British actor Terence Stamp, best known for his role as the villain General Zod in “Superman” and “Superman II,” has died today aged 87. The Academy Award-nominated actor appeared in a wide range of films, from Pier Paolo Pasolini’s “Theorem” in 1968 and “A Season in Hell” in 1971 to the 1994 hit “The Adventures of Priscilla”, “Queen of the Desert”, where he portrayed a transgender woman.
His family said in a statement today, “He leaves behind an extraordinary body of work, both as an actor and as a writer, that will continue to touch and inspire people for years to come. We ask for privacy at this sad time.”
Death of a Star
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The cause of Stamp’s death has not yet been revealed. Born in London’s East End in 1938 to a tugboat stoker, he lived through the city’s bombing during World War II before leaving school to take a job in advertising. He later earned a scholarship to attend drama school.
Known for his striking looks and sharp sense of style, he became part of one of Britain’s most glamorous couples with Julie Christie, starring alongside her in “Far From the Madding Crowd” in 1967.
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Also celebrated for his role in the 1999 film “The Limey,” Stamp dated model Jean Shrimpton and was a favorite subject of photographer David Bailey.
After missing out on the chance to replace Sean Connery as James Bond, he turned to Italian cinema, collaborating with Federico Fellini in the late 1960s.
Stamp dropped out of the limelight for some time, traveling to India to study yoga before landing his most iconic role — “General Zod”, the ruthless Kryptonian leader, in “Superman” (1978) and its 1980 sequel.
He later built a diverse film career, appearing in titles such as Valkyrie alongside Tom Cruise in 2008, “The Adjustment Bureau” with Matt Damon in 2011, as well as several projects directed by Tim Burton.
Stamp often recounted that he was close to becoming a tantric sex instructor at an ashram in India when, in 1977, a telegram from his London agent arrived with the news that he was being considered for “Superman.”
“I was on the night flight the next day,” Stamp recalled in a 2015 interview with his publisher, Watkins Books.
After nearly eight years with little work, landing the role of the villainous General Zod in “Superman” and “Superman II” thrust the London-born actor back into Hollywood’s spotlight.
Energized by the success, Stamp said he would playfully answer the stares of strangers with the line: “Kneel before Zod, you b*****ds,” which almost always got an enthusiastic reaction.
Star in His Own Right
Reflecting on his childhood, Stamp once said: “The great blessing of my life is that I had the really hard bit at the beginning because we were really poor.” He left school to take a job as a messenger at an advertising company, where he quickly advanced, before eventually earning a scholarship to attend drama school.
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Up to that point, he had kept his dream of becoming an actor hidden from his family, worried they might not approve.
“I couldn’t tell anyone I wanted to be an actor because it was out of the question. I would have been laughed at,” he said.
Stamp shared an apartment with fellow young London actor Michael Caine before earning the lead role in Peter Ustinov’s 1962 film adaptation of Billy Budd, a tale of harsh life in the 18th-century British navy.
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The performance earned him an Oscar nomination and became a source of immense pride for him. “To be cast by somebody like Ustinov was something that gave me a great deal of self-confidence in my film career,” Stamp told the Thomson Reuters Foundation in 2019. “During the shooting, I just thought, ‘Wow! This is it’.”
Stamp also said the love of his life was the model Jean Shrimpton, adding: “When I lost her, then that also coincided with my career taking a di.”
After missing out on the chance to replace Connery as James Bond, Stamp went on to act in Italian cinema and collaborated with Fellini during the late 1960s. “I view my life really as before and after Fellini,” he said. “Being cast by him was the greatest compliment an actor like myself could get.”
