Latest news with #SupermanII
The Herald
an hour ago
- Entertainment
- The Herald
Actor Terence Stamp, star of Superman films, dies aged 87
Terence Stamp, who made his name as an actor in 1960s London and went on to play the arch-villain General Zod in the Hollywood hits 'Superman' and 'Superman II', has died aged 87, his family said on Sunday. The Oscar-nominated actor starred in films ranging from Pier Paolo Pasolini's 'Theorem' in 1968 and 'A Season in Hell' in 1971 to 'The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert' in 1994 in which he played a transgender woman. The family said in a statement to Reuters that Stamp died on Sunday morning. '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,' the family said. 'We ask for privacy at this sad time.' Born in London's East End in 1938, the son of a tugboat stoker, he endured the bombing of the city during World War 2 before leaving school to work initially in advertising, eventually winning a scholarship to go to drama school. Famous for his good looks and impeccable dress sense, he formed one of Britain's most glamorous couples with Julie Christie, with whom he starred in 'Far From the Madding Crowd' in 1967. He also dated the model Jean Shrimpton and was chosen as a muse by photographer David Bailey. After failing to land the role of James Bond to succeed Sean Connery, he appeared in Italian films and worked with Federico Fellini in the late 1960s. He dropped out of the limelight and studied yoga in India before landing his most high-profile role — as General Zod, the megalomaniacal leader of the Kryptonians, in 'Superman' in 1978 and its sequel in 1980. He went on to appear in a string of other films, including 'Valkyrie' with Tom Cruise in 2008, 'The Adjustment Bureau' with Matt Damon in 2011 and movies directed by Tim Burton. Reuters
Straits Times
2 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Straits Times
Terence Stamp, actor who played Superman villain Zod, dies at 87
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox Terence Henry Stamp was born in London's East End on July 22, 1938, the son of a tugboat coal stoker and a mother who Stamp said gave him his zest for life. LONDON - English actor Terence Stamp liked to recall how he was on the verge of becoming a tantric sex teacher at an ashram in India when, in 1977, he received a telegram from his London agent with news that he was being considered for the Superman film. 'I was on the night flight the next day,' Stamp said in an interview with his publisher Watkins Books in 2015. After eight years largely out of work, getting the role of the arch-villain General Zod in Superman (1978) and Superman II (1980) turned the full glare of Hollywood's limelight on the Londoner. Buoyed by his new role, Stamp said he would respond to curious looks from passers-by with a command of: 'Kneel before Zod, you bastards', which usually went down a storm. He died on Aug 17, aged 87, his family said in a statement. The cause was not immediately known. '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,' the family statement said. 'I would have been laughed at' Terence Henry Stamp was born in London's East End on July 22, 1938, the son of a tugboat coal stoker and a mother who Stamp said gave him his zest for life. As a child, he endured the bombing of the city during World War II and the deprivations that followed. 'The great blessing of my life is that I had the really hard bit at the beginning because we were really poor,' he said. Stamp left school to work initially as a messenger boy for an advertising firm and quickly moved up the ranks before he won a scholarship to go to drama school. Until then, he had kept his acting ambitions secret from his family for fear of disapproval. '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 a flat with another young London actor, Michael Caine, and landed the lead role in late British director Peter Ustinov's 1962 adaptation of Billy Budd, a story of brutality in the British navy in the 18th century. That role earned him an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor and filled him with pride. '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'.' Famous for his good looks and impeccable dress sense, he formed one of Britain's most glamorous couples with actress Julie Christie, with whom he starred in Far From The Madding Crowd in 1967. But he said the love of his life was English model Jean Shrimpton. 'When I lost her, then that also coincided with my career taking a dip,' he said. After failing to land the role of James Bond to succeed late Scottish actor Sean Connery, Stamp sought a change of scene. He appeared in Italian films and worked with late director Federico Fellini in 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.' 