Brynner was fluent in French and Russian which made him an ideal candidate for the Office of War Information as an announcer for their French radio service. At the end of the war in 1945 Brynner was cast as Tsai-Yong in the Broadway musical play ‘Lute Song’, which starred Mary Martin, the mother of Larry Hagman. Following his success on Broadway Brynner went to London to appear in theater and then returned to the USA where in 1949 he made his movie debut in ‘Port of New York’ which eventually gained him recognition in Hollywood where he was cast in the Rogers and Hammerstein musical in the role of ‘The King of Siam’ in ‘The King and I’ when he starred alongside Gertrude Lawrence.

In 1956 the stage play was repeated in film version and once again Brynner starred as the King but this time his ‘nanny’ was played by Deborah Kerr. ‘The King and I’ brought Yul together with another up and coming Hollywood star, Rita Moreno, who also gained great recognition through the movie. The movie not only won Brynner an Oscar but the chance to appear in the Cecil B. DeMille multi-million dollar blockbuster, ‘The Ten Commandments’ which saw Brynner  collaborating with such actors as Charlton Heston,  John Derek, Vincent Price, Edward G Robinson  and Anne Baxter.

Brynner’s next big movie role came in 1960 with the role of Chris, a mercenary hired to protect a Mexican village, in ‘The Magnificent Seven’ with Eli Wallach, Steve McQueen and Charles Bronson. Brynner still maintained his shaven head appearance which by now had become his trade mark. After having shaved his head for the part of, the King, Brynner was seen sporting it for the rest of his life as a response to the revelation that his female fans enjoyed him appearing that way. But with Hollywood changing in the 1970’s it was difficult for the larger than life character roles to be found so in 1972 Brynner accepted the role of the King of Siam in a television series titled,  ‘Anna and the King’ when he acted with Samantha Eggar as the impossible to tolerate, nanny. Unfortunately the series only survived for eight weeks before it was axed.

Outside acting Brynner was an accomplished photographer and many of his works were incorporated in magazine spreads and as official studio productions stills. His skills ran to penning two books, playing the guitar and singing.Brynner's last major film role came  in 1973 in the sci-fi thriller ‘Westworld’ where he was cast as a murderously malfunctioning robot, dressed in Western garb reminiscent of the actor's wardrobe in 1960's ‘The Magnificent Seven’.  This time his co actors consisted of James Brolin, Alan Oppenheimer and Richard Benjamin.

In 1985 Yul instigated a second tour of the ‘The King and I’ but by this time he had already been diagnosed with  lung caner and his ability to perform to the show stopping song ‘Shall we Dance’ was greatly impaired. Nonetheless, Brynner played to packed houses. Brynner kept his illness a secret from his fans and just 2 months after completing his run on Broadway in 1985, Brynner died of his disease.