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Straits Times
13 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
13 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."
Perth Now
18 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Perth Now
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."
Sunday World
21 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Sunday World
Terence Stamp, actor who played Superman villain Zod, dies at 87
RIP | Stamp often recalled 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 morning, 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. 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 â€' 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." Today's News in 90 Seconds - 17 August
International Business Times
a day ago
- Entertainment
- International Business Times
How Did Terence Stamp Die? 'Superman' and 'Far from the 'Madding Crowd' Star Dies Aged 87 as Tributes Pour In
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 Terence Stamp X 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. Terence Stamp X 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. Terence Stamp in Superman X 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. Terence Stamp X 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."