'A lot of action going on' It was while working in Rome – where he appeared in late director Pier Paolo Pasolini's Theorem in 1968 and A Season In Hell in 1971 - that Stamp met Indian spiritual speaker and writer Jiddu Krishnamurti in 1968. Krishnamurti taught the Englishman how to pause his thoughts and meditate, prompting Stamp to study yoga in India. Mumbai was his base but he spent long periods at the ashram in Pune, dressed in orange robes and growing his hair long, while learning the teachings of his yogi, including tantric sex. 'There was a rumour around the ashram that he was preparing me to teach the tantric group,' Stamp said in the 2015 interview with Watkins Books. 'There was a lot of action going on.' After landing the role of General Zod, the megalomaniacal leader of the Kryptonians, in Superman in 1978 and its sequel in 1980, both times opposite late American actor Christopher Reeves, he went on to appear in a string of other films, including as a transgender woman in The Adventures Of Priscilla, Queen Of The Desert in 1994. Other films included Valkyrie with Hollywood star Tom Cruise in 2008, The Adjustment Bureau with American actor Matt Damon in 2011 and movies directed by American filmmaker Tim Burton. Stamp counted Britain's Princess Diana among his friends. 'It wasn't a formal thing, we'd just meet up for a cup of tea, or sometimes we'd have a long chat for an hour. Sometimes it would be very quick,' he told the Daily Express newspaper in 2017. 'The time I spent with her was a good time.' In 2002, Stamp married for the first time at the age of 64 – to pharmacist Elizabeth O'Rourke, who was 35 years his junior. They divorced in 2008. Asked by the Stage 32 website how he got film directors to believe in his talent, Stamp said: 'I believed in myself. 'Originally, when I didn't get cast I told myself there was a lack of discernment in them. This could be considered conceit. I look at it differently. Cherishing that divine spark in myself.' REUTERS
The Advertiser
2 hours ago
- Entertainment
- The Advertiser
Terence Stamp, who played Superman villain Zod, dies
Terence Stamp liked to recall how he was on the verge of becoming a tantric sex teacher at an ashram in India when, in 1977, he received a telegram from his London agent with news that he was being considered for the Superman film. "I was on the night flight the next day," Stamp said in an interview with his publisher Watkins Books in 2015. After eight years largely out of work, getting the role of the arch-villain General Zod in Superman and Superman II turned the full glare of Hollywood's limelight on the Londoner. Buoyed by his new role, Stamp said he would respond to curious looks from passers-by with a command of: "Kneel before Zod, you bastards", which usually went down a storm. He died on Sunday, aged 87, his family said in a statement. The cause was not immediately known. "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," the statement said. Terence Henry Stamp was born in London's East End in 1938, the son of a tugboat coal stoker and a mother who Stamp said gave him his zest for life. As a child he endured the bombing of the city during World War Two and the deprivations that followed. "The great blessing of my life is that I had the really hard bit at the beginning because we were really poor," he said. He left school to work initially as a messenger boy for an advertising firm and quickly moved up the ranks before he won a scholarship to go to drama school. Until then he had kept his acting ambitions secret from his family for fear of disapproval. "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. He shared a flat with another young London actor, Michael Caine, and landed the lead role in director Peter Ustinov's 1962 adaptation of Billy Budd, a story of brutality in the British navy in the 18th century. That role earned him an Academy Award nomination and filled him with pride. "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'." Famous for his good looks and impeccable dress sense, he formed one of Britain's most glamorous couples with Julie Christie, with whom he starred in Far From the Madding Crowd in 1967. But he said the love of his life was the model Jean Shrimpton. "When I lost her, then that also coincided with my career taking a dip," he said. After failing to land the role of James Bond to succeed Sean Connery, Stamp sought a change of scene. He appeared in Italian films and worked with Federico Fellini in 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." It was while working in Rome – where he appeared in Pier Paolo Pasolini's Theorem in 1968 and A Season in Hell in 1971 - that Stamp met Indian spiritual speaker and writer Jiddu Krishnamurti in 1968. Krishnamurti taught the Englishman how to pause his thoughts and meditate, prompting Stamp to study yoga in India. Mumbai