Category Archives: media history

My pandemic refuge project, Yul Brynner: Exoticism, Cosmopolitanism and Screen Masculinity, is very freshly out. A Yul project was something I toyed with for years before eventually penning an article (out in Screen in 2019); without COVID-19 lockdowns, it is unlikely that I could have found the time for the kind of archival work that this book took. Trust me on this: both immersive and extensive.

It has been a pleasure to work with Edinburgh University Press and the editors of the International Film Stars series on this. Having opened the book on many a page by now, I have not noticed a typo yet. A personal first. A more affordable paperback version should be out in 2024; the 30% discount code NEW30 for the HB one may or may not still work.

This book is way more than a pet project and it ended up being a deep, deep dive not just into the actor’s film work but also to archival press sources. Yul Brynner: Exoticism, Cosmopolitanism and Screen Masculinity has a due date for March in Edinburgh University Press’s International Film Stars Series. I’m tickled pink and it’s been a joy working with the publisher. Here’s the blurb:

Yul Brynner’s star image was built on cosmopolitan flair, shifting tales of origin, baldness, as well as film roles as foreign rulers, freedom fighters, army officials, gunslingers and secret agents of ever-shifting ethnicities. Whether Cossacks, marauding pirate captains or cross-dressing torch singers, Brynner’s characters were invariably stand-outs.