by Ian Hrabe

One of the first things that comes up when you start digging into Zbigniew Cybulski is that he is regarded as “the Polish James Dean.” Both were young, handsome dudes who possessed an irresistible charisma that leapt off the screen. Both were undeniably cool, in the truest sense of the word. Both of them died tragically in heartbreakingly stupid ways. Where Dean died racing his Porsche 550 Spyder down a California highway, Cybulski met his end attempting to hop aboard a speeding train (apparently something he was known to do) and getting crushed beneath the locomotive. Cybulski was 39 at the time of his death--a bit less tragic than Dean’s 23--but that still feels young for someone who stole the screen anytime he was on it.