was his base but he spent long periods at the ashram in Pune, dressed in orange robes and growing his hair long, while learning the teachings of his yogi, including tantric sex. "There was a rumour around the ashram that he was preparing me to teach the tantric group," he said in the 2015 interview with Watkins Books. "There was a lot of action going on." After landing the role of General Zod, the megalomaniacal leader of the Kryptonians, in Superman in 1978 and its sequel in 1980, both times opposite Christopher Reeves, he went on to appear in a string of other films, including as a transgender woman in The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert in 1994. Other films included Valkyrie with Tom Cruise in 2008, The Adjustment Bureau with Matt Damon in 2011 and movies directed by Tim Burton. He counted Princess Diana among his friends. "It wasn't a formal thing, we'd just meet up for a cup of tea, or sometimes we'd have a long chat for an hour. Sometimes it would be very quick," he told the Daily Express newspaper in 2017. "The time I spent with her was a good time." In 2002, Stamp married for the first time at the age of 64 - to Elizabeth O'Rourke, a pharmacist, who was 35 years his junior. They divorced in 2008. Asked by the Stage 32 website how he got film directors to believe in his talent, Stamp said: "I believed in myself. "Originally, when I didn't get cast I told myself there was a lack of discernment in them. This could be considered conceit. I look at it differently. Cherishing that divine spark in myself." Terence Stamp liked to recall how he was on the verge of becoming a tantric sex teacher at an ashram in India when, in 1977, he received a telegram from his London agent with news that he was being considered for the Superman film. "I was on the night flight the next day," Stamp said in an interview with his publisher Watkins Books in 2015. After eight years largely out of work, getting the role of the arch-villain General Zod in Superman and Superman II turned the full glare of Hollywood's limelight on the Londoner. Buoyed by his new role, Stamp said he would respond to curious looks from passers-by with a command of: "Kneel before Zod, you bastards", which usually went down a storm. He died on Sunday, aged 87, his family said in a statement. The cause was not immediately known. "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," the statement said. Terence Henry Stamp was born in London's East End in 1938, the son of a tugboat coal stoker and a mother who Stamp said gave him his zest for life. As a child he endured the bombing of the city during World War Two and the deprivations that followed. "The great blessing of my life is that I had the really hard bit at the beginning because we were really poor," he said. He left school to work initially as a messenger boy for an advertising firm and quickly moved up the ranks before he won a scholarship to go to drama school. Until then he had kept his acting ambitions secret from his family for fear of disapproval. "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. He shared a flat with another young London actor, Michael Caine, and landed the lead role in director Peter Ustinov's 1962 adaptation of Billy Budd, a story of brutality in the British navy in the 18th century. That role earned him an Academy Award nomination and filled him with pride. "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'." Famous for his good looks and impeccable dress sense, he formed one of Britain's most glamorous couples with Julie Christie, with whom he starred in Far From the Madding Crowd in 1967. But he said the love of his life was the model Jean Shrimpton. "When I lost her, then that also coincided with my career taking a dip," he said. After failing to land the role of James Bond to succeed Sean Connery, Stamp sought a change of scene. He appeared in Italian films and worked with Federico Fellini in 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." It was while working in Rome – where he appeared in Pier Paolo Pasolini's Theorem in 1968 and A Season in Hell in 1971 - that Stamp met Indian spiritual speaker and writer Jiddu Krishnamurti in 1968. Krishnamurti taught the Englishman how to pause his thoughts and meditate, prompting Stamp to study yoga in India. Mumbai was his base but he spent long periods at the ashram in Pune, dressed in orange robes and growing his hair long, while learning the teachings of his yogi, including tantric sex. "There was a rumour around the ashram that he was preparing me to teach the tantric group," he said in the 2015 interview with Watkins Books. "There was a lot of action going on." After landing the role of General Zod, the megalomaniacal leader of the Kryptonians, in Superman in 1978 and its sequel in 1980, both times opposite Christopher