Yuliy Borisovich Briner (Russian: Юлий Борисович Бринер; July 11, 1920 – October 10, 1985), better known as Yul Brynner, was an American actor of Russian, Swiss, and Buryat origin, singer, and director, considered one of the first American film stars. He became widely known for his portrayal of King Mongkut in the Rodgers and Hammerstein stage musical The King and I, for which he won two Tony Awards, and later won an Academy Award for the film adaptation. He played the role 4,625 times on stage and became known for his shaved head, which he maintained as a personal trademark long after adopting it for The King and I.
Yuliy Borisovich Briner (Russian: Юлий Борисович Бринер; July 11, 1920 – October 10, 1985), better known as Yul Brynner, was an American actor of Russian, Swiss, and Buryat origin, singer, and director, considered one of the first American film stars. He became widely known for his portrayal of King Mongkut in the Rodgers and Hammerstein stage musical The King and I, for which he won two Tony Awards, and later won an Academy Award for the film adaptation. He played the role 4,625 times on stage and became known for his shaved head, which he maintained as a personal trademark long after adopting it for The King and I. Brynner also starred as Ramesses II in the Cecil B. DeMille epic The Ten Commandments (1956). He played General Bounine in the film Anastasia (also 1956), the gunman Chris Adams in The Magnificent Seven (1960) and its first sequel Return of the Seven, and the android "The Gunslinger" in Westworld (1973) and its sequel Futureworld (1976). Brynner also worked as a model, television director and photographer, and was the author of several books.