Rise to Fame
Dutch wasn't the lead villain in The Karate Kid, but he was the one you remembered. Playing the most unhinged member of Cobra Kai's gang in 1984, Chad McQueen made an impression precisely because he didn't carry the plot. He was the guy in the background looking like he'd actually hurt someone. Being Steve McQueen's son got him in rooms. What he did in those rooms was his own problem to solve.
In the Spotlight
A string of direct-to-video action films in the 90s kept him employed but not prominent. He was racing professionally by then anyway, running the Baja 1000 and the 24 Hours of Daytona. In February 2006, a crash at Daytona left him with a broken neck, broken limbs, and a collapsed lung; he was in a coma for weeks. Racing was done. He founded McQueen Racing LLC in 2010 and spent his last years building limited-edition performance cars with his kids. Cobra Kai wrote a scene for Dutch in Season 6, but he died before it could film.
Side Notes
Turning down The Blob (1988) and a Bullitt TV pilot wasn't stubbornness, it was policy. He had a standing rule against trading on his father's name professionally, which is a complicated thing when your father was Steve McQueen. He executive-produced I Am Steve McQueen (2014) anyway, which is its own kind of reckoning. His son Steven R. McQueen became an actor on The Vampire Diaries, putting three generations of McQueens in front of the camera.
Final Chapter
He died September 11, 2024, at his Palm Desert ranch of organ failure following a 2020 fall he never fully recovered from. Cobra Kai Season 6 Part 2 ran a tribute card in Episode 6 reading "Cobra Kai never dies." The ACO, which governs the 24 Hours of Le Mans, issued a formal tribute. His children Chase and Madison reportedly continue running McQueen Racing LLC.