Reeves, he went on to appear in a string of other films, including as a transgender woman in The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert in 1994. Other films included Valkyrie with Tom Cruise in 2008, The Adjustment Bureau with Matt Damon in 2011 and movies directed by Tim Burton. He counted Princess Diana among his friends. "It wasn't a formal thing, we'd just meet up for a cup of tea, or sometimes we'd have a long chat for an hour. Sometimes it would be very quick," he told the Daily Express newspaper in 2017. "The time I spent with her was a good time." In 2002, Stamp married for the first time at the age of 64 - to Elizabeth O'Rourke, a pharmacist, who was 35 years his junior. They divorced in 2008. Asked by the Stage 32 website how he got film directors to believe in his talent, Stamp said: "I believed in myself. "Originally, when I didn't get cast I told myself there was a lack of discernment in them. This could be considered conceit. I look at it differently. Cherishing that divine spark in myself." Terence Stamp liked to recall how he was on the verge of becoming a tantric sex teacher at an ashram in India when, in 1977, he received a telegram from his London agent with news that he was being considered for the Superman film. "I was on the night flight the next day," Stamp said in an interview with his publisher Watkins Books in 2015. After eight years largely out of work, getting the role of the arch-villain General Zod in Superman and Superman II turned the full glare of Hollywood's limelight on the Londoner. Buoyed by his new role, Stamp said he would respond to curious looks from passers-by with a command of: "Kneel before Zod, you bastards", which usually went down a storm. He died on Sunday, aged 87, his family said in a statement. The cause was not immediately known. "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," the statement said. Terence Henry Stamp was born in London's East End in 1938, the son of a tugboat coal stoker and a mother who Stamp said gave him his zest for life. As a child he endured the bombing of the city during World War Two and the deprivations that followed. "The great blessing of my life is that I had the really hard bit at the beginning because we were really poor," he said. He left school to work initially as a messenger boy for an advertising firm and quickly moved up the ranks before he won a scholarship to go to drama school. Until then he had kept his acting ambitions secret from his family for fear of disapproval. "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. He shared a flat with another young London actor, Michael Caine, and landed the lead role in director Peter Ustinov's 1962 adaptation of Billy Budd, a story of brutality in the British navy in the 18th century. That role earned him an Academy Award nomination and filled him with pride. "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'." Famous for his good looks and impeccable dress sense, he formed one of Britain's most glamorous couples with Julie Christie, with whom he starred in Far From the Madding Crowd in 1967. But he said the love of his life was the model Jean Shrimpton. "When I lost her, then that also coincided with my career taking a dip," he said. After failing to land the role of James Bond to succeed Sean Connery, Stamp sought a change of scene. He appeared in Italian films and worked with Federico Fellini in 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." It was while working in Rome – where he appeared in Pier Paolo Pasolini's Theorem in 1968 and A Season in Hell in 1971 - that Stamp met Indian spiritual speaker and writer Jiddu Krishnamurti in 1968. Krishnamurti taught the Englishman how to pause his thoughts and meditate, prompting Stamp to study yoga in India. Mumbai was his base but he spent long periods at the ashram in Pune, dressed in orange robes and growing his hair long, while learning the teachings of his yogi, including tantric sex. "There was a rumour around the ashram that he was preparing me to teach the tantric group," he said in the 2015 interview with Watkins Books. "There was a lot of action going on." After landing the role of General Zod, the megalomaniacal leader of the Kryptonians, in Superman in 1978 and its sequel in 1980, both times opposite Christopher Reeves, he went on to appear in a string of other films, including as a transgender woman in The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert in 1994. Other films included Valkyrie with Tom Cruise in 2008, The Adjustment Bureau with Matt Damon in 2011 and movies directed by Tim Burton. He counted Princess Diana among his friends. "It wasn't a formal thing, we'd just meet up for a cup of tea, or sometimes we'd have a long chat for an hour. Sometimes it would be very quick," he told the Daily Express