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France 24
20 hours ago
- Entertainment
- France 24
Terence Stamp, Superman villain and 'swinging sixties' icon, dies aged 87: UK media
"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," media quoted the family saying. From Pier Paolo Pasolini's "Theorem" to George Lucas's "Star Wars", the "swinging sixties" icon captivated audiences in both arthouse films and Hollywood with his magnetic presence, making more than 60 films during his genre-spanning career. The London actor from a working-class background, born on July 22, 1938 had his first breakthrough in the role of a dashing young sailor hanged for killing one of his crewmates. Peter Ustinov's "Billy Budd" earning him an Oscar nomination and a Golden Globe for Best New Actor. Carving out a niche for his alluring depictions of broody villains, he won Best Actor at Cannes in 1965 for his role as a psychopathic character in "The Collector", a twisted love story by William Wyler. His 1967 encounter with Federico Fellini, who was searching for the "most decadent English actor" for his adaptation of "Extraordinary Stories", was transformative. The Italian director found his "Toby Dammit", a drunken actor seduced by the devil in the guise of a little girl. And Pasolini, who cast him in the cult classic "Theorem", saw him as a "boy of divine nature". In 1969, Stamp played an enigmatic visitor who seduced an entire bourgeois Milanese family. He also had a relationship with Jean Shrimpton -- model and beauty of the sixties -- before she left him towards the end of the 1960s. "I was so closely identified with the 1960s that when that era ended, I was finished with it," he once told French daily Liberation. But a dry spell did not last long, with Stamp reviving his career for some of his most popular roles, including in 1980's "Superman II", as Superman's arch-nemesis General Zod. Other roles followed, including that of Bernadette, a transgender woman in "Priscilla, Queen of the Desert" (1994), in which Stamp continued his exploration of human ambiguity, this time in fishnet stockings. He continued to pursue a wide-ranging career, jumping between big-budget productions like "Star Wars" and independent films like Stephen Frears' "The Hit" and Ken Loach's British drama "Poor Cow".
France 24
20 hours ago
- Entertainment
- France 24
Terence Stamp in five films
Here are five that gained classic or cult status: 'Billy Budd' (1962) Adapted from Herman Melville's short novel about a dashing sailor, Stamp won immediate acclaim for his first major screen performance playing the titular character. British legend Peter Ustinov directed the film and starred as the ship's captain, who has to intervene when drama breaks out between Budd and a comrade. An adaption of Melville's novel had enjoyed a popular run on Broadway in the 1950s before its movie adaptation, which picked up four BAFTAs, a Golden Globe win and an Oscar nod for Stamp. 'The Collector' (1965) Never more handsome or disturbing, Stamp played a kidnapper with a chip on his shoulder and a passion for collecting butterflies who captures a young woman and locks her up in his basement. The adaptation by William Wyler of John Fowles's classic novel brought out all the twisted power and class dynamics explored in the book, and was a triumph at Cannes, picking up best actor for Stamp. 'Theorem' (1968) This near-wordless cult classic by Italian master Pier Paolo Pasolini gets under the skin of bourgeois life through the arrival of a stranger, played by Stamp, into a rich family. Mysterious, attractive, he lures various family members into sex and in doing so unlocks forbidden passions, though what he unleashes is hardly happiness. Pasolini's film, which was initially banned, is "a blistering Marxist treatise on sex, religion, and art and a primal scream into the void," according to the Criterion Collection. It was Stamp's second collaboration with an Italian legend after shooting the short "Toby Dammit" earlier that year with Federico Fellini. "The great experience of my life was working with Fellini. It was a peak in the way I was performing at the time," Stamp said in a 2017 interview. But shooting "Theorem" was a rather different experience -- he had no lines and Pasolini barely spoke to him at all. "He had his own agenda. He was creating an ambience that I was part of." 'The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert' (1994) One of the most madcap and memorable comedies of the 1990s was a surprise popular hit worldwide and brought queer cinema into the mainstream. Stamp played a transgender woman accompanied by two drag queens driving a bus through the Australian outback in hope of meeting new friends. With its array of outlandish outfits and make-up, the film won best costume design at the Oscars and has inspired several stage musicals around the world. "It was only when I got there, and got through the fear, that it became one of the great experiences of my whole career," said Stamp. "It was probably the most fun thing I've ever done in my life." 'Last Night in Soho' (2022) Edgar Wright's British indie hit mixing horror and time travel featured Stamp as a shady but charming barfly with a mysterious connection to Swinging Sixties London. He spooks a fashion student who has flashbacks to the 1960s, when Soho was full of brothels rather than sandwich shops, and the film takes a devilish turn with Diana Rigg as a landlady hiding many skeletons in her cupboard.
