ten Commandments|1956}}''. After attending a performance of ''Theatre/TheKingAndI'', Creator/CecilBDeMille promptly went backstage and enlisted him for the part. As Creator/CharltonHeston was much taller than him, Brynner decided to bulk up for the role, and delivered an imposing performance as the Pharaoh. He would continue to star in epics through the [[TheFifties 1950s]], [[TheSixties 1960s]], and early [[TheSeventies 1970s]].

Brynner's last major role was as the Gunslinger robot (who at his request wore the same clothes as his character in ''Film/{{The Magnificent Seven|1960}}'') in the 1973 film ''Film/{{Westworld}}'', and a cameo in its sequel ''Futureworld'' (1976). Sadly, his smoking habit caught up to him, and he died of lung cancer in 1985. While wrapping up his career, Brynner's final wish, as mentioned above, was to make a PublicServiceAnnouncement to be run after his death to tell others not to make that mistake; at the proper time, the American Cancer Society [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JNjunlWUJJI honored his wish]].

Yul Brynner remains one of the most distinctive-looking (and ''sounding'') Hollywood actors, and to this day his image is shorthand for badass. Among his influences is that he inspired the look of ComicBook/ProfessorX of the ''ComicBook/XMen'' comics.
----
!!Roles (selected)
* ''Theatre/TheKingAndI'' (1956 film, various stage productions) as King Mongkut of Siam
* ''Film/{{The Ten Commandments|1956}}'' (1956) as Pharaoh UsefulNotes/RamsesII
* ''Film/{{Anastasia}}'' (1956 film) as General Sergei Pavlovich Bunin
* ''Literature/TheBrothersKaramazov'' (1958 film with Creator/WilliamShatner) as Dmitri Karamazov
* ''Film/SolomonAndSheba'' (1959 film) as King Solomon [[note]]Solomon and Sheba was originally filmed with Creator/TyronePower as Solomon, until two-thirds of the movie was filmed, and he collapsed during a dueling scene with Creator/GeorgeSanders, dying sometime afterwards. The production staff decided to re-film Brynner as Solomon.[[/note]]
* ''Film/TheTestamentOfOrpheus'' (1959)
* ''Film/{{The Magnificent Seven|1960}}'' (1960) as Chris Larabee Adams
* ''Taras Bulba'' (1962) as Taras Bulba
* ''Kings of the Sun'' (1963) as Chief Black Eagle
* ''Film/InvitationToAGunfighter'' (1964) as Jules Gaspard d'Estaing
* ''Film/{{Morituri}}'' (1965) as Captain Mueller
* ''The Long Duel'' (1967) as Sultan
* ''Villa Rides'' (1968) as Pancho Villa
* ''Film/TheBattleOfNeretva'' (1969) as Vlado
* ''Theatre/TheMadwomanOfChaillot'' (1969) as 'The President'.
* ''The Bounty Hunters'' (1970) as Sabata/Indio Black
* ''Film/TheLightAtTheEdgeOfTheWorld'' (1971) as Jonathan Kongre
* ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catlow Catlow]]'' (1971) as Jed Catlow. [[note]] not to be confused with any [[Webcomic/GeneCatlow anthropomorphic cats]] [[/note]]
* ''{{Film/Westworld}}'' (1973) as the Gunslinger
----
!! Tropes related to his work:
* BaldOfAuthority: He shaved his head for ''Film/TheKingAndI'' and liking both the look and the roles it opened up for him, he kept it shaved afterwards, quickly becoming his trademark look.
* BaldOfEvil: Whenever he villainous roles, most notably ''{{Film/Westworld}}'' (1973), his characters were this by default.
* BeamMeUpScotty: He did not use the ExactWords "I'm dead, don't smoke" in his posthumously-aired anti-smoking PSA, [[InvokedTrope though that was certainly the point he wanted to make.]]
* DeadManWriting: Brynner's final message, which in a sense was his final work, was delivered after his death via an American Cancer Society commercial.
* DyeingForYourArt:
** He [[ImportantHaircut shaved his head]] for ''The King and I'', and the look became iconic.
** When he found out that he'd be costarring with Creator/CharltonHeston in ''Film/{{The Ten Commandments|1956}}'' and that he would be shirtless for a majority of the film, he began a rigorous weightlifting program because he did not want to be physically overshadowed by Heston.
* FakeNationality: Brynner was of Swiss German and Russian descent with a small amount of Buryat (Mongolic) ancestry which gave him a lot of casting appeal to play numerous nationalities. His most notable roles included Siamese (Thai), Egyptian, American (including Native American and Cajun), Zaporhozian Cossack (Ukrainian) and Mexican. In fact, he only played his real nationality a few times (at least three).
* MoneyDearBoy: According to ''The Man Who Would Be King'', Brynner acted this way for much of his career. Due to a combination of factors (including unscrupulous film studios, his absence from the U.S. and an increasing reliance on maintaining his property), Yul was content to take any role as long as it offered a paycheck. He turned in roles in scores of schlocky films, and would always note to his son that because the studios and government felt compelled to try to screw him over at every opportunity, he could do the same thing to make money on projects that were beneath his star power.
* PlaysGreatEthnics: As he was believed in life to be of ambiguous ethnicity,[[note]]Brynner enjoyed telling tall tales and exaggerating his background and early life for the press, claiming that he was born "Taidje Khan" of part-Mongol parentage, on the Russian island of Sakhalin, when in reality he was mostly of Swiss-German and Russian ancestry, though he had some small Buryat ancestry[[/note]] Brynner played Thai, Egyptian, Russian, Zaporhozian Cossack, Native American, Cajun, Maya, Mexican, and other "ethnic" roles.
----