newspaper in 2017. "The time I spent with her was a good time." In 2002, Stamp married for the first time at the age of 64 - to Elizabeth O'Rourke, a pharmacist, who was 35 years his junior. They divorced in 2008. Asked by the Stage 32 website how he got film directors to believe in his talent, Stamp said: "I believed in myself. "Originally, when I didn't get cast I told myself there was a lack of discernment in them. This could be considered conceit. I look at it differently. Cherishing that divine spark in myself." Terence Stamp liked to recall how he was on the verge of becoming a tantric sex teacher at an ashram in India when, in 1977, he received a telegram from his London agent with news that he was being considered for the Superman film. "I was on the night flight the next day," Stamp said in an interview with his publisher Watkins Books in 2015. After eight years largely out of work, getting the role of the arch-villain General Zod in Superman and Superman II turned the full glare of Hollywood's limelight on the Londoner. Buoyed by his new role, Stamp said he would respond to curious looks from passers-by with a command of: "Kneel before Zod, you bastards", which usually went down a storm. He died on Sunday, aged 87, his family said in a statement. The cause was not immediately known. "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," the statement said. Terence Henry Stamp was born in London's East End in 1938, the son of a tugboat coal stoker and a mother who Stamp said gave him his zest for life. As a child he endured the bombing of the city during World War Two and the deprivations that followed. "The great blessing of my life is that I had the really hard bit at the beginning because we were really poor," he said. He left school to work initially as a messenger boy for an advertising firm and quickly moved up the ranks before he won a scholarship to go to drama school. Until then he had kept his acting ambitions secret from his family for fear of disapproval. "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. He shared a flat with another young London actor, Michael Caine, and landed the lead role in director Peter Ustinov's 1962 adaptation of Billy Budd, a story of brutality in the British navy in the 18th century. That role earned him an Academy Award nomination and filled him with pride. "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'." Famous for his good looks and impeccable dress sense, he formed one of Britain's most glamorous couples with Julie Christie, with whom he starred in Far From the Madding Crowd in 1967. But he said the love of his life was the model Jean Shrimpton. "When I lost her, then that also coincided with my career taking a dip," he said. After failing to land the role of James Bond to succeed Sean Connery, Stamp sought a change of scene. He appeared in Italian films and worked with Federico Fellini in 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." It was while working in Rome – where he appeared in Pier Paolo Pasolini's Theorem in 1968 and A Season in Hell in 1971 - that Stamp met Indian spiritual speaker and writer Jiddu Krishnamurti in 1968. Krishnamurti taught the Englishman how to pause his thoughts and meditate, prompting Stamp to study yoga in India. Mumbai was his base but he spent long periods at the ashram in Pune, dressed in orange robes and growing his hair long, while learning the teachings of his yogi, including tantric sex. "There was a rumour around the ashram that he was preparing me to teach the tantric group," he said in the 2015 interview with Watkins Books. "There was a lot of action going on." After landing the role of General Zod, the megalomaniacal leader of the Kryptonians, in Superman in 1978 and its sequel in 1980, both times opposite Christopher Reeves, he went on to appear in a string of other films, including as a transgender woman in The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert in 1994. Other films included Valkyrie with Tom Cruise in 2008, The Adjustment Bureau with Matt Damon in 2011 and movies directed by Tim Burton. He counted Princess Diana among his friends. "It wasn't a formal thing, we'd just meet up for a cup of tea, or sometimes we'd have a long chat for an hour. Sometimes it would be very quick," he told the Daily Express newspaper in 2017. "The time I spent with her was a good time." In 2002, Stamp married for the first time at the age of 64 - to Elizabeth O'Rourke, a pharmacist, who was 35 years his junior. They divorced in 2008. Asked by the Stage 32 website how he got film directors to believe in his talent, Stamp said: "I believed in myself. "Originally, when I didn't get cast I told myself there was a lack of discernment in them. This could be considered conceit. I look at it differently. Cherishing that divine spark in myself."
