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The Independent
a day ago
- Entertainment
- The Independent
Terence Stamp, star of original Superman films, remembered as ‘true movie star'
Veteran British actor Terence Stamp, who starred in the original Superman films, has been remembered as 'iconic' and a 'true movie star'. The Academy Award-nominated actor, who played Kryptonian villain General Zod in Superman and Superman II, died on Sunday aged 87. Filmmaker Edgar Wright, who directed Last Night In Soho – the last movie Stamp featured in, paid tribute to the actor in a lengthy social media post. He said: 'I am deeply saddened by the passing of Terence Stamp, a British actor who was truly iconic. An East Ender that rose to such fame in Swinging Sixties London, he could rightly be called its epicentre. 'Terence's career spanned seven decades and never stopped surprising. I was fortunate to work with him on what became his final screen role in Last Night in Soho. 'Terence was kind, funny, and endlessly fascinating. I loved discussing music with him (his brother managed The Who, and he's name-checked in The Kinks' Waterloo Sunset) or reminiscing about his films, going back to his debut in Billy Budd. 'He spoke of his last shot in that film, describing a transcendental moment with the camera — a sense of becoming one with the lens. 'Decades later, while directing him, I witnessed something similar. The closer the camera moved, the more hypnotic his presence became. 'In close-up, his unblinking gaze locked in so powerfully that the effect was extraordinary. Terence was a true movie star: the camera loved him, and he loved it right back. 'If I have a regret, it's that he had to endure a few night shoots — tough for an older actor. Yet this gave rise to an anecdote that lives on in Soho. In one scene, his character exits The Toucan pub via the basement stairs. 'It was late, and Terence — who never did many takes — looked at the setup and said: 'This shot isn't going to be in the movie.' I asked why. He deadpanned: 'This staircase isn't good enough to be in a movie.' 'It was one of the funniest things ever said to me on set. We did the shot and I promised it would make the cut.' Wright said he regaled the story at a Q&A attended by the pub's owners who decided to immortalise his remark on a brass plaque that you can see at the top of those basement steps. He added: 'The last time I saw Terence, he was in excellent spirits. He came to record ADR (Automated Dialogue Replacement) and perhaps because of his prolific Italian film career, his looping was flawless. Afterwards, over tea, he regaled me with stories of (directors) Fellini, Pasolini, Wyler and Ustinov. I hugged him goodbye, but never saw him again. 'You will be missed, Terry. But you are immortalised — in film, in song, in print and in the heart of the city where you were born.' In the comments, actor Sam Claflin, who was in the film, said: 'I'll never forget you gifting me the chance to meet him mate. 'What was supposed to be a quick coffee meet and greet, turned in to a four hour conversation about film and the meaning of life. A true gent. An absolute king.' Among Stamp's performances was a transgender woman in 1994's The Adventures Of Priscilla, Queen Of The Desert, which saw him nominated for a Bafta. Director of the film, Stephan Elliott, told the Guardian that Stamp 'was absolutely terrified to play Bernadette' as 'he was being voted one of the best-looking men on earth and suddenly in Priscilla he was, and this is a direct quote, 'dressed up as an old dog'.' Star of the film Guy Pearce wrote on X, formerly Twitter: 'Fairwell dear Tel. You were a true inspiration, both in & out of heels. We'll always have Kings Canyon, Kings road & F'ing ABBA. Wishing you well on your way 'Ralph'! xxxx' Bafta said: 'We're saddened to hear of the passing of Terence Stamp, aged 87. Well known for playing General Zod in the Superman films, Stamp was nominated for two Baftas in 1963 and 1995 for his work in Billy Budd and The Adventures Of Priscilla, Queen Of The Desert.' Born in the East End of London in 1938, Stamp rose to acting fame in the 1960s after he won a drama school scholarship. The Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art scholarship led him to the stage, where he acted in repertory theatre and met Michael Caine, who was five years older than him. The pair lived together in a flat in Harley Street while they were both looking for their big break, but they parted ways and lost touch, Stamp previously told The Guardian. He made his film debut in Peter Ustinov's 1962 film adaptation of Herman Melville's Billy Budd, and his portrayal of the title character brought an Oscar nomination. Known for his stylish clothes, Stamp famously dated actress Julie Christie, who he performed alongside in the 1967 film Far From The Madding Crowd and was also in a relationship with the model Jean Shrimpton. But, after missing out on the role of James Bond, he fell out of the limelight for a while. It was not until 1978 that he got his most famous role as General Zod and appeared in Superman's 1980 sequel as the same character. Stamp's Superman co-star, British actress Sarah Douglas – who played General Zod's accomplice Ursa, paid tribute to the actor, describing him as 'beyond gorgeous and talented' in a post on Instagram. Stamp was also widely praised for his lead in director Steven Soderbergh's 1999 crime drama The Limey. He began voice acting and writing books in the late 90s, but also continued acting in films, appearing alongside Tom Cruise in Valkyrie in 2008 and working on movies directed by Tim Burton. He married 29-year-old Elizabeth O'Rourke in 2002 at the age of 64, but the couple divorced six years later. He did not have any children. His film career spanning six decades ended with Wright's 2021 psychological thriller starring Anya Taylor-Joy. Stamp's death was confirmed in a death notice published online, the Associated Press said.