Yahoo
21 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
British actor Terence Stamp, ‘Superman' star and famed figure of swinging London, dies at 87
Terence Stamp, the British actor who became synonymous with Swinging London in the 1960s, has died, his family said Sunday, according to Reuters. He was 87 years old. Stamp first came to prominence when he took on the titular role in the 1962 film 'Billy Budd.' The black and white drama, directed by Peter Ustinov, who also starred, saw Stamp nominated for an Academy Award for best supporting actor - the only Oscar nomination of his lengthy career. He went on to star in a host of films in the 1960s, among them John Schlesinger's Thomas Hardy adaptation 'Far From the Madding Crowd' and Ken Loach's first feature film, 'Poor Cow.' CNN has reached out to his representatives for confirmation of his death. He was a star who rose from humble beginnings in London's East End, about as far from Hollywood as you can get. He was born on July 22, 1938, to parents Ethel and Thomas, a merchant seaman. In a 2013 interview with the British Film Institute (BFI), Stamp revealed that his father tried to deter him from a career in showbiz. 'He genuinely believed that people like us didn't do things like that,' he said. But his mother, he said, 'loved every second of it.' 'In retrospect, my mother must have always wanted me to do it and must have wished that she could have been more supportive. But my dad was the head of the family and I never really knew what he thought of it because he was of that generation. 'He was a merchant seaman, he shovelled coal, and in that confined living quarters any show of emotion would have been considered unbearably flash.' Stamp would become one of the biggest figures of 1960s London, romantically linked to model Jean Shrimpton and actresses Julie Christie - his 'Far From the Madding Crowd' co-star - and Brigitte Bardot. His only marriage came in 2002 - to an Australian pharmacist 35 years his junior - but that lasted just six years, according to the Guardian. Stamp famously roomed with fellow actor Michael Caine, who was also a rising star at the time. The pair lost touch, however, as he disclosed in an interview with The Guardian newspaper in 2015. 'We just went different ways. I can understand it: in many ways he was much more mature than me,' he said of Caine, who was five years older. 'Caine gave me all my early values, like making sure you were doing good stuff, waiting for the right things – then as soon as he got away he did exactly the opposite. Went from one movie to another.' After a few years away from the screen, Stamp appeared in the 1978 blockbuster 'Superman' as the superhero's adversary, General Zod. He reprised the role of the comic book villain in the sequel two years later. Ironically, more than two decades later Stamp went on to voice the role of Superman's father Jor-El in the TV series 'Smallville.' His many screen credits also included his role as drag queen Bernadette in the 1990s Australian comedy 'The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert.' Of his eclectic career - including roles in Hollywood's 'Wall Street' and 'The Adjustment Bureau' - he told the Guardian that he had no ambitions, adding: 'I've had bad experiences and things that didn't work out; my love for film sometimes diminishes but then it just resurrects itself. 'I never have to gee myself up, or demand a huge wage to get out of bed in the morning. I've done crap, because sometimes I didn't have the rent. But when I've got the rent, I want to do the best I can.' Solve the daily Crossword
CTV News
21 hours ago
- Entertainment
- CTV News
British actor Terence Stamp, ‘Superman' star and famed figure of swinging London, dies at 87
Actor Terrence Stamp poses for a photo on the red carpet for the movie "Song for Marion" in Paris, France, Monday, April 15, 2013. (AP Photo/Jacques Brinon) Terence Stamp, the British actor who became synonymous with Swinging London in the 1960s, has died, his family said Sunday, according to Reuters. He was 87 years old. Stamp first came to prominence when he took on the titular role in the 1962 film 'Billy Budd.' The black and white drama, directed by Peter Ustinov, who also starred, saw Stamp nominated for an Academy Award for best supporting actor - the only Oscar nomination of his lengthy career. He went on to star in a host of films in the 1960s, among them John Schlesinger's Thomas Hardy adaptation 'Far From the Madding Crowd' and Ken Loach's first feature film, 'Poor Cow.' CNN has reached out to his representatives for confirmation of his death. He was a star who rose from humble beginnings in London's East End, about as far from Hollywood as you can get. He was born on July 22, 1938, to parents Ethel and Thomas, a merchant seaman. In a 2013 interview with the British Film Institute (BFI), Stamp revealed that his father tried to deter him from a career in showbiz. 'He genuinely believed that people like us didn't do things like that,' he said. But his mother, he said, 'loved every second of it.' 'In retrospect, my mother must have always wanted me to do it and must have wished that she could have been more supportive. But my dad was the head of the family and I never really knew what he thought of it because he was of that generation. 