Time of India
4 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Time of India
Terence Stamp, actor known for 'Superman' villain General Zod, dies at 87: Inside his personal life with 35-year younger Elizabeth O'Rourke
Legendary British actor Terence Stamp , famously known for his unforgettable role as General Zod in Superman and Superman II, has passed away. His family announced the death of the actor on August 17, with a statement that said, '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. ' He was 87. Born in London in 1938, Stamp rose from humble beginnings to become a style icon and dramatic powerhouse. Stamp's career spanned six decades, earning accolades for work in Billy Budd, Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, and beyond. However, apart from his decorated acting career, Stamp's personal life, too, attracted significant attention, thanks to his whirlwind romance and a brief marriage to Elizabeth O'Rourke. An unusual romance and a brief marriage: Elizabeth O'Rourke Terence Stamp met Elizabeth O'Rourke while visiting a Bondi pharmacy in the mid-1990s. Back then, O'Rourke was an Australian pharmacy student at a chemist shop in Bondi, New South Wales. On New Year's Eve 2002, Stamp married for the first and only time at age 64, to O'Rourke. What drew attention to his marriage in his 60s was the bride's age; O'Rourke was just 29! Their 35-year age gap drew attention, but the actor's charm and persistence prevailed, and they married in a private ceremony. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like American Investor Warren Buffett Recommends: 5 Books For Turning Your Life Around Blinkist: Warren Buffett's Reading List Undo However, the marriage was short-lived and ended only six years later. O'Rourke filed for divorce in April 2008, citing Stamp's 'unreasonable behaviour.' According to reports, Stamp did not contest the claim. In later reflections, Stamp fondly remembered their time together, calling it 'incredible fun.' The couple had no children, but Stamp often spoke lovingly of his nieces' children, describing his bond with them as akin to that of a grandfather. Terence Stamp: The life, the career, and the legacy Born in 1938, in Stepney, East London, Terence Henry Stamp grew up during the Blitz as the eldest of five children to a tugboat stoker father and a homemaker mother. He earned a scholarship to the Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art, launching his dramatic career on stage. His film debut came in Billy Budd (1962), earning him an Academy Award nomination and a Golden Globe for Most Promising Newcomer. Stamp became a cultural figure of the Swinging Sixties, linked romantically with model Jean Shrimpton and actress Julie Christie. He even inspired The Kinks' hit 'Waterloo Sunset' for his brief relationship with Christie. After a slower period in the 1970s, Stamp's career rebounded in a spiritual way. He spent time in India embracing yoga philosophy, an internal transformation that helped him reimagine himself as a character actor willing to take bold roles. General Zod and beyond: Crafting iconic villains with nuance Stamp will forever be remembered for bringing depth, charisma, and menace to General Zod in Superman (1978) and Superman II (1980). This portrayal reshaped how villains were depicted in superhero films. Stamp wasn't just an action star. Beyond Zod, the 'master of the brooding silence' demonstrated his emotional range as Bernadette Bassenger, a trans woman, in the cult classic The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert (1994). The role earned him BAFTA and Golden Globe nominations. His filmography spans decades and genres. His later career included acclaimed performances in films like The Limey (1999), earning an Independent Spirit Award nomination, and memorable roles in Star Wars: The Phantom Menace, Valkyrie, Last Night in Soho, and more.
AsiaOne
4 hours ago
- Entertainment
- AsiaOne
Actor Terence Stamp, star of Superman films, dies aged 87, Entertainment News
LONDON — Terence Stamp, who made his name as an actor in 1960s London and went on to play the arch-villain General Zod in the Hollywood hits Superman and Superman II, has died aged 87, his family said on Sunday (Aug 17). The Oscar-nominated actor starred in films ranging from Pier Paolo Pasolini's Theorem in 1968 and A Season in Hell in 1971 to The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert in 1994 in which he played a transgender woman. The family said in a statement to Reuters that Stamp died on Sunday morning. "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," the family said. "We ask for privacy at this sad time." Born in London's East End in 1938, the son of a tugboat stoker, he endured the bombing of the city during World War Two before leaving school to work initially in advertising, eventually winning a scholarship to go to drama school. Famous for his good looks and impeccable dress sense, he formed one of Britain's most glamorous couples with Julie Christie, with whom he starred in Far From the Madding Crowd in 1967. He also dated the model Jean Shrimpton and was chosen as a muse by photographer David Bailey. After failing to land the role of James Bond to succeed Sean Connery, he appeared in Italian films and worked with Federico Fellini in the late 1960s. He dropped out of the limelight and studied yoga in India before landing his most high-profile role — as General Zod, the megalomaniacal leader of the Kryptonians, in Superman in 1978 and its sequel in 1980. He went on to appear in a string of other films, including Valkyrie with Tom Cruise in 2008, The Adjustment Bureau with Matt Damon in 2011 and movies directed by Tim Burton. [[nid:721135]]