Yahoo
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Why Terence Stamp was THE icon of the 60s
The actor was a defining presence in British cinema during the 1960s. When it came to casting his swinging 60s-set drama Last Night In Soho, director Edgar Wright peppered his film with actors whose fame was tied to the decade of peace and love. But of all those players – Diana Rigg and Rita Tushingham among them – it was the late Terence Stamp whose face was the most synonymous with the era. That line about "Terry and Julie" in The Kinks' 1967 masterpiece Waterloo Sunset? That's Terence and Julie Christie, they're namechecking. Meanwhile, go to any exhibition of photographs from that ultimate chronicler of the decade, David Bailey, and you'll see Stamp's portrait among them. Once dubbed 'the most beautiful man in the world", the actor would date some of the era's most beautiful women, including Jean Shrimpton, Julie Christie and Brigitte Bardot. "I was in my prime," he reflected in 2015, "but when the 1960s ended, I ended with it." As a working-class boy made good, Stamp was as much a personification of the socially liberal 1960s as his one-time flatmate Michael Caine. But Caine, who was already 27 at the dawn of the decade, was never tied to Swinging London like Stamp was. Read more: Terence Stamp dies at 87 Five years Caine's junior, he was much more a contemporary of the era's hippest names, partying with the decade's biggest rock stars (his brother Chris managed The Who and Jimi Hendrix) and being sought after its more art house filmmakers, from Joseph Losey (Modesty Blaise) to Pier Paolo Pasolini (Teorema) to Ken Loach (Poor Cow). Stamp was just 24 when he made his big screen debut as the titular Billy Budd in Peter Ustinov's widely successful historical epic. The movie won him rave reviews, plus an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor and a Most Promising Newcomer BAFTA nod, jumpstarting a career which would take in such classics as The Collector (1965) and Far from the Madding Crowd (1967). His role as an icon of the '60s would have been even stronger had he not lost the lead in one of the decade's defining films. Michelangelo Antonioni's Blow-Up starred David Hemmings as a David Bailey-inspired hipster who finds himself accidentally photographing a murder, but it was Stamp who was originally cast, only to lose the role shortly before filming began. "I don't know why they didn't use Terence Stamp," Bailey would say in 2012. "He was less of a sissy than Hemmings, and at least he was from the East End like me." A brush with Bond Another near-miss was the character of James Bond. When Sean Connery left the role after 1967's You Only Live Twice, Stamp, quite naturally, as one of the country's most in-demand and desired actors, found himself courted by the franchise's co-producer, Harry Saltzman. "He took me out for dinner at the White Elephant in Curzon Street," the actor recalled of his brush with Bond. "He said, 'We're looking for the new 007. You're really fit and really English.' "Like most English actors, I'd have loved to be 007 because I really know how to wear a suit," Stamp said. "But I think my ideas about it put the frighteners on Harry. I didn't get a second call from him." The part likely would have been an ill fit for the actor. He was possibly too counter-cultural and too bohemian for the role of the solidly Establishment James Bond. Shortly after his meeting with Saltzman, he would work with Federico Fellini on the arthouse horror Spirits of the Dead and was introduced by the director to the Indian philosopher Krishnamurti, ending up walking the classic hippie trail — practising yoga, going vegetarian and living on an ashram. "Kneel before Zod" The flipside of being the embodiment of an era, however, is that you're often out of favour once that decade passes. And so it was with Terence Stamp as the '60s drew to a close, when at the age of just 32, he found himself considered a has-been. "I remember my agent telling me: 'They are all looking for a young Terence Stamp,'" he said years later. "And I thought: 'I am young.' I couldn't believe it. It was tough to wake up in the morning, and the phone not ringing. I thought: this can't be happening now, it's only just started. The day-to-day thing was awful, and I couldn't live with it. So I bought a round-the-world ticket and left.' Stamp was long past his commercial peak when he was offered the role of General Zod in Superman: The Movie (1978) and its 1980 sequel Superman II. However, the part of the Man of Steel's Kryptonian nemesis would prove one of his most popular, and kickstarted a renaissance that included roles in such movies as The Hit (1994) and The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert (1994). Then, in 1999, Steven Soderbergh cast him as an ageing British hit-man in The Limey, which traded off Stamp's pretty boy past by including clips of the actor from the 1967 film Poor Cow, used as flashbacks to the character's youth. There may have been successes in the '70s and beyond, but it's that golden run of movies in the 1960s for which Terence Stamp will be forever remembered. As a working-class lad from the East End who became one of the most popular and bankable stars of that decade, he represented the era like no other actor. He was the poster boy not just of Swinging London but of a new social mobility, and for that, his place in our cultural history is guaranteed.