'He was a merchant seaman, he shovelled coal, and in that confined living quarters any show of emotion would have been considered unbearably flash.' Stamp would become one of the biggest figures of 1960s London, romantically linked to model Jean Shrimpton and actresses Julie Christie - his 'Far From the Madding Crowd' co-star - and Brigitte Bardot. His only marriage came in 2002 - to an Australian pharmacist 35 years his junior - but that lasted just six years, according to the Guardian. Stamp famously roomed with fellow actor Michael Caine, who was also a rising star at the time. The pair lost touch, however, as he disclosed in an interview with The Guardian newspaper in 2015. 'We just went different ways. I can understand it: in many ways he was much more mature than me,' he said of Caine, who was five years older. 'Caine gave me all my early values, like making sure you were doing good stuff, waiting for the right things – then as soon as he got away he did exactly the opposite. Went from one movie to another.' After a few years away from the screen, Stamp appeared in the 1978 blockbuster 'Superman' as the superhero's adversary, General Zod. He reprised the role of the comic book villain in the sequel two years later. Ironically, more than two decades later Stamp went on to voice the role of Superman's father Jor-El in the TV series 'Smallville.' His many screen credits also included his role as drag queen Bernadette in the 1990s Australian comedy 'The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert.' Of his eclectic career - including roles in Hollywood's 'Wall Street' and 'The Adjustment Bureau' - he told the Guardian that he had no ambitions, adding: 'I've had bad experiences and things that didn't work out; my love for film sometimes diminishes but then it just resurrects itself. 'I never have to gee myself up, or demand a huge wage to get out of bed in the morning. I've done crap, because sometimes I didn't have the rent. But when I've got the rent, I want to do the best I can.' Lianne Kolirin, CNN
CNN
a day ago
- Entertainment
- CNN
British actor Terence Stamp, Superman star and famed figure of swinging London, dies at 87
UK Movies Obituaries MediaFacebookTweetLink Follow Terence Stamp, the British actor who became synonymous with Swinging London in the 1960s, has died, his family said Sunday, according to Reuters. He was 87 years old. Stamp first came to prominence when he took on the titular role in the 1962 film 'Billy Budd.' The black and white drama, directed by Peter Ustinov, who also starred, saw Stamp nominated for an Academy Award for best supporting actor - the only Oscar nomination of his lengthy career. He went on to star in a host of films in the 1960s, among them John Schlesinger's Thomas Hardy adaptation 'Far From the Madding Crowd' and Ken Loach's first feature film, 'Poor Cow.' CNN has reached out to his representatives for confirmation of his death. He was a star who rose from humble beginnings in London's East End, about as far from Hollywood as you can get. He was born on July 22, 1938, to parents Ethel and Thomas, a merchant seaman. In a 2013 interview with the British Film Institute (BFI), Stamp revealed that his father tried to deter him from a career in showbiz. 'He genuinely believed that people like us didn't do things like that,' he said. But his mother, he said, 'loved every second of it.' 'In retrospect, my mother must have always wanted me to do it and must have wished that she could have been more supportive. But my dad was the head of the family and I never really knew what he thought of it because he was of that generation. 'He was a merchant seaman, he shovelled coal, and in that confined living quarters any show of emotion would have been considered unbearably flash.' Stamp would become one of the biggest figures of 1960s London, romantically linked to model Jean Shrimpton and actresses Julie Christie - his 'Far From the Madding Crowd' co-star - and Brigitte Bardot. His only marriage came in 2002 - to an Australian pharmacist 35 years his junior - but that lasted just six years, according to the Guardian. Stamp famously roomed with fellow actor Michael Caine, who was also a rising star at the time. The pair lost touch, however, as he disclosed in an interview with The Guardian newspaper in 2015. 'We just went different ways. I can understand it: in many ways he was much more mature than me,' he said of Caine, who was five years older. 'Caine gave me all my early values, like making sure you were doing good stuff, waiting for the right things – then as soon as he got away he did exactly the opposite. Went from one movie to another.' After a few years away from the screen, Stamp appeared in the 1978 blockbuster 'Superman' as the superhero's adversary, General Zod. He reprised the role of the comic book villain in the sequel two years later. Ironically, more than two decades later Stamp went on to voice the role of Superman's father Jor-El in the TV series 'Smallville.' His many screen credits also included his role as drag queen Bernadette in the 1990s Australian comedy 'The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert.' Of his eclectic career - including roles in Hollywood's 'Wall Street' and 'The Adjustment Bureau' - he told the Guardian that he had no ambitions, adding: 'I've had bad experiences and things that didn't work out; my love for film sometimes diminishes but then it just resurrects itself. 'I never have to gee myself up, or demand a huge wage to get out of bed in the morning. I've done crap, because sometimes I didn't have the rent. But when I've got the rent, I want to do the best I can.'
